Would you buy an airplane that has a damage history?

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UngaWunga

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UngaWunga
I'm looking at a plane that has a damage history. It was flipped by a student 15 years ago. All the repairs were done and recorded via 337. I do plan on getting a thorough pre-buy, but would you skip a plane that had an accident in its past?
 
If it's unique and I can't find a better one on the market, the damage was repaired perfectly (as in no signs of it), sure.

If it's just a run of the mill 172/150/182/PA28, I'd pass.


On the other side of the coin, try buying a 180/185/PA18/etc without damage history, no such animal, it's ether documented or un-documented.
 
UngaWunga said:
I'm looking at a plane that has a damage history. It was flipped by a student 15 years ago. All the repairs were done and recorded via 337. I do plan on getting a thorough pre-buy, but would you skip a plane that had an accident in its past?
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no.. 15 years ago? nothing to do with now.
 
UngaWunga said:
I'm looking at a plane that has a damage history. It was flipped by a student 15 years ago. All the repairs were done and recorded via 337. I do plan on getting a thorough pre-buy, but would you skip a plane that had an accident in its past?
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Ask a taildragger owner. I don't think there's a taildragger over 10 years old that hasn't been groundlooped.
 
UngaWunga said:
I'm looking at a plane that has a damage history. It was flipped by a student 15 years ago. All the repairs were done and recorded via 337. I do plan on getting a thorough pre-buy, but would you skip a plane that had an accident in its past?
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Ask yourself....how many hours has it been flown since damage history.

You will find your answer based on that.
 
If it were properly repaired, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Very few airplanes these days haven't been banged up at one point or another if you really dig through the MX records.
 
Go for it,after a thorough pre by,if it's been flying 15 years,must be airworthy.
 
My aircraft clearly had damage history when I bought it. The step had a big weld in it. It's clear even before looking at the logs that it had been geared up. The logs yielded other shenaningans (there was a time when the engine had been swapped several times in a few months). Still the aircraft was in good condition, and no problems I ever had subsequently had anything to do with the prior damage.

Turns out the community isn't THAT big and I eventually got the "rest of the story" on some of the incidents. The "gear up" turned out not to be a gear up but a near one that the pilot went around when he heard the step drag (and snap off). The engine swaps was an engine failure (and one prior owner had multiple Navions so he just moved them around from plane to plane to ferry mine home after a failure).
 
So, dragging a Navion step is like a motorcycle rider dragging a knee through a corner? lol
 
Yes. The current owner lost his medical and hasn't flow much lately.

The plane is clean looking, and has had corrosion treatments. The logs are extensive and well documented.
 
UngaWunga said:
Yes. The current owner lost his medical and hasn't flow much lately.

The plane is clean looking, and has had corrosion treatments. The logs are extensive and well documented.
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What type of plane are we talking about? Rare or common? If common, I'd find another one to buy. If rare, I'd proceed with caution and diligence.
 
It depends.;) my 182 had a wing replaced in 1979, I didn't think it was a big deal. One thing to keep in mind is that known damage history will limit the market a bit when you want to sell it. The potential buyers will be asking the same questions that you are now. Some buyers will not look at an airplane with known damage history, others want to buy them for half price, and the rest look at current condition and will still want a discount based on the properly repaired damage. I would certainly consider buying it, but I'd want a discount vs a non-damaged airplane.;) I bought my Conquest with missing log books, I know the story, my mechanic had maintained it for 7-8 years before I bought it and I feel like I got a discounted price based on the missing logs. When I sell it I will have to discount it vs an airplane with complete logs, but I knew that going in, there is no free lunch.:D
 
I would in a heart beat. My last two planes had prior damage history. They were properly repaired and documented. I had zero issues with those repairs.

The only issue will be the tire kickers who have no clue what "no damage is history" means.

Most, if not all, 30-40 year old planes undergo lots of restoring maintenance and repairs, to include "damage". So long as the plane had the care and feeding and was in good shape....I'd say go for it.
 
My 1956 cessna has one or two times since 56 that there's been damage. I had no hesitation. It was repaired properly via 337 and it's a classic. No regrets. I need to learn to stop digging for my own mistake in the purchase... the more in-depth I get, the more mechanics, instructors, prior owners of similar models I ask about it, the more they tell me they looked at it and its actually in incredible shape and I'm lucky.
 
My flight school flies what they refer to as the frankin Mooney. It is a rebuilt aircraft that was made from the salvage parts of at least 3 other planes. Now the maintenance shop at the field (and also owner of the flight school) is a very well known Mooney repair shop, and they often take on this kind of work of rebuilding planes. The owner is constantly driving around the country buying and selling salvaged airplane parts. That Mooney flies all the time, and is one of the CFI's favorite planes. Take it for what it is worth. They have recently done this again with an old Cessna 150. They did major repairs, and then converted it to a taildragger. Now they can offer lessons for that endorsement. Granted half the CFI can't fit in the plane with a student, but oh well.

Personally, if the work was done by a credible shop, properly documented, and had a history of successful flight after that, I would consider it. If there was a no damage history plane that was similar and close in price, I would take that plane first though. With most common models this will be the case.
 
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Mine had a gear up in the sixties... Not an issue. The crook (aka prop guy) that did the last overhaul... Different story.
 
Thanks. The differing opinions here prove that it might take a bit to sell when it comes to that. Something to consider.
 
Properly repaired and a good amount of hours on the books, sure. I see no problems. Coming off a fresh gear up or run off the end of the runway, naw, I'll prolly pass.

My Archer had an overrun and full wing replacement before I bought it. As a matter of fact, when it happened, I was in kindergarten and I'm now almost 20 years into a career (without dating myself!) Plenty of hours on the books, healthy anual inspection before buying, I say go for it if the price is good. Does it devalue the plane? Meh, me thinks not really.

Undocumented repairs, well then, we now have a serious problem.
 
brian];1617317 said:
The crook (aka prop guy) that did the last overhaul... Different story.
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Oh please, do tell! :yes: Since we are local, I would like to "see and avoid" :no:
 
Airframe damage can be repaired to better than new. My 180 was wrecked and subsequently repaired by a sheet metal magician. It's a great plane and is no worse for the accident of 40 years ago. Lots of times you'll find airframe repairs in the logs and nothing about the motor. Investigate what happened to repair or replace the engine.
 
warthog1984 said:
Ask a taildragger owner. I don't think there's a taildragger over 10 years old that hasn't been groundlooped.
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Baloney. I work on lots of older taildraggers that have never been groundlooped.

Dan
 
Our Cessna has damage history, but you cannot tell unless you review the logs. As many have said, the repairs were done right and it has been flying 24 years since then. It, too, was flipped by a student that ran off the side of the runway in a crosswind.
 
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