nschmandt
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the multiple posts, but people have recently jumped on some issues that are near and dear to my heart, namely the costs of purchasing/maintaining aircraft for the purpose of work/pleasure travel. There was a brief mention of the used aircraft market, and I wanted to relay my own, relatively recent experiences.
I was looking for a used plane in about 2014, and boy there were used Cherokees all over the place. Many of them were as cheap as the low teens, and even then when I called the owners, they admitted the plane had been on the market for years now without serious interest (many were surprised by my call, and had forgotten they still had an ad up). Others were more noticeably frustrated by the situation.
There was some market motion, but significantly more in the Cessnas than pipers, from what I saw. Cherokees were bargain-basement aircraft, and I ended up with a 1974 Piper warrior, 180HP conversion, low engine time on a factory re-manufacture, for $38K. Fortunately, when I decided to upgrade later that year, I was able to sell it later that year for about what I bought it, and I was able to do it within a month of first listing it, so I was lucky, and all the research I had done on finding the right plane paid off.
My sense is that there is market, albeit limited, for well-maintained aircraft, but once your airplane falls out of that category, your chances of getting more than parts value out of it are pretty much nil.
In late 2015, I found a Comanche, about 400 hours on a 2007 Penn Yann overhaul, and great maintenance records, passed a pre-purchase inspection, for $42K. It was the best deal amongst the Arrows, C210s, and others that I looked at, by far. This is quite a bit below what the AOPA's vref value had it at, but frankly I think that's about what they should be. They were having a hard time selling even at that price.
I'll find out whether it was a good idea or not when I sell it, probably before 2018.
That's my story. Would love to hear about other's experiences.
I was looking for a used plane in about 2014, and boy there were used Cherokees all over the place. Many of them were as cheap as the low teens, and even then when I called the owners, they admitted the plane had been on the market for years now without serious interest (many were surprised by my call, and had forgotten they still had an ad up). Others were more noticeably frustrated by the situation.
There was some market motion, but significantly more in the Cessnas than pipers, from what I saw. Cherokees were bargain-basement aircraft, and I ended up with a 1974 Piper warrior, 180HP conversion, low engine time on a factory re-manufacture, for $38K. Fortunately, when I decided to upgrade later that year, I was able to sell it later that year for about what I bought it, and I was able to do it within a month of first listing it, so I was lucky, and all the research I had done on finding the right plane paid off.
My sense is that there is market, albeit limited, for well-maintained aircraft, but once your airplane falls out of that category, your chances of getting more than parts value out of it are pretty much nil.
In late 2015, I found a Comanche, about 400 hours on a 2007 Penn Yann overhaul, and great maintenance records, passed a pre-purchase inspection, for $42K. It was the best deal amongst the Arrows, C210s, and others that I looked at, by far. This is quite a bit below what the AOPA's vref value had it at, but frankly I think that's about what they should be. They were having a hard time selling even at that price.
I'll find out whether it was a good idea or not when I sell it, probably before 2018.
That's my story. Would love to hear about other's experiences.
