I bought my G19 new, coming in right around $450, maybe a few bucks higher. I carry it virtually year-round, with a few exceptions. If you add in holsters, belts and the necessary accessories for carry, I'd be somewhere in the $500-600 range, but that wasn't how I understood the original question.
As much as I like some of the high-end firearms, I am unlikely to ever carry one. After ~$800 or $1,000, I seriously begin to wonder if the extra money spent really translates into qualities that matter to me. Reliability, accuracy, carry comfort. Sure, it'd be nice to carry a $3,000 1911 that shoots 0.5" groups at 50 yards, but: (a) what are the odds I'll actually need that kind of accuracy; and (b) what are the odds that I'll actually be capable of that kind of accuracy in an SD situation? (Answer to #2: somewhere between slim and none.) What about reliability? Is a $3k pistol really more reliable than a $500 one? Maybe, but is it $2,500 more reliable? For my money, not likely. Especially when that would mean $2,500 worth of ammo that I could not buy.
As an aside, but not really a justification for carrying a less expensive pistol, if I'm ever in an SD situation, I also expect the police to take my pistol as evidence, at least for a little while. I can't replace a $3,000 pistol. I just don't have the money. If I had to, I could replace a $500 Glock. I would also be far less heartbroken if the police engraved a case number on the slide or otherwise mistreated a Glock than if they did so to an expensive pistol.