I think that our planes are so old and the condition of the airplanes varies so much that the "average" cost of an annual can be highly subjective.
I don't think you paid $5700 for an annual inspection, you paid $5700 for an annual inspection and repairs. The repairs being the lion's share of the bill.
I would suggest requesting an itemized bill and going over it to see where all the expense was.
An annual inspection of a 150 should take about 12 to 15 shop hours for a shop familiar with 150s. Multiply that by the shop rate and that's what an annual should cost.
What the inspection finds that requires repair is another story.
Ways to keep the cost down include:
Find a shop that is familiar with 150s and asking ahead of time how many hours they bill for an inspection on a 150 and what their shop rate is.
Set up an agreement with the shop where the discrepancies found during the inspection are gone over with you prior to beginning repairs. Get estimates for the repairs and decide which repairs are mandatory and which can be safely deferred.
Find a shop/mechanic who does owner assisted annual inspections. The previous shop I used would take 4 hours off of the inspection if I opened up the plane and closed it up for them. That worked well until their insurance put a stop to the practice. Currently, I use a neighbor who works out of his hangar behind his house. Any time I save him by doing things myself is savings for me.
Shop around for parts. Find a shop that is OK with you providing your own parts and shop around. There are quite a few options regarding items such as throttle cables, you don't have to go with Cessna parts on things like that.
$5700 is a bit of a shocker. How much did that carburetor cost?
What David says!
Especially the part:
Find a shop/mechanic who does owner assisted annual inspections. The previous shop I used would take 4 hours off of the inspection if I opened up the plane and closed it up for them. That worked well until their insurance put a stop to the practice. Currently, I use a neighbor who works out of his hangar behind his house. Any time I save him by doing things myself is savings for me.
My annual presently costs $300 and spending the day assisting. I do not include the costs of repairs in that figure.
Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon
