Wentworth Aircraft

[Grum.Man]

I’ll start off saying I have had no dealings with these people but have seen lots of their ads on eBay. I’ve always thought their planes were over priced but their descriptions seemed honest and entertaining. Well I can tell you, if you are looking seriously at something they are selling I’d highly advice to go look at the plane your self and not rely on their word.

They have a Cherokee 140 on eBay right now that was involved in a ground collision at my airport. I was there when it happened and several other people witnessed the incident. A lot of what was described I’m sure was modified for simplicity but it’s also misleading for the buyer. The very first paragraph says “no prop strike”. I guess you could spin it in a way to make your self sleep better at night but the reality is the Murphy Moose that hit it did in fact contact the prop and left a big dent in it. I doubt it did any internal damage but the prop is not overhaul-able and I would do a tear down just in case. If for no other reason than it’s been sitting outside on the ramp for a year now.

For those astute readers who skipped to the ad first you may be thinking.... hmm Grum said Murphy Moose but the ad says Cessna repeatedly. Well I can promise you it was in fact a Murphy Moose. It was a new construction that the owner was doing some full power runnups in between the hangar rows that got away from him. So it essentially jumped the chocks at full power. Hit the end if the hangar row, continued at full power across the ramp where it then contacted the Cherokee and a Cardinal that was parked beside it. After that it continued across the grass ravine, over the taxiway and into the grass between the runway and taxiway where it burst into flames and burned to pretty much nothing.

So they are expecting around 14k for a Cherokee 140 with no radios, half the instruments gone, a chewed up wing, dented prop, high time engine, and rough paint? This plane would be lucky to be worth 25k as a flying airplane with basic instruments. Do your research folks is all I’m saying!

To make them seem like a hero I guess they graciously offer to pay the “$175.00 tie down fee”. Well it’s only $50.00 per month so either they are getting ripped off or just another lie.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-CHERO...983044?hash=item1f1017d344:g:PpoAAOSwhjNexvuC

 

[weilke]

They bought it from the insurance as part of a package deal, removed the instruments they can market and are now looking for someone to take the hulk off their hands. If it's not worth for them to part it out, its probably not worth for an individual to do so either. Lots of old Cherokees you can buy.

 

[Grum.Man]

I have no problem with their business model. My problem is with their deception.

 

[Bell206]

if you are looking seriously at something they are selling

FWIW: never had an issue with them at least from the mx side. Bought a number of parts off them and found their prices to be market for what I bought. They also tend to have certain items others don't. Since they're located on the other side of the country from me didn't do as much business as I did with Dallas AS/Atlanta AS/Dawson. But considering they have a large group they do salvage for have run across them in my area and bought several parts projects from them when their trailers were full. As to the accuracy of the ad, I never believe any ad. There are quite a few vendors out there who embellish their ads to get a call. Regardless, as to doing your research first, that applies to anyone you buy parts from and everything is usually negotiable if you know what you're doing.

So they are expecting around 14k for a Cherokee 140 with no radios,

FYI: don't think of it as a project but as a parts bin. The current bid is $9000 and you can probably get $10k for the left wing/gear assy depending on S/N and maybe another $10k for the other parts, $$ after repairing the right wing, engine core, etc. I used to buy 100 series Cessnas for the wings/tail feathers regardless of condition and usually tripled my initial investment.

 

[Tom-D]

The only reason to buy from any salvage yard is, you need parts.

 

[denverpilot]

I’ve always treated anything “Wentworth” just like anything “Beegles”. They’re junkyards.

That one might advertise a “complete” airframe doesn’t make it anything more than a junkyard airplane.

Quite good for parts. Not somewhere you go airplane shopping.

 

[Ravioli]

I doubt @Grum.Man is outside the ROC's with this thread, but it is in very poor taste.

Wentworth is a junkyard. You're basically saying they want too much for a junk PA28-140. Do you call out the pick-a-part place to complain about their price on a 1987 Camry?

I, as have many here, buy parts and/or avionics from Wentworth and I'm glad they are there when I need them. You may have that experience at some point in your ownership as well.

 

[Grum.Man]

I doubt @Grum.Man is outside the ROC's with this thread, but it is in very poor taste.

Wentworth is a junkyard. You're basically saying they want too much for a junk PA28-140. Do you call out the pick-a-part place to complain about their price on a 1987 Camry?

I, as have many here, buy parts and/or avionics from Wentworth and I'm glad they are there when I need them. You may have that experience at some point in your ownership as well.

no I’m not outside of the ROC’s as the post is not on this site. The root of my complaint is that they are falsely representing an aircraft that people are bidding online for. The aside to that was the crazy inflated price for an airplane THEY are advertising as a rebuildable project. Even so far as insinuating that all it needs to be a flyer is the included right side wing and radios. Feel free to do business with a shoty company if you please. I for one would never trust them after this blatant misrepresentation.

