200 hours a year equates to 35 minutes flying every day. If that was required to justify a/c ownership I don't believe anybody would buy an a/c. (I certainly wouldn't have done).
To have to spend E60K to buy a "purely VFR" aircraft? C150's, PA38's, Luscombes, Jodels............aren't they in that bracket. My guess is that you can pick up a nice on of these for E35K (£20k).
A pre-purchase inspection for E1K? I have never had to fork out more than £100 cash and a lunch in a pub on the way home for one of these. E1K is two thirds of the cost of an annual!!
"Surprise E10K" annuals DO happen. To say they are "fairly common" is not really fair. I was speaking to my local M3 last week about this very subject. He reckons he has only had one annual/C of A that was over £6K in 9 years (on a light single). That was on a Rallye that had basically died due to corrosion.
As mentioned before, my post was not meant to be nasty, I just don't want Groundbound to be put off too easily when I personally feel that ownership has far more advantages than disadvantages.