Joe
Thats the sad thing that once there is an accident damage history the values plummet.
One bad apple in a group can destroy the group, cause a lot of bad feeling as people resent paying monthly fees on an aircraft they cannot use and who's value they see dropping because of the antics of one.
the problem of ownership is that any problems and they become your problem while with renting you walk away.
As i said my situation was probably not reflective of most groups and there are many which have been running successfully for years.
Obviously the more hours you fly the more attractive private ownership becomes but it makes me smile how many private owners down grade what they pay an hour in real terms from what they are really paying.
its almost like they do not really want to know the true cost