Selling Experience

[merlin]

Contemplating selling my M20F and wondering what it has been like for other sellers?  How many inquiries would you expect?  More importantly, how many times does your plane get run through the pre-buy?  Did you set any limits on what they could do during the Pre-buy?  Any lessons, words of caution to impart?

Thanks in advance everyone!

[steingar]

I sold one airplane long ago.  I think I paid about 5 grand too much for my Mooney, and was happy to do it because I got to trade my Cherokee for it.  Definitely worth 5 AMUs to avoid the sales experience.  Good luck.

[N9405V]

I equate selling an airplane to selling a house. Doing it yourself or having a broker help is a personal decision. The question is how much non-sense do you want to personally put up with. How many silly/ridiculous emails and phone calls do you want to handle? Do you have the time to deal with it? And lots, lots more.

You can make your life easier if you have your logbooks scanned and can easily share them. I’d definitely set boundaries on what can be opened up for a pre-buy (no pulling jugs). If you look at the available inventory of planes you’ll see that there is pretty good demand out there so I’d expect to be pretty busy answering questions.


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[mike_elliott]

3 hours ago, merlin said:

Contemplating selling my M20F and wondering what it has been like for other sellers?  How many inquiries would you expect?  More importantly, how many times does your plane get run through the pre-buy?  Did you set any limits on what they could do during the Pre-buy?  Any lessons, words of caution to impart?

Thanks in advance everyone!

If you price it correctly,  you will most likely sell it to the first caller. If you are there to maximize your potential selling price, expect to put a lot of time into the sales process and deal with a whole lot of tire kickers, unqualified buyers and be demonized for your pricing prior to finding someone who just loves everything about your plane. Its all up to you. That doesn't mean to imply that you give it away, but price it like you were about to make an offer on it yourself, and it should sell quickly. 

[ArtVandelay]

If you’re honest about the condition of your plane, you’ll only ever have to go through 1 prebuy.
I would not allow them to pull cylinders and of course they choose who does the prebuy, but most sellers limit the distance they’ll allow the plane to be ferried. And I be really concerned about who’s the ferry pilot. Don’t just pick some yahoo building time at the local school.
I would use a broker as they insulate you from the tire kickers.

[merlin]

Thanks everyone!  Appreciate the rapid and solid insight.

 

[Ron McBride]

You will have some low ballers, they want a 40% or more discount.   Have the plane washed and clean.  Take out the personal crap.    Organize your log books, scan if possible.   I had the faa send me a current CD.  Good luck.

 

[MooneyMitch]

Advertise your beautiful Mooney here on Mooneyspace!! 

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Merlin.

Sorry to see you going...

Start with a couple of pics...

There hasn’t been a better time to be selling a Mooney... in over a decade...

There are a few guys that sell Mooneys around here... at least one gets mentioned every time I mention him.... 

As an MS member... you can start your own thread about selling your plane... in the for sale section... where there are dozens of pairs of eyes looking for things coming to market...

So.... you kind of already lit the fire... I found your thread... and I’m not looking to buy a plane...

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

 

[MooneyMitch]

Advertise your airplane as if you were the buyer........what would like to see as that buyer?

Provide lots of quality photos, detailed airframe exterior/interior information, engine/propeller information,avionics, and easily accessible logs.

Organize and present it all clearly, accurately and completely.

 

[Jim Peace]

On 2/11/2021 at 1:43 PM, MooneyMitch said:

Advertise your beautiful Mooney here on Mooneyspace!! 

Thats may be a mistake....too many on here that jump right in and cut a plane down..which is easy to do....amazing that people ask over Vref for planes that still have old panels and lots of inop equipment......look like crap and timed out and they make write ups like it is the best plane you will ever find...

I am supposed to get excited about a shot gun panel with a stby vac system with totally unrecognizable inop equipment from the late 50s?  LOL

[BobCW]

@merlin I'm in the market for an F. I am looking for an aircraft that meets my requirements (check out my recent thread where I lay it all out). If you think your aircraft meets those requirements, then let's talk. I am not a tire kicker, so this could be an easy option for you if it meets my mission, budget, and criteria. Message me if you think it does!

[merlin]

10 hours ago, carusoam said:

Welcome aboard Merlin.

Sorry to see you going...

Start with a couple of pics...

There hasn’t been a better time to be selling a Mooney... in over a decade...

There are a few guys that sell Mooneys around here... at least one gets mentioned every time I mention him.... 

As an MS member... you can start your own thread about selling your plane... in the for sale section... where there are dozens of pairs of eyes looking for things coming to market...

So.... you kind of already lit the fire... I found your thread... and I’m not looking to buy a plane...

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

 

Never leaving!  Just looking for upgrade vs upgrading the one I have.  Thanks for your thouhts!

[carusoam]

6 hours ago, merlin said:

Never leaving!  Just looking for upgrade vs upgrading the one I have.  Thanks for your thouhts!

Glad to hear you are staying...

We have some MSers that have been here since the beginning... but never post anything publicly... until the sale.

 

One thing to consider... when selling one Mooney to get another...

