I think it's silly to pretend that all pilots are going
to be motivated by the desire to "get hours."

I think it is sillier to assume that your personal
experience is more applicable than that of the
'other' 95% of the new pilot population.

Gentlemen, please ... I appreciate all the input, regardless of which point of
view you are contributing.

I don't have huge aspirations regarding airplanes; then again, it wasn't that
long ago that I thought getting a private pilot ticket was a huge aspiration
(still do, actually)! Right now, I don't plan to go on long, cross-country
trips and don't plan on taking two or three passengers or a lot of baggage. Not
necessarily looking for an airplane I would keep forever, but would keep it as
long as it suits my needs, is fun to fly (subjective opinion, I realize), and
isn't a bottomless money pitt.

I don't expect it to be "cheaper than renting", but I would gladly pay the
difference for being in charge of arranging for maintenance myself vs. having
to look for another airplane to rent until some school is good and ready to
have something fixed. An added bonus would be not having to arrange my schedule
based on when the aircraft is available to me.

As for insurance, I have already gotten quotes, so I know it is do-able. Just
wondered what advice/tips people who'd gone this route would give, in
retrospect.