How cheap is too cheap?

[Hank]

I bought mine from someone else at my home base, who had stumbled onto a great deal on an A36. What became my C was already mostly fixed up to be his retirement ride.

[apenney]

13 hours ago, Skates97 said:

The other thing I believe, is that when you get ready to buy, it is just as important to do your pre-buy on the seller as the plane. The guy selling the plane I bought flew it the hour from Cottonwood, AZ down to Chandler, AZ to meet me and show me the plane. We agreed on a price pending an inspection and shook on it. He offered to fly it to an MSC to have the pre-buy done on it, wasn't hiding anything. I didn't have a complex rating (I didn't even have 60 total hours) so after the purchase he delivered the plane to me in CA in exchange for me buying his plane ticket back. The plane was being flown regularly, he was selling because he was moving up to an Ovation.

Thumbs up on this one..prebuy on the seller.  I found my F on Mooneyspace and the seller made a website that provided the logs, photos, narrative history, and  the squawks.  I learned a lot from that alone.  Also, I knew that this plane was flown very regularly-  about 100hrs per year on average after the last engine was put in.  Additionally, he was a member of MS.  He flew the plane to the prebuy, flew me to my transition training, and arranged for his commercial flight back.  I've been in email contact with him over the course of the last year, when questions would come up and he has responded quickly without fail.  I wished I didn't live across the country because he is the kind of person that would be great to just know as a friend.  I'm thankful.

[Raptor05121]

I paid $16k for my 63 M20D, which is IFR certified with basic 6-pack and a "run out" engine.

I've probably for $45-50k into it by now, and if I sold it today it probably wouldn't get maybe $25k for it. I highly, HIGHLY suggest paying more up front, it will make it worthwhile so you don't spend the next 11 months watching your "new-to-you" airplane doing nothing but sit in a hangar and be worked on all the time.

If you're seriously interested, my friend has a 1964 M20C, 400SMOH, nice flying airplane, needs some radios for $35k here in Florida. PM me.

[steingar]

I looked at an aircraft I immediately named "eyesore".  It needed a paint job something fierce, but the owner was only asking 26K, which at that point was really reasonable and I think still is. Everything else on the aircraft seemed ship shape, though it didn't boast much for radios.  I passed not knowing any painters, but I know it sold quickly thereafter.  Still, there are no bargains in aviation.  You mostly get what you pay for.

[ExpressJetter]

I'd imagine it's like anything else in life.  You get what you pay for