well guys I really have heard the arguments from time to time, I used to make a living out of kit building but then the cheap arf era biguin i now hav 2 planes 1 an Arf (far cheaper than a kit specialli in pattern beginings) and 1 unbuilt kit, I can say that manny people still turn to some one who has building experience when they want to repair or buy a plane and some others just cant belive that the crashed arf looks beter than new after a recovering job.
as far for the expence it really is not a question of monney youll invest acording to your wallet; but the pride of building and flying your built plane is in fact more than getting a junkie ARF....... I have invested well over $50 bucks in hardwear after replacing the original one after some abues!