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Other things to think about before buying. Of every 3 people that start as student pilots, only 1 will get their certificate. Of four people at my local field that bought planes while students, only one has gotten their ticket. Two come out and work on their planes, but are not making any progress towards their license, the third is too new to make any judgement yet. The forth one that did buy, bought late in his training and did not fly the plane until after his checkride. It did not have all the instructments necessary for the checkride. He had not planned to buy, but a really good deal came along and he jumped on it.
Another thing to consider is what type of flying do you like. You probably won't know until you have flown for awhile. Different planes have different functions. One advanage of renting is that you can try alot of different types of planes. This is a real advanage to a new pilot. When I was training in a 152, I thought that was THE PLANE. After my checkride, I started flying alot of other planes. Now if I want to just do local area flying I'll rent a J-3 or a Super Cub. For short trips, 50-120 miles, I'll rent a 172. For longer trips, I'll go with something faster. For doing unusual attitudes I have access to a Decathelon. I hardly ever fly the 152 anymore. However, I'm very lucky in that my local airport has alot of choices when it comes to flying.
As an earlier post said, unless you fly about 200 hours a year, you will not be saving money.
In my opinion, the best thing a student pilot can do is concentrate on getting their ticket, pass your checkride, do some flying, then decide whether you want to buy and what type/model plane fits your needs.
Good luck and enjoy the flying.
Mike.
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