i need some help from yall-the experts
i have done some looking and notice price diff btw build vs buy new-3-400 diff. is it worth the diff?
do build guns appreciate-lmt upper kit/bolt group/charging handle and stag arms lower w/ adj stock? is this a good set up that would compare to a colt/bush reliability/durability etc...? or am i better off buying a le colt/bush that are in such high demand. i am not really concerned with resale now but i might be forced into selling latter on maybe bec my wife wants a fur coat and our fur coat money was used on shells for my new ar. i know colts/bush should have resale values but a super gun?

thanks

Guns that are all from one manufacturer generally will depreciate less than guns from two or more. With that said, my gun is half Oly and half RRA but that's because there wasn't a single company that offered exactly the rifle I wanted. If you find a Colt, Rock River Arms, Bushmaster, or any one of the other major manufacturers that fits your exact needs, go out and get it. The difference really doesn't show up until you start getting pretty specialized or decide to build more than one gun.

When buying a complete firearm there is an excise tax that makes it more expensive than buying the upper and lower halfs and then putting them together. You will probably save money buying an upper and lower half seperatly.

Buidling the super gun you speak of is very expensive, I have easily spent over 3,000 on my latest build and am still not finished. This is of course buying all top end parts. Also keep in mind that if this is your first build, you are likely going to have to buy some gunsmithing tools, which add to the cost.

My advice...

Buy a complete upper and lower; save some money. Learn how the gun operates and comes apart, learn what it is you really want out of the rilfe, then buy the parts to do it and do it.

My advice is to build it yourself. Here's what my build was, maybe it will help you decide. Ameetec lower, bushy parts kit, ergo grip, Magpul M93A stock, RRA upper, enhanced bolt and CH, bushy 16" m4 profile barrel, ARMS SIR 45M, phantom FS, arms 40L BUIS. All said and done, my bill was a tad over 1100$  The same gun straight from bushy was 2200$ for a savings of 1100$ that is now going to buy and eotech 552, surefire M900, and 10 mags. So, you can see that in my particular case,  it paid off great BUT my build was fairly specialized.(i did buy the  SIR 45M used in the EE though, but it was absolutely like new) I'm not worried that it will depreciate whatsoever with the parts I have, and the bling bling goodies never hurt.  I also highly doubt after you save enough by building your AR to buy a quality optic(or a down payment on a fur coat) that you'll worry much about it either. Quality will be just as good as anything on the market really, and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.