$4495 - I’m just having a little sticker shock

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SinkorSwim

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
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165
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St. Charles MO or WDW Fla
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Display name:
HFC1969
First, I want to say the tech at Garmin was really nice and helpful.

Second, Garmin has a 5 day turn around to upgrade non WAAS.

Third, the cost $4,495.00.

Thanks for letting me vent.
 
SinkorSwim said:
First, I want to say the tech at Garmin was really nice and helpful.

Second, Garmin has a 5 day turn around to upgrade non WAAS.

Third, the cost $4,495.00.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Click to expand...

Here's an option:

Experimental owners can buy a brand new G625 for $5k when combined with a a G3X experimental EFIS.

So, find an experimental builder who doesn't need an IFR gps and have him buy the 625 with his EFIS package then turn around and sell the GPS to you.
 
kyleb said:
Here's an option:

Experimental owners can buy a brand new G625 for $5k when combined with a a G3X experimental EFIS.

So, find an experimental builder who doesn't need an IFR gps and have him buy the 625 with his EFIS package then turn around and sell the GPS to you.
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If that’s true, it would be cheaper to buy the g3x with g625 and throw the g3x in the garbage and install the g625
 
kyleb said:
Here's an option:

Experimental owners can buy a brand new G625 for $5k when combined with a a G3X experimental EFIS.

So, find an experimental builder who doesn't need an IFR gps and have him buy the 625 with his EFIS package then turn around and sell the GPS to you.
Click to expand...

Would that be legal in a certificated plane?
 
BTW, has anybody ever been asked by ATC if they are using an experimental version vs a certified version?;)
 
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kyleb said:
Sure. A Garmin GTN625 is a Garmin GTN625.
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i get that, but who will sign it off? for certificated one you can only by from dealer and they keep a fairly large mark up.. so unless you have a avionics guy who is willing to sign it off.. this is not going to work
 
Salty said:
If that’s true, it would be cheaper to buy the g3x with g625 and throw the g3x in the garbage and install the g625
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I don't think the bolded part is true. They want you to buy the G3X system. That's the screen, the engine monitor box, the ADHARS, the magnetometer, etc. That stuff adds up.
 
WannFly said:
i get that, but who will sign it off?
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The same guy who would install and sign off the used G430 you might buy off Ebay. It is a piece of equipment. They don't make a GTN625 in experimental version. They are all the same.
 
Exactly right. It’s certified and has an STC. Easy to install and easy paperwork. I’ve done this many times.
 
SinkorSwim said:
First, I want to say the tech at Garmin was really nice and helpful.

Second, Garmin has a 5 day turn around to upgrade non WAAS.

Third, the cost $4,495.00.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Click to expand...

But see that's the nice thing about aviation, it makes everything else look cheap by comparison.
 
with the advent of the skybeacon I'd just keep the non-waas 430. As to the money, I'd almost think selling the 430 and buying a used 430w would be money ahead, though I suppose the waas upgrade comes with refreshed faceplate and screen maybe?
 
hindsight2020 said:
with the advent of the skybeacon I'd just keep the non-waas 430. As to the money, I'd almost think selling the 430 and buying a used 430w would be money ahead, though I suppose the waas upgrade comes with refreshed faceplate and screen maybe?
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The ones I've seen come back looking brand new.

Garmin no longer supports the non-WAAS units. If it needs repaired, the repair will include the upgrade, which was $3000 a few years ago and going up every year. Seems like their way of keeping the price around $8k and pushing buyers toward the 650.
 
Funny, when WAAS upgrades were first available they were $1,500 (plus the cost to upgrade antenna and cabling, if necessary). It's a shame more folks didn't do the upgrade then.
 
DutchRoller said:
Yeah, aviation is expensive.
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And then I have to ask, at what point do you consider a cost under estimated by the shop to be unacceptable... I've had 2 things done on my plane this month and each invoice was about twice the estimate... one estimate at $325 actual $598. 2nd estimate $340 actual $691... And has anyone ever heard of having to "calibrate" an after-market EGT gauge? Doesn't it just simply display info from a temperature probe on the exhaust?
 
FlySince9 said:
And has anyone ever heard of having to "calibrate" an after-market EGT gauge? Doesn't it just simply display info from a temperature probe on the exhaust?
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I guess it would depend on the gauge. Mine displays relative temp, i.e. no actual temperature just 25° between divisions. If yours displays the actual temperature I could see how it would require calibration.
 
idahoflier said:
I guess it would depend on the gauge. Mine displays relative temp, i.e. no actual temperature just 25° between divisions. If yours displays the actual temperature I could see how it would require calibration.
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Yea, 25 degree divisons on it
 
FlySince9 said:
Yea, 25 degree divisons on it
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In that case, it sounded odd to me, but FWIW I found this in the C172 Maintenance Manual regarding the EGT guage:

"CALIBRATION. A potentiometer adjustment screw is provided behind the plastic cap at the
back of the instrument for calibration. This adjustment screw is used to position the pointer
over the reference increment line (4/5 of scale) at peak EGT. Establish 75% power in level
flight, then carefully lean the mixture to peak EGT. After the pointer has peaked. using the
adjustment screw. position pointer over reference increment line (4/5 scale)."
 
