Why I Finally Stopped Renting and Bought a Plane (Cessna 182)

It came down to three reasons for me: Freedom, Frequency, and Finances. The rent vs. buy decision can feel like there are a lot of moving parts. But this three-part framework really helped make it more clear for me, and I hope it does for you, too.
Video chapters:
0:00 - Freedom, Frequency, and Finances
0:24 - Freedom
1:30 - Frequency
2:21 - Finances
2:44 - Hourly Cost Comparison
4:45 - Annual Cost Comparison
5:54 - My Rationale of the Expense of Flying
7:33 - A Financial Model to Help
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[@JH-tk6oi]

Well done video. As an 172 owner who is about to sell to go back to renting I think two things are equally important to consider- 1) Access to a good A&P- my plane has been stuck in the shop for 6+ weeks three times over the last three years due to mechanics being backed up, unorganized, incompetent, unscrupulous, etc. I found a great one, but he's not at my airport and a pain to get to....and he's 72 years old. Renting from a fleet of 10 planes makes it likely you will always have access to a working plane. 2) Cost of capital- If you are going to buy a $150,000 C182 and can get 5% return in a CD, that's a risk free $7,500/yr you can put towards renting. In the end owning your own plane is completely awesome and worth a significant premium.....if the A&P situation in my area wasn't such a mess I probably wouldn't be going in this direction.....but I have made the decision to not own a plane until I can do all the work on it myself (including annual inspections). At the end flying is such a privilege no matter how you get in the air- enjoy! Thanks for producing the quality content.

[@Ophidian14]

Counterpoint to #2, planes have appreciated greatly in the last few years, question is, will they hold those gains?

[@MrPFMneto]

​@@Ophidian14 which planes, models and how long? Other questions

[@Ophidian14]

For example Charlie is flying N916DF. It is a 1975 Cessna 182. He paid $95k for it in 2016. If you look on Controller I see the following asking prices for US-based 1975 182's: $199k $224k $129k $139k $199k $185k If you average these out you get $179k. $95k -> $179k in 7 years == 9.4% a year. That outpaces your 5% CD by almost double.

[@deepg7084]

​@Ophidian14 that is entirely unpredictable and can change at any moment. I don't think anyone would argue buying a hobby airplane is a good financial investment. For all we know these are peak prices and will only come down. For some people the financial predictability and stability of renting, and not taking on new debt, is worth the drawbacks. It's up to each person, but I wouldn't tell anyone to buy in the hopes of selling for higher later.

[@Juapo]

I am going to second the safety part. I bought my first plane right after my IFR. Going from club planes that were technically IFR, and having to change planes depending on the day, to owning my own better IFR platform that I got to know deeply was a game changer. Also the joy I get from opening my hanger doors and see my own plane getting bathed in the morning sun is pure magic. From your neighbor SW of you, flying an A36 out of Spinks.

[@thebadgerpilot]

My daughter is currently learning y=mx+b in algebra. For extra practice, I asked her to determine, based on my local renting rates and projected ownership costs, how many hours a month I would have to fly to break even owning vs renting and how much that would cost. My math teacher was right... this stuff is real-world important! Oh, the answer either way is I become poor!

[@ranjrog]

Wow - great graphics in this video. I can’t imagine the work in involved in doing that! Another point - I bought my 172 in 2017 and I am sure glad I did due to the appreciation in value. Not that you can always count on that but it sure doesn’t hurt!!

[@BO-dc4xg]

Inflation worked out great for me in my business. Bought a piece of equipment needed for some larger jobs, used it for 2 1/2 years, took go care of it, sold it for 10% less then purchased price! Took money purchased a good used smaller version of equipment and paid off some other stuff!

[@2968hans]

Well done video!

[@mattgreven7615]

really great video--thanks!

[@BO-dc4xg]

Really good video! Thank you. I’m kind of thinking maybe I can win a plane in a raffle ;) of course I could be waiting a really long time, lol. Seriously thought great explanation and will cross that road when I get closer to PPL! Your videos are very well thought out, fun and informative !

[@boogerwood]

Bought my Comanche for all the reasons you list. Unfortunately, Captain Murphy has already had his fun. First flight to move the plane to its home and the FBO towed it with parking brakes on. $3500 ownership baptism. Still looking forward to the fun!

