GPS question - European vs US maps

The Garmin 595LM is a pricey little beast. There are more than a few ads on ebay for NIB Zumo's with the European map set for up to $150 less (or even more of a discount) than gpscity or the garmin outlet store for the USA version.

Can I buy one of these and change the maps to the continental USA maps? Is the process difficult or simply a download? I assume the lifetime maps feature allows me to upgrade the US maps after the first loading (if this is possible). Are the two Zumos (european and USA) the same (software, excepting for the mapset)? Has anyone out there done this?

Depending on the capacity of the device, you should be able to load maps from both Europe and North America on one GPS. My Garmin 785T, a quite old model now, has both maps on it.

I have both map sets North America and Europe on my GPS, older Nuvi 770. No problem at all switching between the two.
If your device has a SD card slot highly recommended to load one of the maps on the SD card.

SMSW said:

I assume the lifetime maps feature allows me to upgrade the US maps after the first loading (if this is possible)

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When I bought my Zumo 550 only the maps that came pre-loaded would be able to use the lifetime update option. Garmin would not acknowledge the lifetime update for any map sets that were added after the unit left the factory even if what you purchased was a lifetime update card. I have no idea if it is still the same but if lifetime update for N.A. maps is important to you you may want to check this before you buy a GPS that had European maps loaded at the factory.

What Andrew said. The add-on maps aren't lifetime, so in addition to the $80 for the North America map, it's $80 more for each update. The first update will wipe out the $150 you saved up front.

They also lack some of the additional features of the built-in maps like terrain, buildings and lane assist.

Plus Garmin may not support the device because it wasn't intended to be sold into this market and may not have been purchased from an authorized dealer. (Don't know that for sure, but a lot of companies with regional pricing models do that.)

--Mark

Maps can be loaded into memory and onto the memory card. They can be activated or not, which can be useful for long trips and /or limited memory as in the 550.
I know that some usable maps were available on line for free for the whole of the Americas (a friend used them when riding from south to north, and loaded them into his 660), but I couldn't tell you where he got them from or how accurate they were. He had the EU version and the non-garmin Americas version on his satnav at the same time.
The LM versions of the European 590 / 595 come with genuine lifetime maps. When I had the 550, I bought a lifetime map option and these were perpetual (before the LM versions became common). At the time, map upgrades were available on a one off basis.

jfheath said:

I know that some usable maps were available on line for free .....but I couldn't tell you where he got them from

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OpenStreet maps are available here (and here). Donations help these guys going! Map installer for BaseCamp also available for many of the maps.

Every now and then, there are short lived links to original Garmin maps posted on the web (watch for viruses).....

Andrew Shadow said:

you may want to check this before you buy a GPS

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Blrfl said:

What Andrew said. The add-on maps aren't lifetime, --Mark

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jfheath said:

The LM versions of the European 590 / 595 come with genuine lifetime maps.

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I took Andrew's advice and contacted Garmin. Y'all are right. Here is what they said.

The map can't be changed, the only option will be to purchase a City Navigator North America map but, it is a one time, non updatable map. The better option is to purchase a zumo with North America maps and buy the extra maps for Europe. It's much cheaper to do it this way.
Thank you for choosing Garmin,Rich

An honest reply! And, John, I do know that lifetime maps refers to the product, not your lifetime. Garmin reserves the right to stop updating maps some years after the device becomes obsolete and not supported by them.

Or you could think about one of those Chinavasion 5" GPSs - waterproof and glove friendly - and save a ton of money if all you need is GPS function ...

SMSW said:

Garmin reserves the right to stop updating maps some years after the device becomes obsolete and not supported by them.

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Garmin also reserves the right to cancel your lifetime updates if you have not updated your maps for two years or more. At least that is what their website used to say- I haven't checked in a long time.

SMSW said:

Can I buy one of these [a European specification Garmin GPS] and change the maps to the continental USA maps?

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You can load cartography for other regions onto any Garmin GPS device, but there are considerable disadvantages to buying a device intended for use in one region (for example, an 'Atlantic' region GPS, which is the European model) with the intention of using it primarily in another region ('Americas', which is the model intended for use in the USA and Canada).

The most obvious disadvantage, which has already been mentioned, is the loss of the lifetime updates. Current model Garmin navigators intended for the motorcycle market get 4 updates per year. Instead of getting these free, you will have to buy each update. Financially, you will be in the hole after 2 cycles (6 months).

The less obvious but no less important disadvantage is that you won't get the region-specific basemap that is used at very wide zoom levels to depict topography and roads.

Many years ago, I used to beta-test moto GPS navigators for Garmin. I had numerous models, both Atlantic and Americas, because I have a ST in both Europe and Canada. I would occasionally intentionally load 'wrong-zone' cartography onto a unit, and the loss of functionality because the unit did not have the appropriate basemap on it was very apparent.

So, my recommendation is that you buy a device that is intended for use in the region you will ride in - Americas for USA & Canada, or Atlantic for Europe.

Michael