Pre buy inspection

[MikeOH]

5 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

If that is the case then his dream is crushed because he started this topic because he already talked to his insurance agent who put the price of insuring a J out of reach. 
 

And aren’t you overlooking the difference in hull values which are the primary driver of our current premiums?  If he finds a C for about 1/3-1/2 the cost of a J, won’t his insurance premium be about 1/2?

Exactly!

My impression is that the OP is looking for a 'beater Mooney' to build time and get his IA rating with a low insurance premium.  Then, trading up.

His mistake, IMHO, is not realizing that he won't actually be flying a beater as it will be a hangar queen costing him money while NOT building time

Buy the nice J and suffer the high premiums for a couple of years.  It's going to be way cheaper in the long run versus the beater and the cost to sell and buy another aircraft.

[ZuluZulu]

43 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

Exactly!

My impression is that the OP is looking for a 'beater Mooney' to build time and get his IA rating with a low insurance premium.  Then, trading up.

His mistake, IMHO, is not realizing that he won't actually be flying a beater as it will be a hangar queen costing him money while NOT building time

Buy the nice J and suffer the high premiums for a couple of years.  It's going to be way cheaper in the long run versus the beater and the cost to sell and buy another aircraft.

Any temporary premium savings would probably be eaten up by the costs associated in at least three aircraft transactions (purchase of the beater, sale of the beater, purchase of his J).  It may seem attractive to lower the premium on a short-term basis, but keep in mind it's not free to buy and sell airplanes, either, so he'll be paying the piper one way or another.

[brantb]

I have been thinking about the insurance aspect. I basically figured buy a Mooney for around 50k and just put liability. If things go bad and I somehow forget to put the gear down like everyone fears and it is totaled, there is still value in parts. It would suck to be out say 35k, but I have had worse years in my trading account. Basically it wouldn’t break me. Either way, build up to 3-400 hours and then upgrade to a j/k. At that point insurance for a 120-160k plane would be 2-3k. Loseing 120k would hurt.

 

if I happen to find a great j I would jump on it and just suck up the 6-8k insurance premium for 2 years.

Edited December 16, 2023 by brantb

[amillet]

In WA the sales tax alone would be more than the higher insurance premiums 

[RescueMunchkin]

@brantb what kind of insurance quotes did you receive for a given hull value?  I called Parker but did not get an official quote, just a ballpark estimate that seemed reasonable, but I went with Avemco instead because after talking with Parker, all non-avemco insurers will not adjust rates mid policy and I was close to getting my instrument rating after acquiring the plane.  Avemco also has good rates according to what Parker ballparked for my situation.

I started my search for something around $50k, but then after seeing the costs of avionics like GPS and AP, I decided to increase my budget to get something that was pretty closely equipped to what I wanted.

I also wanted to thank @1980Mooney for being such a wonderful helpful resource to me.

[OneSaltyItalian]

If it hasn't already been said, highly recommend Owen for pre-buys.

He's a travelling IA that will meet your plane wherever it is.  My wife and I are younger owners and he's a younger A&P, so that made us happy to find someone fresh in the industry (by fresh I mean he has about 5+ years of experience and is still enjoying his job - unlike someone who might just sign a logbook to sign a logbook and get a check).

https://barefootaviation.com/

[LANCECASPER]

On 12/15/2023 at 7:18 PM, brantb said:

I have been thinking about the insurance aspect. I basically figured buy a Mooney for around 50k and just put liability. If things go bad and I somehow forget to put the gear down like everyone fears and it is totaled, there is still value in parts. It would suck to be out say 35k, but I have had worse years in my trading account. Basically it wouldn’t break me.

Not a wise choice, in my opinion. If you have an off airport landing, which is a possibility with any airplane, but a higher possibility with a 50-60 year old airplane, who is going to pay for the recovery? My policy says my coverage for recovery is equal to the value of the airplane.

You might look at partially self-insuring the hull with a higher deductible, but having the additional coverages that come with a hull policy brings peace of mind, plus I think even additional safety. Knowing it belongs to the insurance company helps so that financial loss does not weigh into split-second safety decisions in a crisis. 

Plus if you go with liability only they will hit you much harder on the liability premium than if liability was combined with hull coverage.