The 172 has been around for many years and is proven to be a reliable aircraft. Parts are easily available which is very important coz you do not want to have your aircraft grounded for too long. It's like owning a Mercedes where obtaining spareparts is easy but if you own a Jaguar, you'll have to wait a while for parts. The Cessna company is also very established and you can be assured that they will be around for many more years.
-- Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:28 am --
For more info on the 172s

, checkout
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_172.