Costs of Owning and Operating Comaprison

[giaviv]

hey guys,

I'm looking into buying a single engine land for my time building and fun flying. I prefer a 4 seater (mainly 172's or PA-28, just because I've flown both), though a 2 seater would also work if the costs are too high for a 4 seater.

I have researched the web and I have an idea of how much insurance, tie-down and annual inspections are. however, I would like your advice on the dynamic costs of maintenance and operation. i intend to own the airplane for about 4 years and to fly around 500 hours during that time.

assuming a 152, 172 and PA-28, all in roughly the same mechanical condition, which is more cost effective? a 152 burns around 7 GPH, 172 8 GPH and PA-28 9 GPH (does that make sense?)
which airplane is more reliable and cheaper to maintain? what would you guys recommend for me?

thanks!

 

[Jim Logajan]

ok thanks. what guidelines should i follow when looking at online ads?
what are good TTAF / SMOH times for those airplanes? is there a reference guide i can read that will help me get a better idea of these details?

AOPA has an online tool called Vref that can provide a rough estimate for an airplane's likely market value. You can enter AFTT, SMOH, common options, and so on, and it will compute the change in market value. Vref is available only to AOPA members, so you would have to join AOPA first.

I have no idea how accurate the tool is, but it would be exceedingly unlikely that any given plane would actually trade hands at the amount it estimates even if it were dead accurate "on average."