Travel Technology - Is it possible to rent portable Sat-nav units at LAX?

I'm going to California in May and I've booked a Mazda 6 with Hertz because it was a good rate and is not a Ford Bore-us or similar (I'm not a big fan of 'standard' American rental cars but that's another thread.)

One disadvantage of the Mazda is that it is not available with NeverLost which would be useful as I'll be going into areas I've never been to before. Is there any service which rents portable sat-nav units at LAX so I could pick one up when I arrive? I don't have much need for one generally so I'm reluctant to buy one just for one trip.

Thanks!

There are companies that rent, just none at LAX that I am aware of.

There are however companies that rent them over the Internet, like this one:

http://www.avchicago.com/gps.htm#GPS

But rentals of a decent unit are around $28 a day ($14/day after that), so you are just better off paying for an upgrade to a car that does have neverlost.

An FYI. If you bring along a portable GPS, California law does not allow you to attach anything to a windshield (Minnesota seems to be the only other state that has a similar law). So a suction cup type fastener, might not be viable for securing a device.

BTW, I recently bought a small portable unit, the Garmin StreetPilot i3. It's about the size of a baseball. Street price is $300-330. So far it is ideal for my occasional need to figure out where I am (or going). Following is a very detailed review of it from a GPS BB:

http://www.gpsinformation.org/i3/i3.html

An FYI. If you bring along a portable GPS, California law does not allow you to attach anything to a windshield (Minnesota seems to be the only other state that has a similar law). So a suction cup type fastener, might not be viable for securing a device.


do you have any reference to this law? this is the first I have heard of it, and of course have and seen many people on a daily basis with all sorts of devices attached to the windscreen. GPS, satellite radios, not pads, cell phone holders, etc. I bought one about six months ago at Best Buy, and I guess if there was a law prohibiting them I wonder how/why they would be saleable in the state - since it is well, illegal.

thanks!
nicholas

do you have any reference to this law? this is the first I have heard of it, and of course have and seen many people on a daily basis with all sorts of devices attached to the windscreen. GPS, satellite radios, not pads, cell phone holders, etc. I bought one about six months ago at Best Buy, and I guess if there was a law prohibiting them I wonder how/why they would be saleable in the state - since it is well, illegal.

thanks!
nicholas

NOTICE TO STATE OF CALIFORNIA DRIVERS: California Vehicle Code section 26708(a)(1) provides that "No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows." Drivers in California should not use the suction mount on their windshield or side or rear windows.

NOTICE TO STATE OF CALIFORNIA DRIVERS: California Vehicle Code section 26708(a)(1) provides that "No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows." Drivers in California should not use the suction mount on their windshield or side or rear windows.


I found the above information on the california web site, but strangely that final line of the text,
"Drivers in California should not use the suction mount on their windshield or side or rear windows." that you listed was not on the california driving laws site.

Was that just added by you, or can you post a link to the complete law somewhere that includes such items.

on the california DMV site, the words windshield and suction yield no results at all. Also, a page search of the laws, doesn't have the word suction or mount anywhere.

I found the above information on the california web site, but strangely that final line of the text,
"Drivers in California should not use the suction mount on their windshield or side or rear windows." that you listed was not on the california driving laws site.

Was that just added by you, or can you post a link to the complete law somewhere that includes such items.

on the california DMV site, the words windshield and suction yield no results at all. Also, a page search of the laws, doesn't have the word suction or mount anywhere.

I copied it from the Costco website under the listing for a Magellan roadmate.I made no changes in it.

Interesting, I wonder why they would add it to the law.
as the law stats, as is sometimes typical, it is a bit ambiquos. It talks about obstruction, and field of view.

not sure if this is a complete requirement for suction cup mounts. I'll ask a mounty later today

Here is the notice from Garmin's website:

NOTICE TO DRIVERS IN CALIFORNIA AND MINNESOTA: State law prohibits drivers in California and Minnesota from using suction mounts on their windshields while operating motor vehicles. Other Garmin dashboard or friction mounting options should be used. Garmin does not take any responsibility for any fines, penalties, or damages that may be incurred as a result of disregarding this notice. (See California Vehicle Code Section 26708(a); Minnesota Statutes 2005, Section 169.71)

interesting, but again not mentioned anywhere in the california law.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm

The garmin site has simply added this text, I gotta run to BB later in the day, I'm going to see what is available there.

I wonder why the sites have gone to such length, to add all this text. as well, wonder why the state wouldn't simply put this information in there too, if that is the breadth of the restriction.

interesting, but again not mentioned anywhere in the california law.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm

The garmin site has simply added this text, I gotta run to BB later in the day, I'm going to see what is available there.

I wonder why the sites have gone to such length, to add all this text. as well, wonder why the state wouldn't simply put this information in there too, if that is the breadth of the restriction.

Why they would add it? CYA comes to mind.

Thanks for all this info. I think I'll just check the upgrade options and/or take a bunch of printed Google maps. I live in Bangkok and don't have an address in CA where I could receive this and I'm not sure that a rented GPS unit would get to me in one piece without huge Customs duty charges!

I found the above information on the california web site, but strangely that final line of the text,
"Drivers in California should not use the suction mount on their windshield or side or rear windows." that you listed was not on the california driving laws site.
The part in quote marks is directly from the law, the part outside is a "this means you" clarification by the store/mfgr. Since the suction cup mount is an "object" that is "affixed/installed" to the glass, it counts.

The law itself isn't any more specific because it's intended for anything stuck to the glass, not just suction cups or GPS mounts.

you mean the part in quotes, in post 5 above, correct.
for the part in quotes in my post, is indeed not in the law at all.