I'm wondering if the PoA member who recently bought an Eclipse but hasn't posted that fact yet will weigh in ...
Hey, all.
I was going to weigh in on this sooner, but it took me a while to get all the way through the Beech Talk comments as well as those on PoA.
I am very familiar with both Ted and Ken, who posted many comments on Beech Talk. I have enjoyed reading many of their observations on the Eclipse Owner's website, as well. They are both very knowledgable people and they both have good and accurate points.
I was flying a Meridian for the past seven years and I really loved the airplane. However, I was looking for a bit more speed and capability, so I started looking around. My analysis lead me to conclude that the Eclipse was the best next step for me.
I did my research over the course of about 7 months which included several discussions with the company, other owners and the maintenance facility. I also read almost every thread on the owners website and focused on the negative threads to see what I was getting into.
I decided that I would only consider an iFMS airplane, which is the highest upgrade of the Model 500. Many of the early problems of the airplane were resolved with the upgrade to version 1.5 / 1.7 and the iFMS is pretty much fully functional. Without question, the iFMS system has some quirks that require button pushing when you really want to fly the airplane, but a bit of training gets you comfortable with the system.
The Good:
It is a truly remarkable airplane and is unbelievably cool to fly. It performs very well and is extremely fuel efficient. I have flown the airplane in all kinds of weather conditions and have been very happy with its stability. It is just a rock solid airplane and handles turbulence very well. It is fast and I burn almost the same amount of fuel as I did in the Meridian for many of my trips. It cut the time significantly.
The Bad (?):
I was a bit worried about the maintenance of the airplane, but when I spoke to other owners and mechanics, I realized that the average annual fixed maintenance was a bit lower than the annual fixed maintenance that I was paying on the Meridian. The Eclipse has several components that are prone to failure and are expensive to repair but so do all of the airplanes that compete with it. For example, the ridiculously expensive heated windshield is the exact same price to replace on the Meridian as it is on the Eclipse.
The Ugly:
My biggest concern getting into the airplane was the company itself. I was concerned about the stability of the company, although I did come to believe that it will be around in some form or fashion. However, I was more concerned about the business practices of the company. I agree that Eclipse Aviation is a bit controlling with regard to the airplane and that they have somewhat predatory pricing. However, it is important to me that the company survive and I realize that they need to make money for that to happen. I also recognize that all aircraft manufacturers charge a ridiculous amount of money for parts. In addition, there are no other airplanes that I am aware of which will allow the owners to upgrade to the latest version at any price.
However, a word of caution for those looking into Eclipses: do your homework. There is a big difference between all of the different versions out there and you need to understand what you are getting.
It is safe to say that I knew what I was getting into when I decided to buy the plane and time will tell if it was a good decision or not. There was just nothing else on the market at anywhere near the acquisition cost that could perform at anywhere near the efficiency of the Eclipse. In addition, it is a BLAST to fly!!!!
I hope this helps!
Very truly yours,
Abram Finkelstein
N48KY
EA50
Lot's of gotchas with jets, the difference in one with paid up engine maintenance vs one without is HUGE, those Williams engines are small, but pricey when they need work, just like any jet engine. 
