At the moment I am trying to decide between two different navigation systems and I am having trouble making a decision. The Garmin 196 looks really great and I know a few people that have them, so I know that they are reliable which is always good. However, knowing that it is a good brand, tempted me to look at alternative models. I found some really great alternatives which have all of the exact features that I want. I am reluctant to buy it though as I do not know anyone who has one and so I do not know whether it will be as good as it seems and more importantly, reliable. I have this problem with a lot of the things that I buy, not just the Garmin 96 and I think that it is probably time that I was bold enough to buy something that my friends did not already own so that I start to build up a trust in my own judgement. But maybe I will do that next time as I think I will go for the 196 model this time as I cannot afford for it not to good and not to work well.