A BSA Light is a super piece of work, and the average would have had to save a long time to buy one. But a really special thing to have in the USA, so I'd say worth the money even just as a conversation starter.
Pumpers are overshadowed by PCPs now. I loved my Crosman 766 but wore it out in a couple of summers. The recoilless action was the thing, and the childish pleasure of loading it with a bolt 'like a real gun'. I never bought another one, but at the club I did find a Sharp Innova remarkably easy to shoot and so light! But a plastic breech and barrel shroud? No thanks.
Like you, I preferred fine engineering. I think my Feinwerkbau 300 Junior is my best example of that - I haven't moved on to the pre-WW2 stuff.