Mike Spera wrote:
XrayYankee wrote:
Trying to judge which will be more expensive at annual. A newer 172R or
S, or going very used, back to a 172M or N 1974-1979 era.

The "annual" will cost the same. It is an inspection, nothing more. I
believe we have hashed this point out extensively on this newsgroup. The
cost that differs significantly among airplanes, owners, and mechanics
is the cost to PREPARE for the annual.

Well, on an older plane, there are more logs to go and possibly more
AD's to check especially the first time a given IA works on the plane.

Of course, that being said, even the longer history pales in comparison
with the deferred and preventive maintenance and repairs that generally
get done at annual time.