There is one company that is really good at killing one stone with two birds... 

Find Jimmy at GMax...  aka AAA...

Jimmy specializes in buying and selling Mooneys...  also known as a straight shooter...

Could work out well from the logistics point of view...

PP thoughts only, not a plane sales guy...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[irishpilot]

I sell on my own, but it is a lot of work. A lot of brokers work hard for you, so it may be worth it if you don't have the time. All brokers are not created equal, so make sure you do your homework.

Like others have said, be honest in your listing, do your homework on what list prices are, how long planes have been on the market, etc. You'll have to balance that with Vref which doesn't always line up with the market. When I sold my M20E, three people looked at it over about three weeks and it sold on the first pre-buy. 

[thinwing]

every plane I sold has been sold word of mouth ,mostly to people I know or have contacted me cold....never a prebuy and always cash from first person that came to look or testfly

[KLRDMD]

42 minutes ago, thinwing said:

every plane I sold has been sold word of mouth ,mostly to people I know or have contacted me cold....never a prebuy and always cash from first person that came to look or testfly

Oh no. It has been beaten into us that if we don't do a pre-buy, especially from a MSC, we'll certainly end up UWOF.

Edited February 16, 2021 by KLRDMD

[Parker_Woodruff]

Selling my M20J in 2010 was pretty easy.  It had new avionics.  A couple callers who wanted a deal right then and there but wanted me to wait a week while they sold their plane.   I sold it to someone here on MooneySpace who offered a non-refundable $1000 to hold the plane for a short time.

Selling my M20K in 2013 was a complete beatdown even though it was an Encore Conversion with new paint and the advertised price was better than comparable airplanes.  It would have sold in a day in today's market at far more than I advertised it for back then.  The worst was all the people calling on my Controller ad trying to sell me sketchy risk-free loans...whatever that means...I only had a couple potential buyers call about the plane in 90 days or so and it eventually sold.

I was willing to take either plane to the Mooney Service Center of their choice.  In the end, neither buyer of the M20J or M20K asked for a prepurchase...almost all my maintenance was done at Don Maxwell.

[larryb]

I bought my Encore from a dealer and sold my J through the same guy. I did it for convenience and do not regret a thing. One thing to remember, broker fees are a %. So it costs a lot less to sell an F than an Acclaim with a broker. 

 

Unless you absolutely can't afford it, I would keep the old plane until I bought the new one. I used a HELOC to bridge the gap. It is a lot easier to visit potential purchases if you already have a plane, and the search can take a long time.

Edited February 16, 2021 by larryb

[RobertGary1]

2 minutes ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

Selling my M20J in 2010 was pretty easy.  It had new avionics.  A couple callers who wanted a deal right then and there but wanted me to wait a week while they sold their plane.   I sold it to someone here on MooneySpace who offered a non-refundable $1000 to hold the plane for a short time.

Selling my M20K in 2013 was a complete beatdown even though it was an Encore Conversion with new paint and the advertised price was better than comparable airplanes.  It would have sold in a day in today's market at far more than I advertised it for back then.  The worst was all the people calling on my Controller ad trying to sell me sketchy risk-free loans...whatever that means...I only had a couple potential buyers call about the plane in 90 days or so and it eventually sold.

I was willing to take either plane to the Mooney Service Center of their choice.  In the end, neither buyer of the M20J or M20K asked for a prepurchase...almost all my maintenance was done at Don Maxwell.

I wouldn't waste money on a pre-purchase of Maxwell had been doing the maintenance. I'd just call him and ask about the plane. 

 

-robert

[merlin]

Excellent advice.  Thanks again everyone.  I love the MooneySpace and will always plan to have a Mooney of some sort!

 

[Parker_Woodruff]

Just now, merlin said:

I love the MooneySpace and will always plan to have a Mooney of some sort!

 

I'm running on 7+ years without.  It's not fun being without...especially considering getting back in the market in this market...

[merlin]

Just now, Parker_Woodruff said:

I'm running on 7+ years without.  It's not fun being without...especially considering getting back in the market in this market...

Right!  The main thing that keeps me from selling is the thought of buying again!

 

[MooneyMitch]

2 minutes ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

I'm running on 7+ years without.  It's not fun being without...especially considering getting back in the market in this market...

Suggest checking with your agent regarding insurance rates........oh, whoops, never mind .......

[chriscalandro]

I'm playing with selling my C. It has a new dual 10in panels and new avionics stack, low time motor, just needs paint. Someone told me the other day it was only worth 35-40k because of the paint.  

Don't respond to those people.  FYI it's listed in the mid 70s, which I think is pretty fair.

 

Another one,

My airplane sat for a few years ago in the early 2000's.  It has about 350 in the last 3 years.  Dude told me I needed an overhaul and between that and paint, and a minor oil leak I've since fixed, it was basically scrap.

 

People read these things on the internet, then have 0 idea what it is they are looking at when they start shouting out nonsense.

 

I have 4 people interested in actually looking at it this week and are comfortable with my asking price.

Edited February 16, 2021 by chriscalandro