Refurbished Garmin Mobile PC any good?

When I was trying to get my old GPS 18 working, I was looking on Ebay for a new map program and saw several Refurbished Mobile PCs at about half the price of new. Has anyone bought one and is there any concerned about being refurbished?
Thanks

John

Bennyboy has recently bought (or he has been considering to buy) a refurbished Garmin Mobile PC, read details here: Should I buy Garmin Mobile PC GPS20x for my Asus Aspire One?

I bought on from E-bay and so far so good. The price was right so I can't complain. I was able to get all the downloads from Garmin to update the mapping software. Also the refurbished kits were all refurbed by Garmin and they have a full warranty

Dan..

Thanks guys, I will have to keep the refurbs in mine if I get tired of my old maps.

John

OK, mine just arrived (Ebay purchase of "factory refurbished" Mobile PC w/ GPS receiver) and yes everything appears legit. A sticker (from Garmin) was placed on the USB GPS receiver unit saying "newly overhauled". The DVD that arrived says 2010 on it and appears very genuine.
Garmin has a FAQ on their web site stating they DO honor warranty of Mobile PC sold on Ebay
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The software installation seemed to go OK, and the USB GPS receiver was recognized quickly with no problems.
Here's my issue: error msg "can't unlock maps using unit ID (10 digits)"
So if I try to enter a destination address, I get the msg "Detailed maps are required to use this feature".

After re-reading the 3 part FAQ on this site including "unlocking maps" I do understand that when the Mobile PC is purchased "with" USB GPS receiver 20x, you don't need an activation code because the program will get what it needs from the GPS receiver it is sold with. Seems the software is FINDING a 10 digit code and then telling me "can't unlock maps (using the code that it found)".

I went to the Garmin site & studied their FAQ's on Mobile PC and also another hour on Laptop GPS World site seeing if I was missing something...

Seems I "could" download the "mapsource" pgm from Garmin site as a means to unlock the detail maps... yet I read that this should have occurred automatically. And it's not mentioned in the small "quick start manual" as being needed. Garmin site states there is no other manual as the pgm is so simple it is not needed.

A) could the problem be the result of not being connected to the internet when I first installed the Mobile PC software? After the error msg, I did connect to internet, and even shut everything down & rebooted with internet connection and same issues.
B) could the "factory refurbished" GPS sending unit be putting out a 10 digit code that is REJECTED by the software?
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I sent Garmin an Email and understand they can take up to 3 days to reply, which is OK (I have my Nuvi 255w).
If I get a reply from Garmin I will post it here.

Sounds like the 20x does not have an ID within the range allowed by Mobile PC which is strange. I think all versions of Mobile PC are the same but the GPS devices (20x or 10x) that work with it have a specific range of IDs. Garmin should be able to sort it out. A phone call might be a faster solution.

Good luck and we are certainly interested in the outcome.

Terry

I had the same issue with my Ebay Garmin however, once I downloaded the map/software update all worked well and now I have a 100% fully functional GPS..

That's good to know - and seems to confirm what I was told this morning by Garmin support. I just wish they would toss a note in the box letting you know what to do if you hit the wall...

---------(today's call to Garmin support)----------------->

When I try to use Mobile PC (with USB receiver plugged in & recognized) I get error msg "can't unlock maps using unit ID (10 digit code)"

Tech support says this is a known issue, and the remedy is to update the maps as you folks have mentioned.
I asked WHY this would be needed, if the included DVD says 2010 version. The Garmin tech support guy simply said it was a known issue and this is what you do:
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Right now I am 1/2 way through the large download (2 gigs), which appears to be going OK without any problem.

Update: I got this installed and working, but it was a bumpy ride. Took 3 calls to Garmin Tech support (yet I am very familiar with computers, built many of them from the ground up)

1) At no point did Garmin "bash" the purchase of re-furb units. Their FAQ on Garmin web site clearly says it's OK to purchase from Ebay, and they did not discourage this or steer me to full retail purchase.

2) When you buy a full retail unit, the USB receiver and DVD software are able to send each other the needed data to quickly confirm that it is a legal install of the program and there is no grief.

3) They have become aware of the issues with their own "refurbished" units. As noted above, the solution is to update the maps. Garmin passed this info along to a retailer selling their refurb units, but isn't sure if that info was passed along to the seller on Ebay. My purchase came with no unique instructions beyond the Mfg product instructions.

4) When you do the map update, at some point you are instructed to "plug in the Garmin product". In the last tech support call, they clarified NOT to do this. Previously I had the USB receiver plugged in, and that was a "known issue" that would cause the install to fail. So with the no USB receiver plugged in, it isn't finding ANY Garmin product and seems to go no further in the install. So I try it again with Mobile PC running, and it finds that as a qualifying Garmin product, and the Map update "seemed to go OK" and install - but at the very end it failed.

5) Garmin Tech Support did a "remote connection" to my laptop while I was on the phone, and got the thing to install without finding any supported product when asked by the map update... and it worked.

I don't think most consumers would stumble through the correct sequence of choices for a successful install of the refurb unit (especially if they didn't find this site and learn that they needed a map update in order for the USB receiver to be accepted by the application Mobile PC).

Even with the limited value of my time - I would have paid 99 rather than 49 on Ebay to avoid the grief. Having said that, I was glad to talk with Garmin people direct and get more familiar with the mapping file update process etc. And I do like Mobile PC.