Originally Posted by ImportConvert

Lots of people have weak google-fu. They just want a quick answer. Society ties value to MSRP. They want to know how impressed they should be, basically. Or, if they know what you do and make the same, they might be gauging whether or not they can make the move to what you are driving. We ask a lot of stuff like that at work when we see someone in something we like. We give our co-workers first shot at our cars when we sell them, etc. No nastiness is tied to the "How much did it set you back" question/answer.