Well in the case of my van, we made a 250% profit on it *giggle*. But then we bought it in 1998, when vehicle prices were at an all time low (unreg Hiace Super GL only 950K... whuuuut??)
It's the high taxes coupled with relatively low cost of ownership that drives up prices of vehicles, especially used ones. Rarity is another, in the case of vans. 10 years ago, we would have turned up our noses at any vehicle that was converted to diesel, but now, diesel conversions fetch prices as high as the proper diesel version of that vehicle, the Townace KR4x series being a prime example of this phenomenon.
In other countries, the cost of maintenance and insurance of a 10 year old vehicle would be wouldn't financially feasible when considering how cheap new cars go for. A big part of this is the borrow based culture of these countries and how cheap borrowing is. Hell I was offered an E90 328 for "just $500/m with $5000 down for 3 years". Allion/141 driving Thel Hingannas pay more than that for longer over here.