Ryan,

Here's a data point for you:

After one year of ownership of a '70 PA28-140, in which I flew about 100
hours, I pretty much broke even compared to renting. My hourly cost is
higher than renting if you include things I "capitalized" (these are
improvements to the plane which increase its value, it's also a trick which
owners use to fool themselves when they look at the balance sheet and wonder
where all the money went). Most of my flying was for training purposes,
with several pleasure flights mixed in. I would say my plane is average in
terms of purchase price and general condition (in other words, the panel was
about 25 years old, and the interior/paint around 15).

In most cases, whether new or used, you'll need to keep the plane a few
years before the economics make sense.

New planes have high acquisition costs and will depreciate for the first
five years or so, after which things tend to level off. Maintenance will be
less expensive, or rather, covered under warranty, and total cost
(forgetting the loan you'll probably need to get) can be low as long as you
don't throw money at panel improvements, etc. However, insurance will be
higher because your hull value will be near your purchase price (required
for a loan, and I'd certainly fully insure a plane I just dropped mucho
bucks on).

Used planes have low acquisition costs and value remains fairly stable.
Your first year will likely be expensive as you'll want to fix things the
previous owner didn't, and you may want to add an improvement or two.
Maintenance will likely be more frequent as older parts fail: I replaced an
alternator, a tach, a rotating beacon, and fixed an oil leak at various
points in my first year. Insurance is usually more reasonable for an older
used single engine plane.

best of luck,
mark

"RD" wrote in message
...
Just wondering if anyone has some experience on the above subject. I'm
looking at building up some time (500 hours or more) within the next
couple
of years. My two options are to buy an older 172/Arrow etc or just to keep
renting which is very expensive.

If I can find a decent airplane, in the end, I assume purchasing one to
use
for a couple years will be cheaper. Am I wrong about this? Any pitfalls I
should be aware of?

A second question is regarding purchasing a newer 172. I know the initial
cost is more, but given the age is it probable to save money via
maintenance
compared to an older airplane? What about resale on a newer 172 (year
2001)
versus resale on an older 172/Arrow?

Any input is really appreciated.

--
Thank You,
Ryan