All American Aircraft

[John Pleisse]

I have found if somebody has a nice plane, they do what ever it takes to hang onto it. The market is flooded with the unfortunate byproduct of lots of people who sell instead of fix. I am jaded. I look for run-out engine sales. This way, you have a basis of negotiation and a third of the aircraft's valuation is a known quantity. Flying an OH or REMAN engine after purchase gives peice of mind and is worth the time and agrevation..

[Becca]

Quote: jetdriven

Jimmy and David are top notch, and I used to work for several dealers ferrying planes and I know their tricks.  We bought our 201 from them last January.  We looked at many planes (not Mooneys however) from many sellers and were absolutely floored at the misrepresentation, condition, and general poor offerings out there. Damage history, hangar rash, fires, missing logs, you name it.  We live in Houston, so we went over to look at their 201 on a Sunday and they had plenty of opportunities to lie or misrepresent, but didn't. We liked the plane but it seemed, well, slow.  I brough this up and they test flew the aircraft for almost an hour in a box pattern at 7500 feet and with a digital tach.  Turns out the tach was off by 150 RPM. The plane was fine.  We brought our second partner over to fly the plane and left David with a check for 5,000$.  Annual and prebuy completed, and it was ours.   In the end, the airplane was about exactly what we thought it would be on paper and after a couple grand in repairing inop stuff we already knew about, it is a great airplane.  I'd do it again.

[flierhi]

Quote: M20F

Anyone have some feedback on http://www.allamericanaircraft.com/default.htm from reviewing the forum postings seems to be generally positive. 

Any reccomendations for a pre-buy in that area?

 

[N33GG]

A big risk with owners selling their personally owned aircraft is not necessarily that they intentionally misrepresent their pride and joy, but rather they are blind or tend to minimize the warts and pimples (just like any mother would say their baby is beautiful, no matter what - apologies to all of the mothers out there).  Further, owners only sell so many aircraft in a lifetime.  Make a buyer angry, and the owner can rationalize it is just a lousy buyer, and there is no real penalty (at least in most cases, unless the unhappy buyer is an attorney and wants to extract a pint of pain - no offense to any attorneys out there - frequently they give people what they so richly deserve!).

Brokers have another situation entirely, and will be forced to make a basic decision early in the life of their business how they want to conduct themselves.  There are two choices, and little in between. 

One option is to operate unprofessionally, rip off anyone and anytime you get the chance, misrepresent aircraft as needed to get the sale, and cheat on both ends of the deal with both sellers and buyers.  This business model is all about the broker, and not about the seller or buyer.  This option makes people angry, and the word will spread, but these brokers seem to always manage to find another sucker that is not aware.  Mistakes are never made, because this broker passes problems, whether known or not, to the unsuspecting buyer, and smiles when he/she deposits the check and moves on looking for the next pigeon to be plucked. 

The other option is to operate in a professional manner, with honesty and disclosure at the core of your business.  You give honest appraisals and fair dealings on both ends of the deal.  This broker also does not miss the warts and pimples that are missed by the owners.  Misrepresent aircraft conditions and you won't be in business very long under this model.  The value added by this type of broker is a wealth of expertise, ethical business practices, and an improved probability of knowing what you are getting when the deal is done.  Be aware that problems can still be missed, but a pre-buy from a reputable Mooney mechanic will further offset the risk.  When problems do arise, this broker will strive to make things right.  After all, the ongoing business of this broker is based on their good reputation, and not the hunting for the next fool that does not know what he/she is doing. 

Reality check:  The best broker in the world, and the best mechanic doing a pre-buy, can not prevent occasional surprises with airplanes. 

I have no doubt that All American Aircraft is a broker that operates based on doing things right.