Humminbird 597 Vs 688

[JJBat150]

I currently have a 597CI that I move around from Boat to Kayak to a Portable unit for ice fishing and run the Navtronics maps card in it.  (Both the kayak and boat have transducer & power cabling permanently installed).

I stumbled upon an opportunity to purchase a used 597CI with ~1000 hours usage on it, but is damaged and won't read the SD Card - all other functions seem OK.

 

I Contacted Humminbird support, and they gave me a flat rate of $255 for repair.

So....

$200 to purchase unit
$245 for flat rate repair.

$445 for a  "factory fresh" unit.  

The dilemma :

For around the same price, I can purchase a new 688CI HD that would use the same transducer and mounting base as the 597, so I could move that around as necessary, and not have to change anything. - I realize that if I got the down imaging model, the transducers aren't interchangeable but honestly not too interested in that option.

Looking at the specs of the 2 units, the only real difference I see is that 597 has a higher screen resolution (640X640) then the 688 (480X640).  I'm sure the 688 has a faster processer, so there maybe a bit of performance gain.

Looking to see if anyone has hands-on experience with the 688 series compared to the 597 series ?  

Anyone have experience with Humminbird's repair service for an issue like this ?

[ERABBIT]

Anyone have experience with Humminbird's repair service for an issue like this ?

 

I had a 788 repaired for the SD card insert , repair looked like someone with all thumbs would do ( like me ).... in a post on here I stated that and one of there test people on here gave them a heads up on my post  as well as the person I had replied to..... after I took some pictures and sent them in a e-mail they told me to send my unit back to them and they would replace it. I replied unit worked and I would send it back after the season was over........... the shipped a new unit to me in a few days with a slip to send mine back..... very happy  customer service follow up after a poor repair job......... 

[Yankee Troller]

I'm running the 688 Ice machine. Never ran the 597. But you have noted the two major differences in your post for those units. One other is the 688 comes with the 3 pre-set buttons for your favorite screens.