I agree. The price of my 396 was enough to make me gag.
But I use the thing every time I fly, and anytime I am driving to some place new, or that I am unfamiliar with.
I can offer some theories as to why they cost so much.
1) Ruggedness - Think about this, it is a device that can take the vibrations found in piston driven aircraft, and keep functioning.
2) On-going support. Think about it, updates to the software (not the databases) are free as part of Garmin's continuing customer support.
3) Development costs. Need I say more.
