We had a discussion about this just last month.
My take is usually to direct players to signature gear, or a variant of equipment as allies that focuses on equipment rather than points. Like "The captain's boat" from pyramid 3/76. I dislike the point method, though it can become more appropriate if its an alien symbiote or something... but even then I like to buy the symbiote as a parasite that drives the thing rather than the thing itself, and buy the suit/vehicle as a machine.