georgeb Posted December 23, 2009 Report Posted December 23, 2009 Quote: Parker_Woodruff Judging by my recent excursion to El Paso, Fort Bliss is less than desireable.
FlyingAggie Posted December 28, 2009 Report Posted December 28, 2009 Quote: Parker_Woodruff Shoulda seen my $19,000+ estimate on an M20K prebuy. Best $850 I spent. Unfortunately I was only able to negotiate a fraction (%) of the repairs to be completed at the seller's expense before I took it to Maxwell, so I would have made a $90k plane into 6 figures. He's thorough without being a nit-picker if that makes any sense to the OP.
Buster1 Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Posted December 28, 2009 Any hints so 231 lookers (like me) may avoid this one?
Parker_Woodruff Posted December 29, 2009 Report Posted December 29, 2009 Quote: Buster1 Any hints so 231 lookers (like me) may avoid this one?
FlyingAggie Posted December 29, 2009 Report Posted December 29, 2009 Buster1, Several months ago (June), I looked at and flew N5808X as well, and I agree with Parker that it is a very nice looking airplane and that the owner, Larry, is a very nice guy. IMHO, the plane is just over priced for this market and is probably why it hasn't sold in the last two years. Maintenance may be another issue. The list of items from Parker's prebuy inspection by Don Maxwell was pretty long and expensive to fix. Larry's partner, who is an AP, addressed many of the items on Maxwell's list of squawks, but felt other were not necessary. As I considered the plane, my concern is how they were addressed, for instance rather than replacing the rubber landing gear donuts, he installed metal shims to compensate for the wear. Cheap fix now, but more expensive for the future owner. The 6055 TTAF and 1208 SMOH cited in the ad are low and need to be updated for the usage Larry has put on the plane in the last couple of years. Although this 231 has all the nice late model airframe features (like one piece belly, split-folddown-removable rear seats etc.) and is fitted with an intercooler, KAP 150 and a new Garmin 430, it is missing three items on my "want list:" Merlyn automatic wastegate, graphic engine analyzer and speedbrakes. It would have cost about $20K to add those last three items. So at $92K asking price, and considering all the above I decided to pass on it, but it maybe just the plane you. Alan
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