Or was it during the crazy period when aircraft increased in value for a few years?
For about 40 years prior to 2000, many used aircraft increased in value by about 5% per year. That stopped as the bubble in the pilot population started to retire. Now, with values having decreased in real terms for perhaps 12 years, I think its really a very good time to buy a
used aircraft... if you want fly versus invest. And if you're going to hold for quite a while, I suspect values will start to rise again in real terms for good examples. Right now, we are in a "realignment"
My used aircraft ownership costs are dominated by monthly hangar expense... for a hangar that I'd want to have whether it had an aircraft in it or not. So I don't include it in my 'cost of ownership'. Beyond that its mostly fuel cost.
Buying
new aircraft will always be extremely expensive in depreciation, together with insurance on the high new aircraft value a dominant ownership cost for a private owner.