I've got the 296 as well. I am very happy with it. 3000 user waypoints capable, as well as the Jepp Dbase. 396/496 has features that are not available to us like XM weather. 496 has 10hz position update rate.
Buy from a Australian Dealer. Any other bargain you find is just not worth it if you have trouble.
Once purchased, make sure it has the latest software version, as there were a few little bugs in the earlier software (nmea output etc).
Spend a bit of time on the web regarding prices.
185