 

[weilke]

I doubt @Grum.Man is outside the ROC's with this thread, but it is in very poor taste.

Wentworth is a junkyard. You're basically saying they want too much for a junk PA28-140. Do you call out the pick-a-part place to complain about their price on a 1987 Camry?

I, as have many here, buy parts and/or avionics from Wentworth and I'm glad they are there when I need them. You may have that experience at some point in your ownership as well.

The problem is not that they are selling a junk 140. The problem is not a sophisticated buyer who sees that it is a heap of junk and only worth the sum of a few parts. The problem is that the ad is geared towards someone who wants to buy an aircraft that they can fly and it basically states 'just bolt a new wing on this puppy, slide in a couple of radios and she is as good as new'. This kind of ad has the potential to be the start of a long sad POA thread involving some student pilot who buys this as a 'great opportunity' off an ebay ad.

 

[schmookeeg]

I don't think wentworth has ever been in the business of selling projects that make financial sense.

Surely one can rationalize the difference between a prop strike on a running engine vs stationary one, but I agree the buyer should do that mental dance, not the seller.

 

[denverpilot]

no I’m not outside of the ROC’s as the post is not on this site. The root of my complaint is that they are falsely representing an aircraft that people are bidding online for. The aside to that was the crazy inflated price for an airplane THEY are advertising as a rebuildable project. Even so far as insinuating that all it needs to be a flyer is the included right side wing and radios. Feel free to do business with a shoty company if you please. I for one would never trust them after this blatant misrepresentation.

I don’t see misrepresentation in that really. Everything is technically “rebuildable”, which is how we get some beautiful warbirds that only the data plate is original on. Just takes money.

It’d be really hard for someone to look at that scrap heap and think it was anything but a scrap heap.

Overpriced? Sure. But there’s plenty of “Sure honey, I’ll put the airplane up for sale...” overpriced but barely flying and maintained junk on all the aircraft sale sites.

Or just dig into the older twins or jets if you really want to see some truly useless garbage. Twins that need everything, engines, avionics, ADs to get done, total junk... or jets that need literally millions in engines selling for millions for a carcass that never ever will make sense to hang new engines on it, when a whole flying jet in middling condition is less money.

Aviation has always been an enormous “caveat emptor”. Know what you’re buying. Inspections, photos, long distance purchases... that there’s overpriced and plentiful amounts of pure junk, from an industry running on mostly the leftovers of a building boom 40+ years ago....

Just see the 40+ year old car market and realize most of the bad ones got crushed instead of left at the airport to rot as someone’s “I’ll fix it up and fly it again someday” pipe dream.

 

[Grum.Man]

I don’t see misrepresentation in that really. Everything is technically “rebuildable”, which is how we get some beautiful warbirds that only the data plate is original on. Just takes money.

It’d be really hard for someone to look at that scrap heap and think it was anything but a scrap heap.

Overpriced? Sure. But there’s plenty of “Sure honey, I’ll put the airplane up for sale...” overpriced but barely flying and maintained junk on all the aircraft sale sites.

Or just dig into the older twins or jets if you really want to see some truly useless garbage. Twins that need everything, engines, avionics, ADs to get done, total junk... or jets that need literally millions in engines selling for millions for a carcass that never ever will make sense to hang new engines on it, when a whole flying jet in middling condition is less money.

Aviation has always been an enormous “caveat emptor”. Know what you’re buying. Inspections, photos, long distance purchases... that there’s overpriced and plentiful amounts of pure junk, from an industry running on mostly the leftovers of a building boom 40+ years ago....

Just see the 40+ year old car market and realize most of the bad ones got crushed instead of left at the airport to rot as someone’s “I’ll fix it up and fly it again someday” pipe dream.

The airplane is far from scrap. It really is a matter of replacing the wing, avionics, prop, and at the very least dialing the proper flange to make sure it isn’t bent.

 

[denverpilot]

The airplane is far from scrap. It really is a matter of replacing the wing, avionics, prop, and at the very least dialing the proper flange to make sure it isn’t bent.

At $75/hr for labor? It’s scrap.

Insurance company already did that math before they sold the carcass to Wentworth.



It’s like all basket cases. If you can find cheap/free labor, it’s a deal.

With real labor rates, the flying ones on the market for more money, would be cheaper, usually.

 

[Hzkr]

I recently bought a used engine from them. They were very straight forward and easy to work with. The carburetor had a Crack on one of the stud mount holes and they immediately sent me another at their expense. I'll definitely use them again and would recommend them.


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