Buying Airplane?????? Damage History??????

[DaV8or]

Damage history is just like any other parameter when buying a used airplane. How much do you care about it in relation to the other features the plane has, like avionics, mods, hours, paint, interior, etc. If you are considering a vintage Mooney damage history just comes with the territory. Sure it'd be nice to have one with NDH, but you have to weight it against everything else. Even in todays market, if you're strict on the NDH, your eliminating probably over 50% of the vintage market.

Of the three MSCs I spoke to, all said gear up damage is no big deal if repaired according to the book. This is why it's good to get a pre-buy done at a MSC because they can tell if it was done and done right even without log entries or photos. Mine had a gear up in '87. I loose zero sleep over it. My resale may be lower, but I also bought lower. If you're a first time, inexperienced buyer, take it to a MSC for the pre-buy. You'll be fine.

[rbridges]

everyone here is giving great advice.  The MAPA appraisals don't seem to be too worried about gears ups that are over 10 years or so.  Mine had a gear up 4 decades ago.  I figured time would have exposed any issues by now.