I think you guys are confusing the issue!
No one can reasonably expect to recoup operating expenses on anything, whether it be a house, car, or plane! If you want to sell me something, I'm
NOT paying for your past operating expense, any more than you'd pay for mine! Besides, there is no way to subjectively compare one persons operating expense with anyone elses. I do my own repairs and wash the plane myself. The next guy practically pays for an annual once a month, and pays to have it detailed every week! How do you compare these expenses?
If a 150 was worth $25K in 1990, and it's still worth $25K in 2005 (corrected to 1990 dollars), it has had NO appreciation, and NO depreciation. If I bought it at market value in 1990, and sold it at market value in 2005, I broke even, regardless of operating expense (which I would have no matter WHAT I fly)! If I had bought it for $5K less than market, I could have turned a $5K profit, but it didn't
appreciate that $5K.
Upgrading is not necessarily an operating expense, either! The cost of replacing a malfunctioning component (like a simple Nav/Com) is an operating expense. The
additional cost of upgrading to a GPS/Nav/Com adds to the aircrafts value, and one could expect to recoup at least a portion of this
additional cost!
Upgrading merely for the sake of upgrading increases operating expense, with no more gain in aircraft value than replacing a faulty component with an upgrade, as above. You are unlikely to recoup much of the total upgrade cost, here!
These aren't tax laws we're talking about here! Let's simplify the matter, so we're not comparing apples and oranges!
BTW, my $.02 is NOT an "Appreciative Asset"!
