Greg,

You might mention what state or climate the plane has lived in, in terms
of moisture and how the plane was flown, if you can ascertain that.

I think the seller probably deserves more for his plane than a run-out-
engine price, but less than if the hours went on more quickly. Maybe
think in terms of valuing a 1400-hour engine.

There are a lot of planes out there with 15+ y.o. engines. The earlier
poster's advice is good: make your offer and see if there's a match.
The only reason not to make an offer is if you feel that the engine's
not safe without an overhaul first. In that case, buyer and seller
probably won't agree on a price.

If your mechanic can get a look at the cam, all the better. I probably
wouldn't spend more than 1-2% of the plane value on a pre-purchase
inspection, especially if you don't have a good agreement first.

Good luck!

-John

Greg Copeland wrote:
I've been shopping for a plane for a while. I'm hoping I found the
one but the engine has given me pause. The engine is 17-years old.
It has ~700 hours on it. The average per year is only 49hr/year. Two
years during that 17, the plane did not fly and I'm guessing it was
not pickled. The latest it sat was in 2000. During the last 6 years,
the plane has mostly flown some 32hrs/year on average. The engine is
a Ly IO-360-A1A. Compression on the engine is 74, 76, 74, 76. The
owner refuses to negotiate on the basis of these concerns and leaves
me nothing to mitigate some of the potential risk.

I spoke with a local mechanic today and his opinion is that it should
give pause but the engine may be fine and was seemingly encouraged by
the compression numbers. He recommends an oil analysis. His opinion
is the biggest potential unseen danger stems from the cam and an oil
analysis would address this concern one way or the other.

Comments? Would you consider such a deal? The mechanic's advice seem
sound?


Greg