Garmin 740s or 741xs

[Matthias_1982]

Hi Everybody

I am currently outfitting a stell yacht with some electronics and other stuff. Now I have to make the decision between the older 740s radar combo or invest arround 700$ more for the new 741xs with the GMR18HD radom.
Do you think if would be worth to spend the extra money?
The same question I have is for the extra small instruments. Is it worth to buy the GMI20 or is the GMI10 still ok? If so in the past I have seen bundles with 3 GMI10 and the windfane, but I have not found the in the internet anymore. If somebody know where to buy this package still an information where would be nice.

Thank you for your help.

Regards,
Matthias

[skipmac]

Hi Matthias,

You know you can use the GMR 18HD or the 18xHD radomes with the 740s display? So it will come down to whether you see any additional features or benefits to the 741 display.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hi Matthias,

You know you can use the GMR 18HD or the 18xHD radomes with the 740s display? So it will come down to whether you see any additional features or benefits to the 741 display.

When making a decision like this one must also consider the industries "dirty little secret"...

Once a product is discontinued the manufacturer can/will only support it for as long as they have parts or as long as they can get parts..

On popular products the parts can vanish in as little as two to three years. At some point they have to pull the plug. They all do it, Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, Simrad, Lowrance, B&G, Xantrex etc., etc..

While some companies are better than others, and some products within a brand may get supported longer, they will almost always be supported less long than a current model.

This is why I try to avoid buying the discontinued product or any end of life cycle product. Just because it may seem like it is a good deal, up front, in the long run it is very often not, unless you buy two.

The good deal quickly vanishes once the product has been DC'd and can no longer be supported.. I see lots of folks, including some customers who I tell this same story to, make this mistake and get bitten.

My own plotters are no longer supported and I got less than 5 years of support.. The only reason I bought them is because I liked the old menu system, not the newer versions. I accepted the shorter product life when doing so and this was a calculated decision, and I already knew about the dirty little secret.

Best course of action, in my experience, for the longest product life-cycle, is to buy the latest and greatest. Not necessarily because it is the latest and greatest but because it will give you the longest service and repair life which can often be 10+/- years vs. just 1-4 years..

I talked numerous customers out of the Garmin 740's last year despite the attractive sub 1k price tag. Only one chose to go with a 740 but she at least knew that she was giving up future support life. It was painful to do because the 741 shipped well after they claimed it would..

These customers will get a nice long service life out of the 741 vs. the 740 which will likely get support for another 3-4 years, at best. It was a very popular product so parts could run out faster. They'd be pretty pissed in 4 years if they could not even get the unit repaired.

For marine electronics buying the brand new products, not the end of life cycle products, or discontinued stuff usually leads to the longest life on-board....

Two years ago I talked many out of the DC'd Ray products in favor of the e7, e95 etc. etc. in order to get the longest product life cycle. One of the products my customer was looking at buying is fast becoming extinct, likely by this spring.

I have one customer who bought a "left over" Raymarine autopilot for a steal. 13 months later he could not even get it repaired because Raymarine had run out of parts to even make the repairs. He paid more for the new course computer and display than he had for the entire left over AP.... Arghhh....

Something to consider anyway...

P.S. I really like the 741.....

[4arch]

The 740 has been on the market for almost 4 years as opposed to less than 1 year for the 741. I understand that the 740 was discontinued last year and stock being sold off now is closeout inventory. While there's nothing wrong with buying an older model if it works for your needs, the risk you're going to take is fewer potential years of availability of chart updates, parts, accessories, and official support.

[MooGroc]

I went through the same decision process. I went with the 740s. The added features on the 741 were not of much use to me (I don't use Apple products to connect to the wireless). Maine Sail makes valid points, but the price difference is so large, I
feel it justifies the risk associated with the product no longer being supported.

The 740 is replacing a very old Simrad CP33 that sill worked well - but it can't
compete with much new generation chart plotters like the 740. I expect my
740s to die of old age as well.

As for the instrument question - GMI10/20. I'm also trying to make a decision
about this. I'm tempted to not get a GMI10/20 and instead install a Garmin
541 (or similar) GPS that would have all the functionality of the GMI's and a
lot more for about the same price.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

When making a decision like this one must also consider the industries "dirty little secret"...

Once a product is discontinued the manufacturer can/will only support it for as long as they have parts or as long as they can get parts..

On popular products the parts can vanish in as little as two to three years. At some point they have to pull the plug. They all do it, Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, Simrad, Lowrance, B&G, Xantrex etc., etc..

While some companies are better than others, and some products within a brand may get supported longer, they will almost always be supported less long than a current model.

This is why I try to avoid buying the discontinued product or any end of life cycle product. Just because it may seem like it is a good deal, up front, in the long run it is very often not, unless you buy two.

The good deal quickly vanishes once the product has been DC'd and can no longer be supported.. I see lots of folks, including some customers who I tell this same story to, make this mistake and get bitten.

My own plotters are no longer supported and I got less than 5 years of support.. The only reason I bought them is because I liked the old menu system, not the newer versions. I accepted the shorter product life when doing so and this was a calculated decision, and I already knew about the dirty little secret.

Best course of action, in my experience, for the longest product life-cycle, is to buy the latest and greatest. Not necessarily because it is the latest and greatest but because it will give you the longest service and repair life which can often be 10+/- years vs. just 1-4 years..

I talked numerous customers out of the Garmin 740's last year despite the attractive sub 1k price tag. Only one chose to go with a 740 but she at least knew that she was giving up future support life. It was painful to do because the 741 shipped well after they claimed it would..

These customers will get a nice long service life out of the 741 vs. the 740 which will likely get support for another 3-4 years, at best. It was a very popular product so parts could run out faster. They'd be pretty pissed in 4 years if they could not even get the unit repaired.

For marine electronics buying the brand new products, not the end of life cycle products, or discontinued stuff usually leads to the longest life on-board....

Two years ago I talked many out of the DC'd Ray products in favor of the e7, e95 etc. etc. in order to get the longest product life cycle. One of the products my customer was looking at buying is fast becoming extinct, likely by this spring.

I have one customer who bought a "left over" Raymarine autopilot for a steal. 13 months later he could not even get it repaired because Raymarine had run out of parts to even make the repairs. He paid more for the new course computer and display than he had for the entire left over AP.... Arghhh....

Something to consider anyway...

P.S. I really like the 741.....

Valid point and one I do consider but based on the reliability of modern electronics decided to take the gamble. If my new 740s dies outside warranty then I lose but my experience with modern electronics the failure rate is very low so I think the odds are in my favor.

Ask me in abo5-6 years how that worked out.