The Thrill Of Buying. The Agony Of The Sale

[aviatoreb]

Quote: johnggreen

Honestly fellows chill out,

....

In closing, I will say a couple of more things.  My "observations" on selling airplanes is quite accurate. 80% of the people who call you will be talkers, not buyers.  They will make the "selling" effort both enormous and oftentimes unpleasant.

Secondly, as long as I make no personally disparaging remarks, I have the right to my views and according to the rules of this site, the right to express them.  If some fragile personality sitting behind some nameless computer chooses to disagree, IGNORE THE POST.  As for telling me to get off the site, **** you.  It's power that you imagine but do not actually possess, but then, that is the problem with these faceless, nameless on-line posts.  You can pretend to be a lot of things that you will never be in real life.

At least, I am man enough to sign my posts and always have.

Jgreen 

[N33GG]

John:

What a great time to be a Buyer! 

The last twin I had was a BE58TC, a very nice travelling machine.  FWIW, I am not a big fan of the BE58P version.

So many twins to choose from ... here are a few of my favorites that would be on my short list:

Beech 58

Cessna 400 series 

Piper Navajo

Piper Aerostar

And a little further up the scale...

King Air

Conquest

MU-2

I am envious. Have fun shopping!

[FloridaMan]

John,

I wouldn't let it get to you. I spent a couple years looking at airplanes. The one I purchased had no price negotiation. The deal was that the owner send it off with a fresh annual and that I pay the prepurchase inspection (for corrosion). I'm happy with my purchase. I'm happy with the service that I received from Willmar Air Service and I'm happy that the plane was priced fairly -- I hate negotiating.

[DrBill]

If I didn't know that Antares was not the owner of my previous plane (Beech Sundowner), he could have been the purchaser.  We priced it fairly, made it firm.  Threw in some attractive options and waited. The first buyer that came and actually looked at the plane, flew it home the next day.  He was an A&P, he came at 3pm,  flew it with my partner(at the time), stayed the night an did his own prebuy in our hangar well into the eventing I'm told, and closed the deal the next morning with my partner. I check FLIGHTAWARE periodically and he's still flying it around the southeast which is good.  Planes need to be flown.

My purchase was not so simple. I was looking for a great deal. When I found a plane I was interested in I arranged for the prebuy at my airport.  My mechanic tore it apart. SB208 and called me in to check it out myself.l  He identified several items that should be done in the next year (e.g. tanks) and I made an offer accordingly, listing those issues.  THere was no argument.  The seller said sounds right and we made the sale.  Next month will be a  year.  All of the items have been fixed and yesterday I flew a Pilots N Paws flight with 2 stops for 4.9 hrs.  AWESOME. 

To quote Patton: "God I love this".

BILL

 

[PTK]

"Wit is educated insolence." ...Aristotle.

[johnggreen]

Before I continue with the "intended" point of this thread, let me say to whomever took my very sarcastic and caustic humor (admitted) personally, I am sorry.  Had I been reading that original post, I would not have considered myself either an idiot or a fool and can't imagine taking offense; my error.  I honestly regret that anyone would take what I said as a personal insult.

OK, you may consider that as my apology.  I will consider it ended.  If you do not care to read my posts from here on out, then, please don't.

I will say, in my defense, that I have successfully bought and sold many airplanes.  I have not during that time had one purchaser ever register dissatisfaction or complaint.  I fairly and honestly represented each airplane and treated everyone who called courteously.  I did end negotiations with a few who were simply wasting my time and will not hesitate to do so again.

Now, let me say something positive.  This weekend, I flew the Bravo to Lincoln, NE with one of my sons and my wife.  I had to download fuel going with three people to meet gross weight, but then I only burned 50 gallons at low power settings.  Just over three hours to Lincoln.  We dealt with a little turbulence, shot an approach, and landed ready to meet his fiance' and go to the CWS first game.  On landing back home this afternoon, I turned to my wife and said simply, "flying greatly enhances our lives".  It is a wonderful asset; meaning both the Bravo and the pilot's license.

The Bravo continues to amaze me.  It's capability, dependability, and integrity give me a secure feeling.  In seven and one half years of ownership, it hasn't failed me in any way.  As my wife and I consider the move back to a twin, I have rarely been so conflicted.  We need room and useful load but at what costs?

As for what to move to?  The debate has been pretty narrowed at this point.  The only single that I could afford and that would add capability would be the Mirage.  Believe it or not, the #1 twin in consideration is to refurbish a Twin Bonanza.  I flew one for almost 8 years in the 80's and early 90's and it is, in my opinion, the single best airplane ever built.  A Baron would be the distant third choice.

All that being said, leaving the comfort (in terms of ownership and reliability) of the Bravo will not come easily.  Then, there is always the argument of keeping the Bravo and when you need room and useful load, "Delta is ready when you are".

Jgreen

[galt1074]

Jgreen,

First, I didn't laugh when I read the original post the first time. Second, I laughed my butt off after you announced it was tongue-in-cheek.

Not trying to hijack your thread here, but it appears to me there are several good twins out there for far less than a Mirage which in my little world is pretty close to lifestyles of the rich and famous caliber. I've seen nice Piper Aerostars, Barons, various Cessnas for pretty low money...of course most of the time you get what you pay for obviously. I may have missed it somewhere in the thread, but what capability are you trying to add? You've bought thirty-some-odd airplanes and I've never bought one...I don't even pretend to understand the ins and outs but I'd like to learn before I spend all my money on a junker.

Greg

Greg