What any aircraft is "worth" to you, is directly proportionate to your "needs" (or "desires"?).
I spent years (literally) dreaming of my first plane, and weighing one aircraft's advantages and disadvantages against all the others. My needs and desires required only that I get airborne. My income required that it be inexpensive. It became a short list, so I couldn't afford to buy anything that might be a "waste of money"!
Having spent years researching my dream, I found that the more you pay for an aircraft, the more fluid the market is. When the economy sours, the more expensive aircraft is likely to loose market value, while the least expensive aircraft does not, and may even gain value. My 150 is worth a little more today than it was when I bought it!
If you require 4 seats, long range, and higher speeds, a 150/152 is a waste of money (and the price of larger aircraft is down). If you don't, anything bigger is a waste of money! What did your snobbish friends train in? LearJets?
