GEN III GPS location?

How about one of their friction mounts?
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=63953
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=69365

I have the 1st one as the 2nd one didn't exist at the time. I use my Garmin GPS unit mostly in my car that doesn't have nav (my 350Z). In CA, where I used to live, it was illegal to mount GPS units via suction cups to the windshield.

 

I use the friction mount on the far left side of the dash by the little window, ran the power cord under the dash then up between the dash and door moulding.
When I leave the car I put the GPS away and I cover the mount with a basball cap.

 

My answer...

I used a Garmin base which is semipermantly stuck down to the dash. The unit does not block any of the instruments and is outside of my direct line of sight (which is good so that I don't fixate on it instead of watching the road) and yet, it is easy to glance at.



And this is what it looks like when the GPS unit and mount/cable are stashed away. Only the base remains...

 

Unfortunately, seeing the base on the dash will cause some morons to break a window to get in and search for the GPS. So I mounted a Garmin "dash mount" using velcro tape. You could do the same with that base shown above. When I park outside in a suspect area, I remove the base and put it in the console. The velcro tape can be removed from the dash with no residue left when you sell the vehicle.

The bonus to doing this way is if you want to mount something else and aren't using the GPS you can use the velcro.

 

I use a beanbag mount that is (mostly) kept in place by a rubber bottle opener disk provided by the dealer. 3M Blue Putty joins the 2 devices. The ScanGauge cable is routed through the gap above the steering column.

 

Yep. That and the presence of suction cup mounts or rings on the windshield can do it too. Hence, I think bean bag friction mounts are a better solution. Put it away in the trunk/storage area above the spare time when leaving.

 

I used to worry about that. I even went to the trouble of removing the Garmin logo from the base so as not to give a clue to the clueless.

I've stopped worrying about it. Frankly, the fear of it happening seems to be out of proportion to the actual number of incidences. But if it does worry you, it's easy enough to cover over the base with something (like a baseball cap) when you leave the car.

I've never been a fan of the friction mounts. Inevitably, there comes that moment, when you go around a corner and your GPS does a high speed slide across the dash. Not the sort of driver distraction one needs when going around a corner... Maybe others have had better luck, but that's been my experience and the reason I don't use a friction mount for regular use. (I still use a friction mount when I rent a car, though...)

 

I saw an installation where the guy mounted a cheap car compass on the GPS mount when he put the GPS away.

 

precautions

I personally have had my car broken within 1 hour of having accidentally left a fanny pack in the back seat at ~2:30 am. This was in an upper middle class area of San Jose (Almaden Valley) w/Zillow claiming the house was worth >$1 million. I lost my cell phone, PDA, iPod Shuffle and Jawbone headset. Apparently, that night, a bunch of other vehicles in that neighborhood also were victims of smash and grab.

I didn't like having to pay almost $200 out of pocket to replace my broken window.

I've had my old car broken into for its car stereo in Vancouver BC. They also stole a CD wallet with >20 retail music CDs. There went almost >$600 worth of stereo + CDs. I had no coverage for that as my car was quite old.

Two friends of mine in the Bay Area (Santa Clara County) got their cars broken into into for their GPS units. The former I think had other things in their car too. Both were at or in front of their residences. The latter had tandem parking and stored keys for the roommate's car in their glove box. So, both their cars were stolen too with one car found intact and the other stripped.

I warned the second friend about not leaving out his GPS unit (an outdated one for the time, some Garmin Streetpilot series, much larger than any Nuvi) and he didn't listen. He later told me about the above theft.

Here are some reports about rising GPS unit theft.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24392168/
http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/17932074.html
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/03/navi-i-gone-i-portable-gps-system-theft-up-700/

I've never had a problem w/the Garmin friction mount sliding even in more spirited driving in my Z.

 

I had a Garmin beanbag mount for my old Streetpilot and it did slide. Obviously it depends on the mass of the object on the beanbag. My velcro method works well. Objects mounted on it don't come loose. The velcro is hard to see on the black dash (it's black). I do leave my Scangauge on the dash as it's just too much trouble to disconnect it and then have to reconnect (electronic reconnect, not plugging in the cables). It is mounted with velcro, but I have a large black slab of very thick leather over top of it (to protect it from the heat of the sun), and most people don't notice it from the outside. I put the Scangauge on the right and the Nuvi on the left of the steering wheel up on the dash.