Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Yeah or Nay?

No Thanks Gary, I saw those pic's! (OUCH!)

It reminded me of my dad's 1957 Cessna 180.. we had to re-skin both wings! (sadly he sold it)

I guess I am comparing the maint that this airplane received to the maint the Jet & T-prop get. not fair I agree but reg's are reg's and if somebody 'cheaped' here and there what else did they do? (or didn't do....)

I do NOT want a big project, this airplane is 'in' annual till October 2009. Whatever I buy will have the annual done as a pre buy because June/July are not good 150 flying months in Florida.

I am willing to dig into my pocket and this wasn't always an $11,500 airplane, they guy started at $16,000... :-(

My point is that I am willing to spend some more but I want something I can fly without costing me $3,000 the first annual.... A good airplane for a good price is important to me.

I've purchased more than a few t-prop's and jets (for others) My motto was always buy an airplane with little or nothing in its past that needs 'explaining' away...

Damage History and log book issues are red flag's to me. I guess 150's are used hard and get dinged up.

I need to find the threashold where I am comfortable and that is where you all come in. Thanks again this is very helpful to me.

I am trying to find the balance between "I want" and my friends saying, "better look twice"

Thanks

Except the time, just about everything you listed is a deal breaker.

Reg

If there is one thing you can count on with these older birds is the "little surprises" keep coming. Turned on the Master Switch the other day and the instrument light came on full bright. The dimming assembly had failed. Cessna wants a whopping $750.00 for a replacement. Is there any wonder so many are opting out of certified aircraft and going homebuilt?

Tim,

G'day,

On the contrary, it was always an $11,500.00 Aircraft (and probably less), its just the owner didn't want to believe it

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap airplane. Pass this one by.

Just a suggestion, Tim? Make sure to have your own mechanic look at the airplane before purchasing. That then will assure you that you will not have that multi-thousand dollar first repair bill. Since he, or she, has already looked it over and endorsed the purchase.

Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon

I bought a C-150H for $14,250 (an impulse buy from a local person), flew it for two years until the engine crapped out, and have since sunk $35K into it (brand new engine, prop, etc., etc.)

I'm fairly happy with it. I maybe could have gotten by with an overhaul vs. a brand new engine, but all in all I like the plane. If I had to go it over again, maybe I would have prefered a much lower time, cleaner "turn key" airplane that had been hangared all its life, etc., but I probably would have had to pay much more up front -- $25K or more. You generally get what you pay for. Are you a mechanic, or do you have a mechanic in mind that will do repairs for you? That makes a big difference.

Do you want to restore the plane to like-new condition - - as I would like to do some year? If so, I'm sure you are intelligent enough to know that that would cost tens of thousands of dollars -- and you probably could never expect to get that money back in resale.

Maybe do as Bill suggests -- get the plane annualled before you buy it, or at least get an estimate for how much an annual inspection would cost.

Thank you all for the support, advice and opinions, it is appericiated much more than you might ever know!

Best

Tim

Matthew, that is very well put!

Ok Tim,

I was out of town for a few days so let me expand on my thoughts here. Based on your description, you will not have long before you will be forced to come up with BIG money to keep this plane flying. It never waits as long as you think it might.

I've said it before....when I bought LuluBelle I knew I would want to make improvements over time. At $14,000 she was not a show plane but she did have a low time engine (400 hours), and I THOUGHT a good airframe (I did notice some minor surface corrosion issues). I figured over the next 5 years or so I would save up for a new paint job, windows, and some panel and interior improvements. Her first annual 10 months after I purchased her didn't reveal any major surprises. It was about $1600, but there were a LOT of little gripes my A&P cared for. For a "first annual" I thought it was OK. We gave her a good soaking in Corrosion X too.

Fast forward to her second annual. I pulled off the inspection plates and noticed some bad flaking on the nearest wing rib...then I put my finger right through it. The wing had to be rebuilt, the paint job could no longer wait, so I went ahead and did the windows and replaced the warped wing tips, rudder cap, dorsal fin, etc... Along with my A&P's other work the annual that year cost me $17,000.

Tim if you get that plane down here to Florida you'll have to immediately address any corrosion that has started. You are talking thousands. You could spend those thousands on a higher priced 150 that needs no immediate triage.

MANY 150-152 owners have more money into their airplanes than they are worth. If I were forced to sell LuluBelle...I would be lucky to get $18,000. I've got over $31,000 in her in JUST the purchase and that single annual. You would be wise to find one for sale like her that has already been through a couple of painful annuals.