A refurbished GPS system can save you a great deal of money over purchasing a new one. But you can also end up with a piece of equipment that doesn't work properly or that ends up wearing out prematurely. There is a difference between used and refurbished that you should be aware of before you purchase.

Used means the item has been used by a previous owner. But a refurbished item has also been refurbished to make it higher quality again. A refurbished GPS system has been inspected and repaired and brought as close to factory-new quality as possible.

Buying Refurbished GPS Systems

If you want to purchase a 4.3 inch refurbished GPS system, bear in mind that you're going to pay pretty close to the new price for the item. In fact, a cheap refurbished GPS probably required more repair to bring it to a quality that would allow it to be sold. That can be a sign that it's going to wear out quicker or possibly develop problems with very little use.

Compare the price of the refurbished GPS to the same make and model in both new and used condition. The refurbished cost should be closer to the new cost than it is the cost of used models that haven't been inspected and repaired. Also compare the price to other refurbished GPS systems that are the exact same model. The prices should be similar, so one that's much cheaper than the rest is a warning flag that that piece of equipment has probably been used much harder than it should have been.

Why Buy a Refurbished GPS

Many people who opt to buy a refurbished GPS system do so because they want a high-end system without the high cost. While some compact systems can cost between $100 and $200 and even less when on sale, many people want a more expensive systems with more features.

A fully-loaded Garmin refurbished GPS, for instance, might not cost that much more than a cheap model that offers only the basics. By paying just a little bit more, you can get a refurbished model that offers all of the best GPS features available like traffic monitoring and vehicle tracking instead of one that just offers spoken directions.