Brad Z said:
Funny, when WAAS upgrades were first available they were $1,500 (plus the cost to upgrade antenna and cabling, if necessary). It's a shame more folks didn't do the upgrade then.
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That didn't last long. Garmin discovered very quickly it was losing money at that price, and bumped it immediately.

It was $3600 not that long ago (seems like it anyway) when I did my GNS-530.

Raymo said:
The ones I've seen come back looking brand new...
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That is what my 530 came back looking like. Also updated and upgraded the databases.
 
Ryan Klems said:
That's a true statement, my wife has 2 hunter/jumpers and I have a T210L with an all glass panel, and I've never heard a word about how much my plane costs :)
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Finally a solution! Do you ask how much the horses cost?
 
FlySince9 said:
And has anyone ever heard of having to "calibrate" an after-market EGT gauge? Doesn't it just simply display info from a temperature probe on the exhaust?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly what it does. What brand did you install? This is especially senseless with regard to EGT, since the actual temperature is fairly meaningless. You use it to measure degrees rich or lean of peak and (to a much lesser extent) difference from other cylinders. This is why some of the older units (Alcor) didn't even have numbers marked on the display. It would make sense for a CHT gage where you're trying to keep the heads under a specific temp (400-450 or whatever), but not EGT.

C.
 
Well, since I pay for most of those too... I know exactly how much they cost. Just food and board for those 2 (not including vet bills, shoeing, transportation to shows/vet appointments when necessary, etc) covers the insurance, hangar, annual and a lot of avgas.
 
Groundpounder said:
I just got a quote to install a GTN650, Audio panel and GTX345. $37k. Ouch.
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On what planet was this installation to occur? I ask because based on that price, they were clearly not on this planet.
 
jsstevens said:
Finally a solution! Do you ask how much the horses cost?
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If you have to ask...:rolleyes:

My wife breeds, raises and trains Spanish Andalusian horses for dressage. Talk about an activity with a negative rate of return on capital. :eek: :(

I record everything I spend on the airplanes, but generally avoid tallying up the figures. Her bookkeeping is essentially "what the horses need, the horses get". Hell, her custom Sundowner horse trailer cost more than any pickup truck I've ever purchased for myself. I tell my friends when I die I want to come back as one of Mrs. GRG55's horses. They get treated a lot better than her husband...
 
GRG55 said:
If you have to ask...:rolleyes:

My wife breeds, raises and trains Spanish Andalusian horses for dressage. Talk about a negative rate of return on capital. :(
I record everything I spend on the airplanes, but generally avoid tallying up the figures. Her bookkeeping is essentially "what the horses need, the horses get". I tell my friends when I die I want to come back as one of Mrs. GRG55's horses. They get treated a lot better than her husband...
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Maybe we can start a support group, Horse Husbands Anonymous
 
GRG55 said:
That didn't last long. Garmin discovered very quickly it was losing money at that price, and bumped it immediately.

It was $3600 not that long ago (seems like it anyway) when I did my GNS-530.
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Garmin knew they were going to loose money when the WAAS upgrade became available. They offered the $1,500 upgrade price because they’d been promising for years that the unit would be upgradable for that price. Of course they didn’t originally anticipate having to swap out nearly all of the guts to do the upgrade when they quoted the $1.5k future upgrade price. As you note, that offer didn’t last long. IMHO, that was the best deal in avionics ever.

I did my 530 in late 2010/early 2011 and it was $3k all in. The plane already had the correct cabling and antenna so there was no extra work for the avionics shop. I would have done it sooner, but I didn’t buy the plane until 2010.
 
SinkorSwim said:
First, I want to say the tech at Garmin was really nice and helpful. Second, Garmin has a 5 day turn around to upgrade non WAAS.Third, the cost $4,495.00. Thanks for letting me vent.
Click to expand...

You could have traded that in for an Avidyne 440 for not much more and gotten technology from this century.
 
I recently self-installed a GTN625, PS Engineering 8000BT, G5 HSI (I already had the AI), Garmin GTR200 Comm and GTX335 transponder. Total cost: around $17.5k. I used the Approach Fast Stack hub, which made it damn near plug and play (that's a gross over-simplicifation).
 
Brad Z said:
Funny, when WAAS upgrades were first available they were $1,500 (plus the cost to upgrade antenna and cabling, if necessary). It's a shame more folks didn't do the upgrade then.
Click to expand...

We got one of the $1500 upgrades, but Garmin lost money on those. The price was upped to $3K before the upgrade even became available once they figured out how difficult it was going to be. And that was after buying UPSAT and their CNX80 (later GNS 480).

Groundpounder said:
I just got a quote to install a GTN650, Audio panel and GTX345. $37k. Ouch.
Click to expand...

Ryan Klems said:
In to what? That sounds like a "go-away" price.
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It's not completely out of line. We had a 750, GMA350c, GTX345, and FlightStream 510 for $37,685. That's the "it gets done right the first time" price. Granted, the 750 retails for $5500 more, but if you're in an expensive area (CA, northeast, etc) this isn't an awful quote.
 
Groundpounder said:
I just got a quote to install a GTN650, Audio panel and GTX345. $37k. Ouch.
Click to expand...
Ouch.. I have a quote from a couple weeks ago.... 15K for GTN 650 and CDI installed. But then I would need to add an audio panel and move Com (1) down for Com (2) ~23K
 
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