XV255,
congratulations to your brand new PPL! Safe flying and have a lot of fun!
Re first airplane for a brand new PPL, that is one we've done many times over. The question you should ask yourself very sincerely and answer it as honestly as you can is:
What are my goals? Where do I want to fly to? Where am I going with this license in a few years time.
Buying an airplane is quite easy, reselling if you grow out of it is a totally different story these days. So there is a real purpose behind the advice you are about to get: Buy a bit bigger than you think you need right now.
The other trap 1st buyers often fall into is believing that "small" equals "cheap". It doesn't, at least often enough not.
For a 1st buy, I'd go for something which
- is a common type
- has a common type engine
- has a uncritical payload
- is economical to run
- is "buy and fly" (no upcoming major maintenance)
- gives you the most bang for the buck.
and in many cases: Is registered in the country you want to fly it. Import and reg change may cost quite a bit of money.
Common type with common engine pretty directly translates in maintenance cost. Most shops know how to service a PA28 or a C172. Bring in a Ryan Navion or a Sport Cruiser and they need to look up the books, order parts from heaven knows where and so on. My own experience has taught me that a plane which is almost universally repairable, has engines and parts everyone knows and can fix will in the end give you a much more relaxed flying experience than having ground times of weeks until one obscure part has been found.
On top of that: Many of those airplanes are cheap to buy and deliver honest and forgiving performance.
As an example, the PA28-140 is one first plane which fits this pocket perfectly.
Here is one G-Registered PA28 which I could imagine as a first plane.
Asking €19.6k, it appears to be under offer. MOGAS STC, Mode S, 600+400 hours left on the engine, looks fine. Will need upgraded radios eventually.
This PA28-140 is better equipped and has very few hours on engine and prop.
Asking £22.5, this looks very much like a buy and fly plane. Mode S, 8.33 khz in a GNS430 and less than 300 hrs on both engine and prop.
That doesn't mean I recommend any of those planes for immediate buy, there is more to it, like a pre-buy inspection which you need for anything, but just some indicators what can be had as fairly budget planes.
If you want to go towards modern 2 seaters, do inform yourself about restrictions they may have. UL's are fun, but often very payload challenged and restricted in where you can fly with them. There are other very cheap planes around, such as loads of Moranes and Robins, which can do the job nicely. I don't have any experience in those therefore I won't comment.
What is definitly a good idea is to go out renting or test flying a number of different types to see what you want. I'd see to it that you can fly all the usual suspects someplace, PA28, C172/182, M20, PARO, Robins, and see what suits you best.
Have fun. Buying is mostly a rather fun process and you learn a lot.