What is the most annoying part about purchasing your own aircraft?

calberto

calberto

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Calberto
Hi, I eventually want to buy an airplane; I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'd like to know what to expect. I've heard a lot of different things about it, but what is the worst part? Obviously it's not like buying a car, where they are just readily available. Is it payment, transportation, registration? I wanna hear about it!
 
Discovering all the lies the PO told on the flight home.
 
I enjoy looking and shopping for airplanes, the worst part is probably finding one you like and finding the seller is unrealistic about the market. Second is finding one that look good, priced right and gets sold right before you call! :mad2:
 
Okay, so people are usually not that honest upfront about the plane in their ads? Like on barnstormers?

What about after you purchase the aircraft? What kind of problems do you run into then?
 
calberto said:
Hi, I eventually want to buy an airplane; I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'd like to know what to expect. I've heard a lot of different things about it, but what is the worst part? Obviously it's not like buying a car, where they are just readily available. Is it payment, transportation, registration? I wanna hear about it!
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Going in debt
 
You will find a lot of planes that would be a good deal if the owner was willing to sell at a reasonable price... they almost never will.

Everyone correctly will tell you to buy the plane you want with the panel you want because it costs so much to pay for the upgrades yourself. That said, it's damned hard to find a good plane at a good price with everything you want in it.... you'll almost surely compromise somewhere.

It is never just an hour or two down the road, you'll have to plan a major trip to go look at it, or trust strangers over the phone to do an inspection.

The pre-buy inspections frequently miss stuff.

Simple honest folk like me just want to write a check and exchange it for keys. Most sellers want something more complicated...
 
Its fun buying airplanes. Even more fun selling them and making a big profit and upgrading to something better :)
Its all easy to me.... I do not have any banks involved though, having to get a loan and insurance would be the biggest hassle.
 
Are there any services to have people inspect planes before you travel to buy? Is there anything like carfax?
 
What about delivering planes? I'm pretty busy. I can't just take a week or two off to fly a piper cub across the country.
 
calberto said:
Are there any services to have people inspect planes before you travel to buy? Is there anything like carfax?
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Most aviation mechanics will do a pre-buy inspection. They go through the logs, make sure everything works, look over everything on the surface. It's a good thing but they're not pulling all the panels out like they would on an annual and none of that guarantees nothing expensive will break an hour after you buy it.

No carfax but you can often find a lot just putting the tail number into google. Accidents reported to the FAA are public record, you just have to search for them. AOPA and I think other places offer Title and History searches.
 
How do you find a mechanic you can trust in the area?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I like to be thorough before I buy anything. I really appreciate everyone's responses.
 
calberto said:
How do you find a mechanic you can trust in the area?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I like to be thorough before I buy anything. I really appreciate everyone's responses.
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Ask someone like a CFI you trust or just ask on POA. Someone here probably will know a place to send you to.
 
There are ferry pilots you can hire to deliver it. It is usually cheaper to hire someone to bring it than to get it yourself. Search ferry pilot on Barnstormers. I like looking at the planes I buy or sometimes just buy them if its a good deal. If you don't like it sell it to someone else for more money :)
 
The most annoying thing about buying my plane is the restrictions on gear that I can install, including replacement parts, and the price of everything more complex than the screws that hold the inspection panels on.

And how long it usually takes for the annual inspection (2-3 weeks seems pretty normal).
 
Hank S said:
The most annoying thing about buying my plane is the restrictions on gear that I can install, including replacement parts, and the price of everything more complex than the screws that hold the inspection panels on.

And how long it usually takes for the annual inspection (2-3 weeks seems pretty normal).
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Buy experimental.. Problem solved.
 
The only problem with barnstormers for mechanics and ferry pilots I have is that I can't find past flight history.

I've heard the horror stories of getting bad ferry pilots. Lot of beautiful planes destroyed, cuz the guy hadn't flown anything like it before.

Any solutions?
 
The only frustration is coming to terms with your own unrealistic expectations. Everything else is pretty simple.
 
calberto said:
What about delivering planes? I'm pretty busy. I can't just take a week or two off to fly a piper cub across the country.
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You don't need a week or two (although take it if you can!). I bought a 182 in FL and got it back home to CA in 2.5 days...could have done it in two but we stopped in Vegas and that was they best experience ever (the cross country flight...not Vegas...that just cost me more $$$!)!
 
Don't hire a dumb F**K to fly your plane. Its not hard to find out what experience they have.
It is also pretty simple to tell the owner you will buy if he delivers....
 
calberto said:
Hi, I eventually want to buy an airplane; I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'd like to know what to expect. I've heard a lot of different things about it, but what is the worst part? Obviously it's not like buying a car, where they are just readily available. Is it payment, transportation, registration? I wanna hear about it!
Click to expand...

