I have owned two Lances since about 1988. The first one had the factory A/C. (More on it below.) I had to sell the aircraft (N4498F) when I lost my job due to the RTC takeover of the Savings and Loan I worked for. It was a tough few years. It was 11 years (2005) before I was able to get back into flying and the first thing I did after getting current was find another Lance (N4306F) and I have had it since. While I had another job change about 4 years ago, including double house payments, etc., I worked hard to not have to sell this one as I had close to the exact plane I wanted. I am now back into heavy flying again this year.
As the the A/C. Unless you are based at a large airport in the south with a lot of taxi time, it's not worth the 70 pounds. I am based in FL and determined that my second Lance would not have A/C. You can't use it during take-off or climb. You can't use it in the pattern when landing. If you go to 8k or so, you don't need it during cruse. But, I am based at a large Class-C airport with a major Allegiant Air hub. (KSFB). I do spend a lot of time on the ramp and taxi-ways. It would be nice for that, but not at the costs. FYI, with my first Lance, I was based at a small airport and was only on the ground for about 4 minutes before take-off, so it did not even have time to cool us down before T/O. A/C maintenance was a big cost. At the time, there was a shortage of compressor belts and no legal substitute. The grove angle was wrong on any available belt. But, the A&P would install an available belt, but the live expectancy was short. AND(!), you have to remove the prop to replace the belt. Also, mine had the OLD Freon. I don't know if there is any STC to run newer Freon. If not, then there is another big cost. So, as I said, I will never own another Lance with the A/C. If I had to buy a plane with it, I would have it all yanked out. YMMV
I have had the engine overhauled in my current Lance. I did it at 1800 hours specifically so I could reuse the older, pre-problem, crankshaft and older, pre-problem cylinders. I had my local AI, who used to rebuild engines for one of the 'major' rebuilders, rebuild it. My overhaul in 2007 was $23,189.08. One of the biggest expenses at overhaul, and every so many year (maybe 7?), is all the oil and fuel lines that have to be totally replaced. Plan any overhaul to e near that limit. I did not plan well and had to replace 2 year old hoses.
If looking for a Lance, also look to see if they still have an operable auto-extension system. It requires some extra 'standard procedures', but it could just save your aircraft one day. I have had to fight at least one A&P that said "it must be removed per Piper." That is not true. Piper Auto-Extension is a topic that deserves it's own thread. Both of my Lance's had it.
I have a family of 5 (before the kids got married) and the Lance would carry everything you put in it. On one flight, after weighing all the bags, the girls put some heavy toiletries and other things in their purses and even sneaked an extra bag onboard. It was a hot summer departure, so I used the 8k runway. The climb-out was weaker than I expected, but it climbed all the way to 8000. When I got to the destination and started unloading the stuff, I realized what they did to me. To this day, I think I was over-gross about 150 pounds, maybe more. I have heard of people flying 300 pounds over, but within CG. I don't recommend it, but that is the story.
The older auto-pilot works well and my current Lance will even handle altitude and fly the approach. I highly recommend a Lance with the full auto-pilot. But, my first Lance did not have altitude hold but, even so, when trimmed out, it did not really need it during cruse.
Misc:
Recently, I actually flew a PA28 for the first time. It was tight. You will really enjoy the extra shoulder room in the Lance. Before the first Lance, I had a '68 C-182. Moving to the Lance was no big issue. The Lance on approach is stable. Just drop the gear as you intercept the ILS from level flight and it will just about match a normal glide-slope. Wait until below the clouds and then dump the flaps. After using the J-bar flaps, I don't ever want to use electrical flaps again. Landings need to be nose-high on the Lance. You got a lot of gear length in the front.
My Lance has a lot of speed-mods by the previous owner. I flight plan 145k at 8000 or 9000 feet using 15gph. Lean of peek will get you down to 14gph, but it will take more time and thus burn just as much fuel. Don't expect to fly above 9000 on the hershey bar wing. I have had it up to 14,000 one time to cross Lake Michigan to Greenbay, but it took a long-long time to get it up there. I added a 3-blade skirmisher (sp?) prop and love it. I have not flown a T-tail nor a tapered wing, but the gound-roll on the T-tail is much longer in the book than my normal tail. I would pass on the t-tail turbo version of the PA32R-300. Maybe it's better with the later -301, but heat was a reported problem in the early versions.
