The 92 is a really pleasant gun to shoot if it fits your hands. It's just quite big and heavy for what it is, compared to modern pistols. If you're not trying to conceal it under a t-shirt, that's not a big deal. The newer 92 versions are pretty slick.
The 96, though, beats itself to death in relatively short order. The very snappy 40 S&W recoil impulse is hard on the aluminum frame. ~10,000 rounds is about as long as a 96 frame lasts, from what I recall. Perhaps Beretta has addressed the problem in recent years with the 96A1, I'm not sure, but if all they did was add a recoil buffer I really doubt that solved the problem.
Most people will never shoot even half of what a 96 can take, to be fair. But I used to shoot about 18,000 rounds per year and I'll be doing that again soon enough, so I stick with guns that are built to last. I'm not going to buy a new gun every six months out of necessity.
I recommend staying away from the 40 S&W in general. You get no tangible benefit over 9mm; instead you get the most irritating recoil impulse of any of the common semiauto cartridges, including 10mm Auto. Less capacity, more expensive ammo. 40 S&W is a solution looking for a problem, and it's to be used solely for USPSA competition as far as I'm concerned.