The actual physical transaction of title is pretty simple and uncomplicated. Bill of sale and registration transfer form, that's it except for the money. The pink copy is your temp to fly on.

Some people chose to do a title search, in higher value deals it's a good thing. Some people order the aircraft's FAA history CD, that can be enlightening. Then there is the actual prebuy inspection of the aircraft itself. The way I typically have that coordinated is so we do a basic opening of the airframe, compression test, and paperwork check. If the plane passes at that point, final negotiations happen and the deal is concluded. If it closes I have the mechanic go ahead and complete the annual unless it already has a reasonably fresh one. If it fails inspection then it just gets closed back up.

This is the selection and approval part, this is the PITA part of buying a plane, and the expensive part if you are trying to find a good plane at a low price, because you'll go through some or all of the process multiple times. This is why buying short term planes to 'step up' in capability is not really a financially wise way of getting into a plane you eventually know you want.
 
Awesome insight guys.

iHenning, can you please enlighten me on the PITA part of buying a plane. It may be a dumb question, but what exactly do you mean?
 
Finding the guy you bought it from didn't own it. The bill of sale you sent the FAA does not match the last registered owner on record.
 
Type rating into one can be a PITA. 10 hours dual because your insurance man says so.
 
Most annoying part of my most recent airplane purchase is making that big monthly loan payment on it :cryin:
 
realizing the useful load isn't actually enough to accommodate you, your bags, and all of your cocaine.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
realizing the useful load isn't actually enough to accommodate you, your bags, and all of your cocaine.
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If it's hidden in an inspection panel, you don't have to account for the weight!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
calberto said:
Awesome insight guys.

iHenning, can you please enlighten me on the PITA part of buying a plane. It may be a dumb question, but what exactly do you mean?
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Traveling around the country to see planes that are completely misrepresented on the phone and in photos.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
realizing the useful load isn't actually enough to accommodate you, your bags, and all of your cocaine.
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If you're hauling that kind of weight, they'll give you a bigger plane. Unless you're flying coke for the government, you never use your own plane.
 
The tax bill! About $16K for me. Ouch.

To address some of the other comments, pay a company like Savvy Aviation to help you through the purchase process, unless you know what you are doing. They cost me $900 and saved me about $10,000 by finding hidden problems with the plane. Don't even think about buying without help.

But owning ROCKS. Has changed my life in so many good, unanticipated ways.
 
Most annoying for me were owners who represented (and priced) their planes as NDH and were anything but. We kissed several frogs.

On inspection of candidate #2 we found skinned up belly stringers and a repaired/replaced wing rib once the inspection panels were off. The owner still kept saying the aircraft had never had an accident, wouldn't budge on price, and insisted we pay his flight expenses getting the aircraft to our mechanic. We told him not as represented, pound sand. He said he'd take us to court, we said bring it on. Never heard from the chump again.
 
calberto said:
Hi, I eventually want to buy an airplane; I'm not quite to that point yet, but I'd like to know what to expect. I've heard a lot of different things about it, but what is the worst part? Obviously it's not like buying a car, where they are just readily available. Is it payment, transportation, registration? I wanna hear about it!
Click to expand...


Going on aviation forums and listening to the sciolist pontificate about your aircraft without actually knowing anything about it and regurgitating internet myths and OWT's. :rolleyes:
 
I've been looking for my first plane for a while and I would say the most annoying part is burning money and time flying or driving all over the country to see an advertized "Prince" and finding yet another frog. I've burned a significant amount of money striking out. Consider a broker.
 
KeithASanford said:
I've been looking for my first plane for a while and I would say the most annoying part is burning money and time flying or driving all over the country to see an advertized "Prince" and finding yet another frog. I've burned a significant amount of money striking out. Consider a broker.
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I hired a broker. It was a good experience and still talk with him today. However, there is a cost. The good thing is that the costs are typically know up front do you can plan. My thought was if I am going to spend alot of money then I want to spend it well. The broker brought experience to the table that kept me from getting into a bad deal.
 
I have met some of the greatest people that i've ever met in aviation.

I've also met many of the slimiest. Owners, brokers, mechanics, the entire spectrum. I'm not sure exactly why, but many people in aviation make used car salesmen seem downright saintly. Likely because the stakes are so high.
 
Make sure you search for other threads on this topic.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
timwinters said:
I have met some of the greatest people that i've ever met in aviation.

I've also met many of the slimiest. Owners, brokers, mechanics, the entire spectrum. I'm not sure exactly why, but many people in aviation make used car salesmen seem downright saintly. Likely because the stakes are so high.
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Get into the helicopter world and it makes those people you mentioned seem like Saints.:rolleyes:
 
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