Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Buying a plane on eBay

Thanks Dennis.

I won't do anything without having a pair (at least one) of more skilled eyes than mine having a look first.

Thanks for the splash of cold water Wayne.

It is just an ad. And, I'll try not to get too bound up with some sense of being locked into an auction.

As the old saying goes - Buy in haste, repent at leisure.

If you do find an ad you like, chances are there's a member close by who can take a look for you. Put the word out and a 'buying buddy' can give you a pre-pre-buy inspection.

I bought Bravo Papa on E-Bay. He belonged to a soldier who was stationed at Fort Hood, and was about to be deployed to Iraq.

I contacted the seller and made a deal contingent on a pre-buy inspection.

I also used the AOPA escrow service. Using the escrow service was, in my opinion, well worth the cost. The seller paid half. They did a title search, uncovered an old lien, contacted the lien holder, a bank in west Texas, and cleared up the lien. I paid the negotiated selling price to the escrow company, then, when we pulled the trigger on the deal, a telephone call released the money to the seller. The escrow service handled all of the paperwork, title transfer, FAA documents, etc.

Although it is not necessary to use an escrow service, I found it was well worth the cost, and made a transaction involving parties who did not know one another go smoothly.

Welcome to the club!

I didn't buy my old 150 on Ebay, but I did sell it and a few classic motorcycles that way. Ebay is hard to beat as far as advertising goes, but with large items there are many folks who bid up the auction and never email or call. I ran into that more than once. If you see a plane that looks great and you miss the bid, don't be afraid to contact the seller to see if the buyer backed out.

The folks who bought my plane came and looked at it while the auction was still active and made an offer. I then canceled the auction for them. That is what I had hoped for, someone to come look and know exactly what they were buying.

Personally, I'd be wary of buying a big ticket item on Ebay without any kind pre-buy inspection. Some sellers will warrant that the vehicle is in as-described condition and that is reassuring.

Sure, anyone here, myself included, on the forum will probably be happy to go give a plane a look-see for you. But most of us are not mechanics and may miss some problems. I'd be a little nervous about looking at a plane for someone else.

Some will say as-is where-is and make it difficult to see it first. I'd avoid those.

Eric,

Yours is a sobering message, with regard to the worse than tire kicker types who bid but never show.

But I am beginning to understand how it works now.

Ebay is essentially an ad that casts a very broad net and attracts (collects) a curious assortment of potential buyers.

Thanks for your insights.

Phillip,

Thanks for your reminder of the importance of getting all the ducks in a row.

A title search from someone with the resources to help sort it out sounds like one of the essential ingredients of a good deal.

Noodling around on a European website I found a 130 hp Reims aerobat for sale for what seemed liked a lot of money - $53k. And since I would have to eventually ship it back to the States and re-register it N (have no idea what that entails but suspect $$$ work their way into the equation somehow) I am not sure it would be something to pursue.

Ah well. Back to the wish list.

Get it get it!! 130hp and it's lighter than a 150hp 150!

Jeff,

The dollar is doing well against the pound but this plane is priced in euros which isn't quite as favorable. Greenbacks fell against the euro yesterday so I'd better act fast. :-)

First, I'd like to learn a bit more about getting the plane on the N register - which I would have to do to fly an Italian registered plane in the UK on an FAA certificate.
Either that or get a European license - very expensive. Then I need to find out what it will cost to ship it to the states and put it back together again.

I still expect to be in the UK for another year at least so all of these things are considerations.

Another question, so the 130hp Reims 150 performs better than the 150/150? Or is it really an apples/apples comparison? Will the RR be hard to find parts for in the States and will AP's be familiar with it? Sorry for badgering but I really want to know what I might be getting myself in for.

Many years ago i bought a Ducati when everybody else was buying Hondas. As a former owner now I know why. :-)