IMHO please bear in mind:
1. If you put capital into a Group or buy an aircraft outright it may be some time before you find a buyer and in the meantime you are liable for a share of all running and repair costs. If the aircraft goes US, you have to put your flying on hold til it's fixed. Annoying if it was another Group Member who pranged it!
2. If you're hiring from a Club, you may have landing fees and/or travel costs to factor in. If it costs you £10 in petrol to get to the airfield and back home every day and £10 in landing fees per flight, that's effectively £20 per hour on top of the hire fee. That cheap deal suddenly looks less competitive and a slightly more expensive local option with landing fees included in the hire fee might work out cheaper.
3. There are non-equity groups who will charge less per hour but charge a monthly fee and have a minimum membership term (usually 6 months). Add in the extras and divide the total fee by the number of hours you realistically expect to fly. It will probably still be cheaper than hiring from a Flying Club.
4. Think about the type of flying you wish to do. What size aircraft do you want? What terms and conditions does the hirer have? I once tried to hire an aircraft for a trip to Scotland and they wanted me to supply a detailed itinerary so they could approve my trip and they wouldn't let me land at unlicensed airfieds - ruling out most of my options. I politely declined to do business with them.
Whereever you hire from, have fun!!!
