First Purchase Price Question

Carl Orton wrote:

UPDATE: Between the time the original note was posted and now, the deal has
fallen through. Owner decided the plane was worth more to him even with
adding all the rework rather than selling for a loss.

That seems to be typical of owners who let a plane sit for a while - and is also
the reason the plane sits instead of being sold.

George Patterson
You can dress a hog in a tuxedo, but he still wants to roll in the mud.

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 21:51:31 -0500, "Carl Orton"
wrote:

UPDATE: Between the time the original note was posted and now, the deal has
fallen through. Owner decided the plane was worth more to him even with
adding all the rework rather than selling for a loss.

Thanks for the responses, though!
Carl

If I remember correctly Carl, you are located in the D/FW area, right?

There are too many ready-to-fly, already airworthy planes for sale in
the north Texas area right now.

You really didn't want a fixer-upper anyway... I can introduce you to
a fellow at my airport who thought he wanted one and bought a C172
that had been sitting in a barn for a few years. Now after a solid
year of working on it almost every day and some $40K+ invested, he
still hasn't been able to fly it yet, or even get it into the paint
shop yet.

CheckerBird!!!!

Good memory!!! Still looking for that elusive deal. Thanks for the pics of
the 150 at your airport. Never got up there to take a look. Have found 2
others in the general area here that are a bit newer ('70 & '75). Both dual
nav/coms, etc. Both relatively decent. And, importantly, flown regularly!

It's interesting how each new day is bringing me more new knowledge in this
area. Yet there's still so much more yet to be learned!

Big challenge now is the spouse. She rode in a friend's Bonanza last week,
and really noticed the speed difference on a quick trip up to Kansas. 2.5
hrs vs 7.5 by car! Made a big impact on her. I think I've created a
monster....

Carl

"Neal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 21:51:31 -0500, "Carl Orton"
wrote:

UPDATE: Between the time the original note was posted and now, the deal
has
fallen through. Owner decided the plane was worth more to him even with
adding all the rework rather than selling for a loss.

Thanks for the responses, though!
Carl

If I remember correctly Carl, you are located in the D/FW area, right?

There are too many ready-to-fly, already airworthy planes for sale in
the north Texas area right now.

You really didn't want a fixer-upper anyway... I can introduce you to
a fellow at my airport who thought he wanted one and bought a C172
that had been sitting in a barn for a few years. Now after a solid
year of working on it almost every day and some $40K+ invested, he
still hasn't been able to fly it yet, or even get it into the paint
shop yet.

In article , "Carl Orton"
writes:

Big challenge now is the spouse. She rode in a friend's Bonanza last week,
and really noticed the speed difference on a quick trip up to Kansas. 2.5
hrs vs 7.5 by car! Made a big impact on her. I think I've created a
monster....


Boy, do you go to the head of the class with that comment. Most of us try to
figure ways to get our better half interested in flying. You seem to have the
"problem" of talking your wife out of getting a better, faster plane.

I should be so lucky.G

Chuck

There's another problem he sounds like you're the first potential
buyer to contact the owner.

The problem with this is, the owner (seller) hasn't yet figured out
his precious baby ain't all that great. He wants top dollar--minus a
few for repairs--from you, the buyer. If you were the 4th buyer to
look at his plane, for instance, there would now be a record of 3
others looking and walking away from the owner's beautiful plane.
About that time the owner starts to figure out he's asking too much
and is willing to lower his price. But given that you're #1, he's got
nothing to lose by trying to get the max--and if you try to tell him
it's not worth that much, you're insulting him and his plane.

I went through this exact scenario more than once when I was looking
for an Ercoupe. Using the FAA database, I wrote owners in
N. Calif. if they wanted to sell--thus I was often the first person to
talk to these guys about selling. Most wanted too much for runout
engines, hangar queens, etc. Finally found one in good shape at a
reasonable price--I paid his asking price w/o negotiation, since by
now I knew it was reasonable.

("Bob Fry" wrote)
I went through this exact scenario more than once when I was looking
for an Ercoupe. Using the FAA database, I wrote owners in
N. Calif. if they wanted to sell--thus I was often the first person to
talk to these guys about selling. Most wanted too much for runout
engines, hangar queens, etc. Finally found one in good shape at a
reasonable price--I paid his asking price w/o negotiation, since by
now I knew it was reasonable.


Did it work out OK for you - money pit wise?

--
Montblack
"Styled by the laws of nature.............Concorde"

"Montblack" writes:

("Bob Fry" wrote)
I went through this exact scenario more than once when I was looking
for an Ercoupe. Using the FAA database, I wrote owners in
N. Calif. if they wanted to sell--thus I was often the first person to
talk to these guys about selling. Most wanted too much for runout
engines, hangar queens, etc. Finally found one in good shape at a
reasonable price--I paid his asking price w/o negotiation, since by
now I knew it was reasonable.


Did it work out OK for you - money pit wise?

--
Montblack
"Styled by the laws of nature.............Concorde"

Yes. This is a 1965 Aircoupe. Very few of these are "perfect"--most
owners simply won't pour huge amounts of money into improving what is
basically a $20K to $25K airplane, max. Occasionally you'll see
someone who does, though, and tries to get some of it back ("$70,000
worth of improvements, asking $40,000"). I doubt they get many takers.

So, my first annual was $2000, including an AD which involved removing
the wing and inspecting for corrosion. All I did was remove and
replace panels; I don't have more skills than that, so while many guys
could clean their own plugs, pack wheel bearings, etc. I didn't do any
of that. Maybe I'll start learning. A number of smallish-to-moderate
things were improved, things that weren't critical but were good to
do. For instance, when the wings were off some of the bellcranks were
replaced; replaced the old electro-mechanical-style voltage regulator
with a Zeftronics; and so forth. Basically a number of things that a
different, somewhat anal mechanic would catch, but nothing really
critical to flight safety.

So, my first annual was $2000, including an AD which involved removing
the wing and inspecting for corrosion.

My A&P has an Ercoupe in the shop right now, sans wings. They are waiting
for parts, so I don't think they like what they found.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:6aXnb.59211$HS4.304112@attbi_s01...
So, my first annual was $2000, including an AD which involved removing
the wing and inspecting for corrosion.

My A&P has an Ercoupe in the shop right now, sans wings. They are waiting
for parts, so I don't think they like what they found.

My Ercoupe annual was close to $2k this year with the removal of the wings
for the inspection. Had some other stuff done like replacing tires too. I
hope it's not another $2k annual again next year, although I'll have to find
a different inspector.