A different perspective
Levi:
I very much appreciate your response. I understand what you're trying to say, but as an early adopter of the 307/G5 combination, I can't help but look at it a bit differently. Let me explain why.
The GMC 307 is being produced for the time being as there are some customers who want/require this unit for certification or installation reasons...
I can't understand why anyone would want a 307 vs. a 507, but I'm no expert, so I'll take your word for it (seriously, not being glib there).
but it is not in the current Garmin produced marketing materials.
That's only true if you exclude your website from the category of "marketing materials." The 307 is being marketed on Garmin's website right now, and the marketing material on the website doesn't mention the 507 at all, and thus doesn't indicate that most (the vast majority?) of buyers would want the 507 instead:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/531504
If you talk to any dealer about which products to buy, they should point you to a 507 for a new installation.
I agree that they
should be doing this, since I can't imagine an informed buyer would want a 307 -- but are they
actually doing so? Has Garmin taken any steps to make sure they are doing so?
Or are the 307s in the pipeline being sold to people who probably would rather have 507s?
I fear it may be the latter. Note that online sellers--just like Garmin--don't seem to have marketing materials indicating that most buyers will want the 507. For example, here's what Aircraft Spruce's website says right now:
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/cata...MI5IeH5PDy4AIVg0OGCh0E0g3SEAQYASABEgKx9fD_BwE
Moreover, in the Q&A section, Aircraft Spruce is promoting the 307 AND the 507 for use with the G5 (rather than just the G3X), without saying anything at all about the differences between the two:
"[Q:] Which Garmin autopilot control head is needed for Garmin autopilot servos? This is a simple RV installation with only a G5. No G3 or other GPS Source. [A:] You'll need either the Garmin GMC 307 or Garmin GMC 507."
At least Spruce mentions the 507. Here's Gulf Coast Avionics. They market the 307, like Garmin, without mentioning the 507 at all, and don't even show the 507 as a related product:
https://www.gulfcoastavionics.com/products/4135-gmc-307-autopilot-controller.aspx
Here's SteinAir. Perhaps a live person at SteinAir would talk you out of buying the 307, or maybe they'd intercept a web-based order for a 307 to talk the buyer out of it. But the website sure won't give anyone a clue:
https://www.steinair.com/product/garmin-gmc-307-autopilot-control-head/
The GMC 307 is still fully supported and provides all of the features that were available when you purchased the product.
I don't disagree. But I think the change to the 507 was particularly meaningful, since I think the audio warning capability is a safety issue. I confess I didn't realize that until I got the 307 and it died twice with no audible warning. But I also suspect that Garmin, like me, realized at some point that they needed audio alerts for safety reasons (perhaps for the equivalent product in the certified market, due to FAA requirements?).
To me, a safety upgrade like this is different from other kinds of new features.
If you feel that the additional features in the 507 are worth upgrading for, you have that option as well. Garmin does not have a trade in program for the GMC, but you are certainly welcome to talk to your Garmin dealer about the best way to upgrade.
We're agreed that "upgrade" here means "buy a new 507 at full price," correct?
Please don't think that you aren't a valued customer because we continue to make newer, better products and work hard to keep costs down so that we don't have to increase the price of our newer products.
That's one way of looking at it. Here's why I don't feel like a valued customer.
From my perspective, I'm an early adopter, which is the kind of customer you ought to like. In fact, I removed a partially installed autopilot by one of your competitors, and bought yours, because I liked Garmin.
But it turns out the product I bought in the early days needed an upgrade related to safety. My experience tells me that's the case. But my only "upgrade" path is to ditch the old one and buy the new model at full price.
Meanwhile, it's very possible more people like me are being created every day. It looks like Garmin continues to sell the old 307 product in the pipeline, without taking any of the obvious steps, on its own website or with its distributors, to ensure that future customers get the 507 they almost certainly would prefer, rather than the 307.
This all looks like a customer service failure to me. What am I missing?