Laura makes a very good point. Of all the new film cameras available today, I believe only the Leica will hold its value. Yes, as David said, Ebay prices are lower, but my buying experiences on Ebay haven't left me with a good feeling. Reputable retail merchants like B&H and KEH will probably list pristine used equipment closer to new prices.
There are people willing to spend $4400 or more on a camera...... just look at the Nikon D3x (B&H price $8K) that will be obsolete in 18 months!
The D3x is targeted at a very narrow professional and high end amateur market, particularly those looking to bridge the gap between spending $25,000+ on a medium format system and "35mm" format DSLR, to meet their customers needs. Stock companies or advertising companies now want a minimum of 20mp resoloution in many cases. Nikon's product cycle for "pro" bodies is around 2-4 years, so it will be around for a bit. Sadly, when it is replaced it's value will very quickly diminish to under $2,000. By then, the commercial photographer will have made his money back many times over, and much of that is money that could not have been made without the proper tool.
That said, I don't get the $3k premium over its little brother the D3.
Not to get into a digital argument, but digital is actually one area where I can understand a larger investment, at least for a working pro. If you cannot satisfy your customers reqirements, you're simply not getting the job, like it or not.
That said, I could never see myself paying in excess of $5,000 for a 35mm film camera. While I can, being a very mechanical person, appreciate the quality of a Leica camera, it is well past the point of diminishing returns. 35mm image quality has very defined limits no matter how much you are willing to invest. With film bigger is simply better and there are many, even new, larger format systems that can far surpass 35mm quality for far less investment. To me a Leica is like a Rolex. You buy it for the wow factor, or simply out of appreciation for it's precision. But it doesn't take pictures any order of magnitude better than a lesser 35mm camera any more than a Timex tells time over a Rolex.
I suppose if I planned on carrying it every day for the next 30 years or expected it to survive the jungles of Vietnam I could see it's purpose, but for normal 35mm shooting Leica's just solve a problem that really does not exist.
Or, maybe I'm just making excuses because I can't afford one
