I'm been thinking about a GPS for driving in Italy for a couple weeks and have been advised the Garmin 275T is a pretty good unit, and the only one with European Maps standard. (Garmin that is...) I bid on a couple units on Ebay and used ones sold for $137. Fry's Electronics is selling them right now for $130. They are "No longer being carried" and I take this to mean that Garmin is no longer offering them. Most of the Fry's stores in the Los Angeles area have 2 or 3 units, according to the sales guy I talked to. Carpe Garmin.
You can always buy European maps as add-ons to any Garmin model. You are not bound to models with European maps pre-installed. (But it is probably a bit more expensive to buy the European maps separately).
The GPS with European Maps was $130. Maps alone are $100 The list price for this unit is $250. I will probably sell this unit after I return from Italy in June.