Is this twin worth what they are asking?

Vintage 310's are at an all time low at the moment. Plentiful, in combination with their age and the economic times has made it this way. I see the slightest bit of recovery in the twin market from just 6 months ago, but it's still in the doldrums. I actually got a little more than I'd expected for my '53 Aero Commander, but that's because they have a bit of a fan club and a good following. And fewer were made compared to the 310's. Also, my new airplane I think I got for a pretty good price when I bought it 6 months ago - prices have risen since. Maybe for once in my life I might have made a good deal.:eek:

310's are good, fast, reliable planes. Pretty cheap to operate and parts are plentiful. Not a bad choice if one is looking for a starter twin.
 
If you want one in better condition with lower times and a glass panel, I have one, however it's not available for $10k
 
Have to see what the bid goes to a day or two before bids close. Seller may be trying to get an idea of what the aircraft is worth.
 
The autopilot is inoperable and the engines have close to 1400 hours on them.

What's the TBO on them? (260hp O-470's right?)
 
Depends on what you want to do with it and how long it has been sitting. I am guessing it's been parked in that spot for a while! :eek:
If it runs out OK, you might build some cheap multi time or you might spend $12K on a lawn ornament.:dunno:
It doesn't look like it's seen action since GW Bush was in office, maybe his dad? ;) If you are an A&P and want a project, this might be a fun one, but I don't think a really nice 310D with good engine times and avionics will bring much over $40-50K, and this one would need $50-60K spent on it, to be in that category. ;)
 
Old 310s are extremely good values for good ones. Most of the ones out there aren't good. Seeing ones like this in the $10-40k range is about right. This one is probably worth around $20k or so.

You have to want a vintage 310, though. It's getting hard to sell anything that's not an R.
 
N747JB said:
Depends on what you want to do with it and how long it has been sitting. I am guessing it's been parked in that spot for a while! :eek:
If it runs out OK, you might build some cheap multi time or you might spend $12K on a lawn ornament.:dunno:
It doesn't look like it's seen action since GW Bush was in office, maybe his dad? ;) If you are an A&P and want a project, this might be a fun one, but I don't think a really nice 310D with good engine times and avionics will bring much over $40-50K, and this one would need $50-60K spent on it, to be in that category. ;)
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40k would be top condition and avionics. Most fall be low that.

The twin Cessna people refer to the "D" model as the "dog".
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Old 310s are extremely good values for good ones. Most of the ones out there aren't good. Seeing ones like this in the $10-40k range is about right. This one is probably worth around $20k or so.

You have to want a vintage 310, though. It's getting hard to sell anything that's not an R.
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There's a very old 310 sharing T-hangar space with one of my students' C-150. It has about a 1/4" of dust on it and looks like it hasn't moved in a decade or more. But the paint looks pretty good!

Bet that could be had cheap...
 
LDJones said:
There's a very old 310 sharing T-hangar space with one of my students' C-150. It has about a 1/4" of dust on it and looks like it hasn't moved in a decade or more. But the paint looks pretty good!

Bet that could be had cheap...
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Yeah, if they gave it to me for free I might take it, but I'd be overpaying.
 
Henning said:
1700 hrs.
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In a Baron the TBO is 1500 hrs. I doubt that this is any different in a 310 since it's basically the same engine with a different accessory and mounting arrangement. That said, treated properly and flown often they can easily go double that.
 
The market is efficient and has priced it down because of the # of dollars it will take to make it flyable. I disagree with Stratobee as to cost of operation. Look up a guy named robert gerace for the real story...remember, the market is EFFICIENT.
 
bbchien said:
The market is efficient and has priced it down because of the # of dollars it will take to make it flyable. I disagree with Stratobee as to cost of operation. Look up a guy named robert gerace for the real story...remember, the market is EFFICIENT.
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Bob was having trouble because he flew with the attitude of "I didn't buy this plane to fly slow" and ran it as hard as it gets. Had the economy not collapsed I had shown him how much nicer everything could be by just giving up 5 kts and his future flying would not have been near as expensive in fuel or engine parts. He also had a T-310-R which has expensive engines to keep up.
 
Henning said:
Bob was having trouble because he flew with the attitude of "I didn't buy this plane to fly slow" and ran it as hard as it gets. Had the economy not collapsed I had shown him how much nicer everything could be by just giving up 5 kts and his future flying would not have been near as expensive in fuel or engine parts. He also had a T-310-R which has expensive engines to keep up.
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I see this as a pretty common thing, and wrote a series of articles on it for the Twin Cessna mag not long ago.

Basically you see people who have the money and can afford the plane pretty easily, and so they don't care about the costs. Then there are people like us who do care, by nature of being frugal or necessity (or both). I look at our costs on the 310 and we really don't do badly with it.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I see this as a pretty common thing, and wrote a series of articles on it for the Twin Cessna mag not long ago.

Basically you see people who have the money and can afford the plane pretty easily, and so they don't care about the costs. Then there are people like us who do care, by nature of being frugal or necessity (or both). I look at our costs on the 310 and we really don't do badly with it.
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My cost were pretty sweet and I still got 3 miles a minute.
 
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