Buying a Used Sat Nav: What to Check

A fair price for a sat nav in good condition is around £10 to £46 (approximately $13 to $61), against £15 to £70 across the full condition range. Dedicated sat navs have largely been replaced by phones, so map currency is what determines whether one is usable.

What a fair price looks like

Condition on WishThrift is described by the seller against five grades, and nobody inspects it on your behalf — so the description and the photographs are what you are buying on.

Condition	Typical	What it means
New with Tags	£70 (~$93)	Unused, tags or seals intact
Like New	£60 (~$79)	Barely used, no visible wear
Good	£46 (~$61)	Light signs of use, complete and working
Fair	£32 (~$42)	Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part
For Parts	£18 (~$23)	Not working or incomplete, sold as seen

Sterling guide ranges with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). Sellers set their own asking price; these are a starting point for judging an offer. All five grades explained.

The checklist before you pay

An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.

Run through these before money changes hands — they are the things that decide whether a sat nav is worth what is being asked:

Maps years out of date with no update path
Discontinued devices with no map support
Missing mounts and chargers
Failed touchscreens and batteries

And the things worth paying more for, because they hold their value:

Lifetime map update entitlements
Recent map versions already installed
Complete with mount, charger and case
Recognised navigation brands

Common faults and fakes

Outright counterfeits are rare outside accessories, where fake chargers and cables are a genuine fire risk. The commoner problem is a device described as working that has a fault the seller knows about.

Ask the seller to factory reset and remove their account BEFORE you pay, and to send a photograph of the settings screen showing it signed out. Ask for the exact model identifier and, on anything with a battery, the battery health figure.

WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or grade anything, and no marketplace check replaces your own. If a seller will not answer a direct question about condition or origin, that is the answer.

Questions to ask the seller

These are the three that get asked most often about a sat nav, and the answers tell you most of what you need:

“Can the maps still be updated?”

Check the manufacturer’s site for the model and say. Devices that no longer receive updates are worth a fraction, and buyers check.

“Are the lifetime updates transferable?”

Say what you know. On some brands lifetime updates are tied to the device and transfer with it; on others they are tied to an account.

“Have you cleared your data?”

Factory reset it and confirm. A sat nav stores your home address and journey history, which you should not be handing to a stranger.

Also worth establishing before you commit:

Check the map version and whether updates are still available
Confirm the mount and charger are present
Test the touchscreen and battery

Photographs to ask for

If the listing does not already show these, ask — a seller who has the item will send them in minutes:

The unit powered on, showing a map screen
The model number on the back
The mount, charger and any cables together
The screen at an angle, showing scratches, plus any dead touch area

Details to confirm before you commit

Brand, model and screen size
Map region and version, and whether updates are still available
Whether lifetime map updates are included and transferable
What accessories are included, and that it has been factory reset

Live sat nav listings

Nothing matching is listed at the moment. Browse electronics for what is live now, or everything on the site — stock changes daily and new listings are free to post, so it is worth checking back.

When to buy

Modest and declining year round, since phones have taken most of this market. Recent models with current maps still sell to drivers who prefer a dedicated device.

Prices move against that cycle for a buyer: the cheapest time to buy is when sellers are listing most, not when demand peaks.

Paying and collecting safely

WishThrift does not process payments, hold funds or offer buyer protection — you agree the price and the method with the seller directly, which is what keeps the platform free on both sides. Meet somewhere public where you can, inspect before you pay, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed. Be wary of any seller who wants to move the conversation elsewhere before you have agreed anything.

Selling one instead?

If you already have a sat nav sitting unused, it is free to list and there is no commission — the price you agree is the amount you keep. Read how to sell sat nav for what to photograph and how to price, or what sat nav is worth at each condition grade.

Frequently asked questions

What should I pay for a used sat nav?

Around £10 to £46 in good condition, more for barely-used examples and less for anything with a described fault. Compare against the seller’s photographs rather than the grade alone.

How do I check a sat nav before buying?

Is buying a sat nav second hand safe?

Yes, with the ordinary care any private sale needs. WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or hold funds, so inspect before you pay where you can, meet somewhere public, and keep the conversation on the site. An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.