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Comment by apike | Hacker News Reader

Indeed. I don't intentionally damage new things, but people are often surprised that I don't agonize over keeping my phone, car, or laptop looking brand new. The idea of a scratched Honda sort bothers people, but idea of a scratched Audi makes people crazy. Why waste your energy worrying about this?

A Audi with some scratches is a very nice car, and an iPhone with some scratches is a very nice phone.

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> [the] idea of a scratched Audi makes people crazy. Why waste your energy worrying about this?

Because other people worry about it when buying a used Audi. And the obscene cost to repair auto paint. A carelessly placed shopping cart or thoughtless lean against the car in riveted jeans can cause thousands of dollars of damage.

I fon't think resale value is why most worry about it, but ptobably some. If scratches decrease resale value so much, it seems those in the market for a luxury car should seek out a scratched one.

There's the rub -- dent/paint repair costs dealerships next to nothing. They often have a guy on staff to do it. So dealerships won't sell scratched/dinged luxury cars, they'll repair them for pennies and mark them up.

But then you may end up worrying about scratching anything you own. Your phone, your leather lounge, your car, etc.

I guess there is a line-in-the-sand, probably around some dollar-value. I don't care if I scratch the aluminium case of my iPad, but I do mind if I scratch the paint of my relatively new car.

My parents-in-law are protective of their lounge. I don't mind. But I let my kids go crazy jumping on my own lounge, because I don't mind that either.

bumperless/caseless iPhone. Living on the edge!

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