"JNugent" wrote
DavidR wrote...

This stuff is not inevitable. The thread may be bemoaning how complex
cars are and how they are scrapped when beyond economic repair but it is
what the punters want.

...but only because that is all the "punters" can afford.

If, after accidental damage, a car can be restored to its market value of
(say) £1500 only by the expenditure of (say) £2000 on repairs, the owner
will *waste* the £500 over-spend, with no hope of recovering it (unless he
somehow feels that a sentimental attachment to the car is worth £500 to
him) if he chooses to have the repairs done.

Agreed. But consider how often are we told by the likes of Quentin Wilson to
avoid poverty spec models because thay are harder to sell. Is there some
point in the ownership chain where owning the poverty spec becomes an actual
bargaining advantage?

What I can never be sure of is whether people buy the toys for themselves or
for an eye to (or fear of) resale value. I think the fashion for sunroofs
some years ago were an obvious contender for the most useless accessory
ever.