Prompted by similar enquiry form elsewhere: I really think it's time Garmin did something about it really: the above response is >4 years old, and - surprisingly - when one purchases & downloads maps via GE, they are downloaded to separate temporary destination under 'c:\ProgramData\Garmin\CoreService\Downloads\' - and actually promptly deleted once maps are successfully installed on device.
It's been 5 years now. Is Garmin going to to wake up and start listening to the users who pay premium prices for their devices?
No. I expect the market for touring GPS will disappear when roaming rates get reasonable. The only reason I have a device is for bike trips overseas. But with data plans becoming affordable I can run Google Maps on my phone and have always up to date maps and far superior routing.
Google is fine for point to point routing but my Garmins with BaseCamp are far superior for planning trips.