Aug 14th, 2008
Can a GPS Pay for Itself?
As I’m sure my friends and possibly my readers are sick of hearing by now, I got a free GPS about a week ago from MyGPSOffer.com. I’ve become quite fascinated in the little electronic device–I’m a Geek, so of course I’m trying to learn as much about it as I can–and the routes it’s suggesting for trips I’ve done for years.
For awhile, I tracked (and will soon start tracking again) how many miles I drive every week as well as how the routes I took affected my gas mileage. I tried a couple of different routes to see what that did for both my total miles as well as my mileage and settled on one that appeared to be the most fuel efficient. Now that I have a GPS, I’m seeing that it’s suggesting I try a couple other, slightly different routes depending on whether I’m asking it for the shortest route or the fastest route. Can a GPS actually help me drive fewer miles and get better mileage? In a word, yes, especially if one of the things I’m doing is going to places I am not familiar with. Can it do well enough to pay for itself? Well, in my case, certainly, because I got the GPS for free, so any amount that I can reduce spending is like a profit, but this certainly depends on the cost of the GPS–as well as the cost of gas and the miles per gallon that you get.
Interestingly, something free might end up costing money as well! For instance, I’ve become intrigued with the activity/sport of geocaching and am interested in trying it out, but wondering if I’d be better off using a hiking style GPS rather than the automobile one that I have. Of course, the hiking GPS would cost me money and since I’ve been so impressed with the Garmin nuvi 200 auto GPS I have, I’m considering another Garmin, so maybe out of a “free” GPS, they’ll make some money off of me as well! I guess this cuts both ways!
I also just got a GPS as a gift for my B-day
Good tip, I haven’t used the shortest route yet. I’ve been using the fastest time.
If I’m not in a hurry, I will def try the shortest route option.
[...] Ryan Suenaga presents Can a GPS Pay for Itself? [...]
[...] Worth’s second carnival featured a fun tour of old money. Uncommon Cents speculates on the savings a GPS device can bring. I’ve been tempted to buy one lately, but think I can wait. However, he offers some [...]