[@muhammadsteinberg]

Excellent post! Having been an aircraft owner, I would highly advise following his advice on living within your means. What will make airplane ownership a nightmare is the unforseen gotchas. AD's that pop up, nav/com issues, random failures, problems discovered during annuals, oil changes (which I highly recommend every 30-50hrs). I been through it all. Fortunately I had the means to eat the cost though unpleasant. If you can stay ahead of those things, ownership, imo is the best choice if you fly regularly.

[@AVKingJamesBible]

Between the annual, insurance and a hangar you’re looking at 10-12 thousand per year. And that doesn’t even include the payment on the aircraft or a single drop of gas. That’s well over $1000-2000 a month without even traveling 6 feet in the plane. Then add gas and unexpected maintenance……. Unless you’re loaded…..like LOADED, a flying club is the way to go. My opinion.

[@DavidMiller-rw2gj]

My 3 F’s are a little different…if it flys, floats, or….it may be cheaper to rent. A boat is a hole in the water through which you throw money, a plane is a hole in in the air through which you throw money, a significant other is a hole…..you get my point. You have to balance it out. Last year I flew enough that it would have been cheaper for me to own, this year is a different situation.

[@SALFXEF]

If it has wheels propeller or t i t s it will give you problems 😅

[@z135210]

Another point to consider is the depreciation on the plane. If you spend $10K/year renting you're simply out that $10K. But if you owned the plane, after the year is over it'll still have value.

[@realulli]

I suspect that the rental planes are fairly cheap already if you have that bad availability, because they're flying almost all the time. If you rent from a more expensive place, you get more freedom at the higher cost. (Caveat: I'm neither a pilot nor in the US... ;-))

[@michaelsmith5463]

QUESTION: I know your not a CPA, but interested in your opinion: If I buy a plane, and rent it to a school (for example); would it be a legitimate expense to charge the cost of flight training through the airplane rental business?...Or, is there a better way to avoid the ~$100k for flight training?

[@scottervin9433]

All good advice, however I would add one more thing to consider. Certain types of aircraft you will never find available rent. For example I own a Supercub, good luck finding a club or FBO that rents almost any type of taildragger. Even if you do odds are it wont be in your area. If you are into bush flying, aerobatics, warbirds, antiques, home builts you’ll never be able to rent any of those. If I need a 4 seater cross country plane I rent, which is infrequent at best. Own the sports car rent the van 👍

[@josephsener420]

And if you can afford the fixed costs no matter what? It is the utility cost and value of knowing I have the freedom to fly!

[@lufasumafalu5069]

what kind of work you do in life to be able to afford this plane ?

[@Bill3558]

Owning my own plane is the ultimate freedom. I don’t want anyone else flying my plane. I don’t know what they would do to it.

[@scbane]

FFF is why I am buying a Kitfox 7.

[@pilot5092]

I was told once if you fly more than 50 hrs/year, owning is definitely cheaper than renting. Not to mention the safety aspect when you own the plane.

[@Saml01]

Try 100 but most of the value comes in the form of utilization and freedom. You can't take club or rental planes anytime anywhere anytime without incurring major costs if not allowed entirely.

[@golfbravowhiskey8669]

Although I never rented a plane in my life or belong to a flying club, well I guess you could say I rented that hulled out 150 when I got my license back '89. I have always owned but i have my own strip at the house and park in my barn here in east Tx, i do all my own work per se' on my experimental plane so other than fuel my cost per year is total is a few hundred bux not including the $1100 a year insurance that just 5y ago was 350$. Side note: Oct 89 at 19 years old I purchased my first airplane a little 152 commuter the Insurance was $118 a year

[@jdc137yeahboi]

✈️

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Their is also number 4... form as if all 3 are the same as rentuing form aka the airframe is different like in my area the only LSA I found you can rent is a Cessna skycatcher. Which in MSFS 2020 is honestly to light of a frame for my body weight of 220-230 pounds... I could fly it IRL but if I was not on top of it the plane will just give up and obit me in a downward spiral. Which heavier LSA do exsit and are fine... Which for me the cost of owning my own LSA is the same as renting so the deciding factor is getting an airframe that won't obit me in flight.

[@alanswanson5642]

Rent it back to offset the cash

[@technicalactivity]

simple answer: cause he became rich and have money to buy a plane. the only people to ever buy a plane are people who have enough money to even think about it