A wise person once said "A mile of road can take you a mile, but a mile of runway can take you anywhere"
That person was right! Over the past year of owning this airplane I have visited 30 airports in 2 countries, 7 states and 2 provinces. I put 102.8 hours on the airplane (113.9 flight time in my log book). Over the past year I have learned more about flying and airplanes than in the previous 10 years combined (to be expected considering that I nearly doubled my total time!). My confidence and skill levels have soared as I've gone through a series of firsts: first cross-border trip, first time landing off pavement, first time landing off airport, even the first time flying over 140 miles from home.
The ownership experience has been a perspective changing adventure all its own. No longer do I land, hand over the keys, pay my bill and go home. I have a whole new set of regulations to understand and comply with and decisions to make that directly affect safety and my financial well being. Unlike learning to fly an airplane, there is no training or handy course for owning an airplane. This forum has been my single most valuable resource through the purchasing process and everything I've dealt with as an owner. Thanks to everyone who posts bits of advice and your own ownership experiences!
Despite the challenges I would never trade owning for renting again. Owning an airplane has been one of the most rewarding and educational experiences of my life. Renting is certainly less hassle and very likely cheaper in the long term but this airplane is mine, I keep, maintain, and operate it how I want to. It's there any time I like, to fly whenever and wherever I choose without asking anyone's permission. That kind of freedom is what flying is really all about.
The costs are probably the most daunting part of buying an airplane. I divide my expenses simply: gas and other stuff. In the last year I spent a total of $13943 to operate the airplane, $5029 on gas and $8914 on everything else. At 113.9 hours flight time (the best comparison with rentals) this works out to $122.41 per hour, $44.15 per hour in fuel and $79.26 in other expenses. Prior to purchasing I was renting a 172 for $165 per hour (let's call it $180 per hour with tax). At that rate operating my airplane is cheaper than the rental as long as I fly at least 77 hours per year. My airplane is faster, more capable (800lbs full fuel payload), more comfortable (for the front seaters anyway), and much better looking than the 172 I was renting. This year's expenses show it to be quite a bit cheaper than renting the less capable 172, but that is deceiving. I've done no major maintenance (other than a new altimeter and a couple snags at annual) this past year and I haven't included any sort of reserve for engine overhaul or any other big ticket items. I think that on a private airplane keeping an overhaul reserve is a bit of a crapshoot. The last overhaul on my airplane lasted 1600 hours, this one could go 2500 hours, or when I bring it in for its annual this week the oilpan could be full of metal. I'd rather put the money into gas and fly the thing until it dies and deal with it then. I think that over the long term, as long as I fly often, the overall costs will be comparable with renting.
Despite similar total costs, cost is still an advantage to being an owner. The problem with renting (other than the lack of freedom that I alluded to above) is that the total cost per hour is billed every time you fly. As an owner most of your fixed costs are paid out at once, then your incremental costs (basically fuel) are much less every time you fly. I find for me, this is an important mental difference. For instance, on the last couple Father's Days I have taken my dad and brother to 108 Ranch for dinner (The poorly spelled "Hanger" restaurant has amazing burgers and really good food all around). In the rental 172 that would cost in the neighbourhood of $450, paid out that day. In my airplane that runs me about $115 (I make my brother buy dinner, so that's not a factor either way

The advantages of owning an airplane go far beyond a cold hard cost analysis and all the factors need to be taken into account when deciding to purchase or rent.
I've made a few observations along the way:
- I really like owning a yellow airplane, though I wouldn't be caught dead in a yellow car. Everybody's airplane is white with a stripe, my airplane's 20 something year old outdoor kept paint job gets compliments from fellow pilots and the public on a regular basis. (As the son of a bodyman I don't think the paint is so shit hot but the colour is nice)
- I love winter flying, but winter prep is a whore. I would really, really, really like to be in a hangar. I am particularly jealous of the guy who showed me his wifi enabled engine preheater and hangar thermostat.
- Having an airplane is great for the ego. When people learn that I am a pilot one of two questions is inevitable: "Do you have your commercial, or are you 'just' a private pilot?" and "Do you have your own plane?" I can answer yes to one of those. People often think I'm much richer than I am. How I'm somehow better off than a guy with $30000 worth of quads on the back of a $80000 pickup truck towing a $50000 holiday trailer is beyond me, but I'll take what I can get

- Back to the hangar thing, maintenance is a pain without a hangar. I have several phone numbers of AMEs but I can't really deal with any of them because I don't have a place for them to work on the airplane so I'm left dealing with an AMO which is more expensive (and understandably so, I'm not complaining about the cost for level of service that an AMO provides, it's just for most things I don't need that kind of service on a simple airplane like mine). I'm kind of playing the field as far as maintenance goes right now. I'd like to develop a relationship with an AME (or even the right AMO) that I can have maintaining my airplane in the long term.
- My Cherokee does quite well off airport, but its elevator authority is sorely lacking at low speeds. I have to be doing about 60 mph to get the nosewheel off the ground and I can only hold it off for about half a second after landing, that's not so good for rougher fields. I think my first actual mod to the airplane will be a set of vortex generators.
- I find it mind blowing how little most of the airplanes at the airport fly, why on earth do you own an airplane if you are just going to let it rot into the ground? I noticed it before, but I really see it now that I'm at the airport so much more often.
- Provincial transfer tax on a 49 year old airplane is criminal (especially when it doesn't apply to turbine powered aircraft, where they could really make some money).
- Buying an airplane is not the most worthwhile thing I've done in my life, but it's pretty damned close.