Base level models from both Magellan and Garmin are around $200 if you catch them on sale. One thing to watch for is "hidden" update costs, which I've been told are pretty fearsome on TomTom. From my experience, the biggest difference between the Magellan and Garmin brands really is interface, and almost a matter of personal taste. Try to get a chance to actually play with the unit a little bit in the store, and see what works for you. For example, Garmin lets you enter a street, then look for the city -- which is great if you're changing destinations on the fly, and only are given the street name and general area. Magellan starts with the city by name or ZIP. I have a Magellan Maestro 3100, and it's worked fine for me. (You might check the car rental companies; I think Hertz uses Magellan's products for their NeverLost. It might be practical to "test drive" the GPS on a trip or with a few hours of a rental.)