In article , Michael wrote:
The Toyota (a small one providing only somewhat better comfort than a
C-150, rather than a larger one providing dramatically better comfort)
is going to get 40+ mpg. The C-150 will be lucky to get 15, and the
gas costs more.

But the Toyota doesn't fly.

We bought the C140 for $20K, and it's currently being sold for $22K
despite a few hundred extra hours on the airframe. A $20K Toyota would
have depreciated by at least $6K over 4 years. The delta is $8K. We've
nowhere near paid $8K on maintaining the beast. Even if the plane was
sold for the same price as bought, that'd still be a $6K and would still
have paid for the maintenance quite adequately.

This is why I don't buy new cars. My current car when new was 20K. I
bought it for 4K, and all it's needed has been routine maintenance. I'll
take the risk on major things going wrong if it (a) means I don't need
to pay interest on a car loan and (b) don't have to pay 16K of
depreciation. The car's in good condition and should last me at least 10
years.

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"