Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes New Member Introduction...Looking for plane,

I would like to start by introducing myself (Hello, my name is Greg) and thanking all of those who have contributed to the excellent threads here. I am in the process of trying to absorb. I also bought the book by Mike Arman because I think I want to buy a 150!

I found a 68 J model N511GM on TAP and it as at KLVK just a few miles from me. The owner is doing the annual next week and I asked about a pre buy while the annual was going on. I welcome feedback on this approach, better to get different set of eyes for pre buy?

I am in the process of generating a list of questions based on what I have read here as well as Mr. Arman's book but am a total neophyte. Any help or history on this plane would be a big help.

Not sure if I can post the link but here goes: http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/Single+Engine+Piston/1968/Cessna/150J/1354923.html

Thanks,

Greg

The ad says that the annual was done 12/11.

Greg,

Recommend get a different set of eyes during the annual. It is usually a good idea to have someone you select look the airplane over. Someone who is about to sell his airplane is not motivated to spend much money getting a good annual completed - just enough to get signed off is usually the rule of thumb.

The normal procedure for an annual is for the mechanic to open the airplane up, so to speak, so that a full inspection can be made. Once that is done and the "squawks" are noted, the needed repairs are made. While the airplane is open, during the inspection phase, is a good time for your mechanic to have a look at the logbooks and the airplane.

That allows you to get your own squawk list and, if you decide to buy the airplane, to reach an agreement with the seller on price knowing that all those squawks have to be repaired to your satisfaction. Thus, you get an inspection that you can reasonably trust, the squawks worked off and an annual inspection completed.

Nevertheless, one working rule of thumb is to set aside about 1/4 of the purchase price for things that are going to break in the first year (Murphy's law, no matter how well the annual inspection was done) and to make the add-ons and changes you find that you want to make - such as shoulder harnesses, if it doesn't have them, radio upgrades, etc.

Best of luck - I've got a soft spot for the '68 model; it's what I got my Private, Commercial and CFI in.

Warmest regards,
Rick

Thanks for the info gentlemen. Ron, the add represents the owners intentions but not reality. I saw the plane in person and wanted to fly it only to learn it is out of annual. I spoke to the owner today and it is going in next week. The owner seems like a stand up guy, I don't know the mechanic doing his annual.

If anyone knows of a good resource for the pre buy, I would greatly appreciate. Plane is located in Livermore, Ca.

Welcome to the forum, Brian. Another forum member, Brian Anderson, is a mechanic and based at KHWD not too far from you. Maybe he'll chime in later.

Welcome, Brian Greg. (you've got us confused...Already! )

Good luck in your search of an airplane. It is a great buyers market out there, and you should be able to find many planes that will suit your needs. Buying Mike's book was one of the best things you could have done, joining this club is the other.

This club, Mikes book, and Mike, personally guided me to my 150H, ultimately. Great resources, don't be shy when reaching out.

My thought is that at 1,000 hrs+ SMOH, the plane's avionics, condition, and asking price.....You will move beyond this one. There are some really well kept, lower time 150's out there for a lower asking price. Hopefully, you can find one in your area.

I actually found mine in North Carolina, and it made for a wonderful long X-country with my CFI back to New York. So, if you can, expand your search a bit.....I think you'll have better odds finding "your" plane.

Best of luck!

Thanks Hung, I am currently flying 172's with a club in Hayward and it happens to be 5 miles from my house.

That would be prudent, if the owner/seller is game for it, and how motivated he is to sell.
You can save a lot of your pre-purchase inspection looking at an airframe already "opened up".
Keep in mind, that it is really a buyers market out there, meaning the planes are not moving, people want to unload planes they don't fly or can't afford to fly anymore, or in your case a plane that was owned exclusively for training and now they want to move on or up.
The picture of the plane looks average, it has been repainted at least once in it's life..
The engine times are just north of the 1/2 way towards the TBO side...AND, depending on the last o/h or type of cyls installed (meaning reworked, new, exchange, etc), around 1100-1200 hrs is when you would expect to see a cyl or two need attention- (just the cyls, usually, the bottom end will most likely go beyond TBO)
especially if the engine baffles were in sorry shape and there were cooling issues......
The avionics look "sparse", nothing spectacular there....well, nothing spectacular at all. What's with the thumb wheel XPDR?
Well, I haven't seen the plane, but IMHO the asking price leaves a LOT of negotiation room IN YOUR FAVOR. (I think they are asking about $3K too much)
Remember, there are many 150's for sale out there.

I bought my full IFR J model for less about two years ago. The engine times were about 850 hrs since overhaul. It also came with a bunch of spares like a prop, broken seat, run out motor, extra cylinder, main tire, yokes and more. I do have the same transponder that is in the plane you are looking at. It works, but just barely passed the last inspection. In a way I kinda like the levers on my transponder as I could be real quick to reach over flip the two left levers up to 77 to squawk 7700 if the fan quit.

The price seems high. If the owner is negotiable on price, I would look at it. If not, I would keep looking.

While Trade-a-Plane asking prices have always been higher than found elsewhere, it does seem that asking prices everywhere have been coming back up lately (last four months) for some types of aircraft. The sweet spot to buy was about two to three years ago, when people were freaking out and some were selling in desperation. That window of opportunity appears to be over. 150s are not yet back to 2006 levels, but with so many high wing Cessnas exported over the last few years due to the exchange rate shift it is possible they could rise higher than 2006 in the next year or two.

One of my dream airplanes has been a Yak-52. In 2006, you could get one fresh off the boat, needing plenty of work to get it airworthy in the US, for about $65k. Today, you can buy a flying example sporting a nice paint job and with plenty of engine time left for less than $40k. It appears that the market for full aerobatic (limited range and utility) aircraft will remain depressed for a while longer.