Gary,
We paid $799 at Fry's for our 500C less than 6 months ago, when the equivalent Garmin unit was $1,500. So $499 is a darned good price.
We still have the SPIII and I've used both alongside each other on a number of trips. I've found places where the 500C maps are more accurate, maybe because Garmin isn't updating the SPIII maps (?)
We chose the 500C specifically because Chris kept coming back to it after trying numerous brands and models alongside each other in the store. Chris is definitely not a button person, so for her to choose this I knew it had to be the most intuitive to use.
FWIW the 500C uses the
RAM style mounts, adjustable to almost any angle. They provide two of them together (one short, one long) with a very good windshield suction mount and a handlebar mount (for motorcycle).
One issue I've seen with the 500C is an occasional "I'm getting hot, please cool me down or shut me off" message. That very bright 5" screen sucks up some power and, when the unit is mounted too far forward in the coach windshield on a hot sunny day, the rear mounted heatsink can't dissipate the heat fast enough. It's only happened a couple of times and only in the coach (not in the Burb), but I solved it by placing a baseball cap over the rear of the unit to reduce solar heating. Of course, there's a tradeoff since the cap is preventing some dissipation from the heatsink, but I haven't seen the warning message since using a cap.
Another solution to the above would be to mount the unit out of the windshield altogether, but that would require an external antenna.
I'm wondering if the combination of lower price and rebate signal a replacement model on its way. Maybe Lowrance had complaints or returns because of the heat issue ??? FWIW the larger Garmin had disappeared from Fry's when we were there a couple of weeks ago.
