Cost Of Ownership

[deltafox]

Reference: http://forums.aopa.org/showthread.php?p ... ost1672954

Buying an aircraft is a process of risk management - just like flying. Do your homework. A $35K aircraft will not cost $135K to get flying - again, if you do your homework. Manage the risk.

#1 Get your financial house in order (retirement, savings, blah blah) ..
#2 Find a mechanic. Ask others about his work. You will be giving him money.
#3 Fly everything you can - the local EAA fly ins are great! Get out there and fly!
#4 Learn everything you can about anything that catches your fancy. Get on the related type specific board (e.g. Beech Talk). Ask questions.
#5 Expect to spend about $10K on top of the purchase price of a "clean" complex aircraft - good advice and I'm only passing that one on.

Then if you find the right fit - buy something that will get you out of bed early and go flying…

I just hope my next post isn't a sad one about this new bird - but it is an airplane and all you can do is manage the risk...

[MrMorden]

Well, he's in Georgia, so the sales tax is 7%. It's what I had to pay on the $75.5k purchase price on my Sky Arrow.

There has been no sales tax on the purchase of used items, but that changed very recently.

I also had to pay an annual ad valorem tax of about $300 while based in GA. That went away when I moved the plane to Tennessee.

It's now a combined sales/use tax. You pay 7% up front, but no annual ad valorem tax anymore.

Thanks for that information. I'll remove the property tax item from my spreadsheet. Sales tax alone in Roswell is 7 percent. Is there a percentage you add to that for the use tax? Is it based on where you live or where you buy the plane? I think Eddie bought his from Hansen at RYY.

The law changed in 2012. They didn't want to do away with use tax entirely for political reasons, so they combined it with sales tax and now it's pay once / cry once, instead of a use tax bill every year. I bought from a private individual though, it might be different if you buy new from a dealer.