What should I ask when calling about a used aircraft?

Tom-D said:
I guess I can tell the buyer that I've spent 25,000 to get my 170 thru annual.
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You aren't even making sense now Tom.

We all know you didn't spend $10k per year for 10 years to maintain that airplane.
 
Fearless Tower said:
You aren't even making sense now Tom.

We all know you didn't spend $10k per year for 10 years to maintain that airplane.
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See,, Like I said before, how much you spend at annual doesn't matter.

This 170 didn't have a cent spent on it for well over 20 years.

So I guess it will average out.
 
Tom-D said:
See,, Like I said before, how much you spend at annual doesn't matter.

This 170 didn't have a cent spent on it for well over 20 years.

So I guess it will average out.
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All I see Tom is someone who can't stick to the point that they are trying to argue.

Like I said - of course it matters....in the context of the given situation. You keep shifting between talking about annuals and a full restoration.
 
If you don't like haggling, hire a professional haggler who knows the market. The bid-ask spread on these airplanes can be significant, and you can bet the seller didn't do squat for market research before deciding on his price. As I've posted many times before, the most common answers to "can you tell me how you decided on your asking price?" are:

1. That's what they're selling for on Tradeaplane.
2. That's what I've got in it.
3. That's what it's worth to me. If I can't get that for it, I'll just keep it.

If you believe any of that crap, you're nuts.

cowman said:
As far as negotiating, I hate to haggle. Normally I just figure out what the lower end of what like items sell for and make an offer... about 90% of the time, the seller agrees to that knowing its fair right off and we're done.

With aircraft, finding another one with similar age, time, panel, condition is damned near impossible so I'm just falling back on the AOPA valuation. Are those pretty close? Seems about right but I know with cars Kelly Blue Book is usually a little high.


Gonna try to find time to make a couple calls tomorrow. Right now my top 2 choices are between great interior/panel with high engine time for a lower price and one with a panel that has everything I really want and a clean/decent interior and only around 800Hrs on the engine for a little more.
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Fearless Tower said:
Like I said - of course it matters....in the context of the given situation.
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In context of the given situation you really don't know what he is looking at.

When the seller comes up with a number you don't know if the number was upgrades or what. simply because most of the people here think that the check they write was for the annual, when in reality it was for the 13th month maintenance period, and all that happened there.

or wither they simply got ripped off on their bill.
 
Tom-D said:
When the seller comes up with a number you don't know if the number was upgrades or what.
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Which is why you don't just leave it at a single question - one question leads to another.

BTW, for your sake, I hope you didn't pay alot for the 170 if you have $25k in it and are trying to sell it. The market for '48s has not gotten better in the past couple years.
 
BTW, for your sake, I hope you didn't pay alot for the 170 if you have $25k in it and are trying to sell it. The market for '48s has not gotten better in the past couple years.

We should take this to the other thread - 3934V
 
They know it's the big bill they pay once a year. Why beat it to death with trick questions?

Tom-D said:
In context of the given situation you really don't know what he is looking at.

When the seller comes up with a number you don't know if the number was upgrades or what. simply because most of the people here think that the check they write was for the annual, when in reality it was for the 13th month maintenance period, and all that happened there.

or wither they simply got ripped off on their bill.
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wabower said:
They know it's the big bill they pay once a year. Why beat it to death with trick questions?
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Trick questions ?

The best question is, " can you get smart enough to buy any aircraft, or will you leave that to some one else"?
 
Yep, trying to parse the money spent on MX serves no purpose and is simply obfuscation. Labor, parts, sub-let, tax and freight are the biggies. What else can it be?

Tom-D said:
Trick questions ?

The best question is, " can you get smart enough to buy any aircraft, or will you leave that to some one else"?
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For the OP, one of the best pieces of advice I got a while back here at POA and I'll pass along is that if you are serious about buying, get plugged into the type club/ownwers' association for the model you are interested in. There you can get the best idea of what to look for in a specific plane, gotchas and any pertinent questions to ask.
 
What should I ask when calling about a used aircraft?
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When you have your list, including all the items you mentioned (radios, Vref, etc.) I would suggest that you turn it into a form. Seller name, tail number, contact information, etc. at the top, then all your items in some logical order.

This makes it a lot easier to compare airplanes and to make sure that you have complete information on each one. If the information is scattered on sheets of paper it is a lot harder to work with. You can always attach additional pages/web printouts, etc. to the standard form.

It is also very cheap to buy a disk with the FAA records on an airplane. You're not likely to get any blazing insights but you never know. Run the tail number on the NTSB site, too.

Edit: If you PM me an email address I will send you a Word document that you can adapt to your needs.
 
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Microsoft sells a spreadsheet program called Excel that makes it even easier.

airdale said:
When you have your list, including all the items you mentioned (radios, Vref, etc.) I would suggest that you turn it into a form. Seller name, tail number, contact information, etc. at the top, then all your items in some logical order.

This makes it a lot easier to compare airplanes and to make sure that you have complete information on each one. If the information is scattered on sheets of paper it is a lot harder to work with. You can always attach additional pages/web printouts, etc. to the standard form.

It is also very cheap to buy a disk with the FAA records on an airplane. You're not likely to get any blazing insights but you never know. Run the tail number on the NTSB site, too.
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Why would it require a "Real Mechanic" to know the material condition of an aircraft?
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As opposed to a "Fake Mechanic?"

Good luck to the OP in gleaning enough useful advice here to help out in airplane hunting.
 
I appreciate the input, even if everyone has a little bit different of an opinion it's helpful just to see them argued out, I find out about a lot I never knew I didn't know about that way. It's what makes forums great. Thanks, guys.
 
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