Pains of Selling an Airplane

DesertNomad said:
I bought my plane a year ago. I called on a 182 in extreme northern California only to find the buyer had gone to his winter home in San Diego and would not be back for several month. No deal of course.

I then found my Dakota for sale by a private party in Texas. He had listed pictures and a price. When I called, he offered additional pictures, logs and told me lots more details. We went back and forth a bit and I told him I was a cash buyer. He didn't move much on the price but it seemed pretty fair. I think we had a purchase agreement pending clear title, inspection and a pre-buy within 5 days. Within 2 weeks of first receiving the logs, I was on a plane to Texas to fly it home.

I have never "called for a price"
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That's about how my previous Cheetah sold. From first contact to waving goodbye... 8 days.
 
that's how I bought this one. I called up, asked directly what the known problems were (if any), looked at the logbooks digitally and had a pre-buy done, along with some extras like having the cylinders bore scoped and the prop balanced, and bought it. I think time from contact to purchase for me was 5 days. Then again, I didnt expect a 1956 Cessna to be flawless and have no history of damage, etc.
 
GRG55 said:
Your experience sounds awfully familiar. :)

Suggestion: When you get a phone or email start by "qualifying the buyer". Instead of concentrating on a one way discussion or Q&A of what you are selling, weave into the conversation a series of prepared questions - are they a pilot (yes, you would be surprised at how many are wanna-be pilots), how much do they fly, what type of flying, that sort of thing - every good salesperson qualifies the buyer early and if they don't make it on the check-off as a serious potential buyer, stop wasting your time on them.

And if they want a "perfect" airplane, tell them you would be asking a "perfect" price for it.

Airplane brokers seem to be on par with used car salesmen, and only slightly above Presidential candidates in public opinion. But as you note, the good ones (and only the good ones) can actually save you time and aggravation - which can be devoted to other more enjoyable life pursuits.

This situation works in reverse, if it's any consolation. Can't tell you how many planes I spent time on as a potential purchaser only to find the guy (always a guy, women seem more decisive) didn't really want to sell it after all, and makes that known by being unusually uncooperative. Usually put it up for sale reluctantly, because the spousal unit insisted it be sold as it was no longer being flown much. So I now also "qualify the seller" early on.
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Interesting. As a buyer, before I email anyone, I will have a loan approval in hand and be interested in an airplane. I know what a 50 year old airplane looks like, that's what I trained in. As long as there's nothing shocking about it, I'm likely to pull the trigger quickly.

Now if you tell me the paint is an 8 but it's dull and chipped and more like a 3 then I have to go through the expectations miss and readjustment and it's possible I won't make it. At the very least it will impact my willingness to pay the price you want, it will cost you money if not the deal.
 
gitmo234 said:
I'm in the process of selling mine... I hear most experiences are the same and it is painful. I get no less than 3 or 4 voicemails a day. Half of which are brokers or advertisers, the other half are usually people who just want to talk about the airplane and get historical information instead of flying. I almost think they just want to stroke their ego or something.

I seem to get a lot of conversations that end with "I have one just like that! talk to you later". Stuff like that.

I had someone fly in from states away today and start complaining because the paint wasn't in perfect condition and there were a couple minor issues similar to it.

anyone have any similar stories?
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My best story was from a guy who wanted to buy "but didn't have his private yet". I told him "Come back when you have your private". Well he did, kicked the tires, bought me lunch, I took him up for an hour and he asked if I had other interested parties. "Yes, but they only contacted me once".

"HA" he said. "Probably didn't have the money". Then he came back 24 hours later saying "I'm trying to get a loan". Crickets. Never heard from him again.
 
Yup - I had a budget and had the cash. I would never call on a plane (or anything else) if I didn't already have the cash or a loan approval.
 
The difference between buying and selling is YOU. I have experienced this buying/selling on Craigslist. If I see something on Craigslist I want to buy, I have the $$$, I show up, I pick up item, I go home. If you're selling on Craigslist you have to put up with inane questions from people who don't have the $$$, and deep down, I don't think they have any intention of ever buying.

I am sure if/when I get around to buying a plane, it'll be easy. I wouldn't expect the same ease selling.
 
I have been shopping for a "time builder" for about six months. My only real requirement is a 430W or better [I'm hooked on it] and some time left on the engine before MOH. My experience with sellers is that it is best to communicate by email. I always ask the question "what is your best price?" and let the conversation go from there. I usually get a response of a 5% price reduction or more. I want to see the plane and fly it. I state upfront that I will buy the fuel for the test flight. You will be surprised at the sellers that don't want to allow the test flight as most have been burned by tire kickers. Most important is an honest conversation [representation] of the plane and what the history and needed upgrades are. I can tell you that I recently looked at a plane and did not even get out of the truck. Seller was simply dishonest. Also, ragged out planes that have wires dangling from the panel, open panel slots, out of annual for several years are a big turn off. As for a pre-buy it depends on who is doing the inspection. Had an acquaintance buy a long distance 172 with pre-buy performed only to go through a 20K annual a few months later. In conclusion I would encourage a seller to sift through the inquires to identify the serious buyers by using email, go overboard with honesty, and be prepared to negotiate to the best price fairly quickly. My two cents worth.
 
I think most buyers are ok with tire kickers as long as know up front that they are tire kickers. Right now, I am a tire kicker, I have looked at a couple of airplanes, but I told the sellers up front that I'm not ready to buy today. Both didn't care, said come on. Who doesn't like to talk about airplanes? Just be honest about your intentions.
 
I can totally see using a broker if you're selling. from my perspective, brokers can suck it. all of them.
 
eman1200 said:
I can totally see using a broker if you're selling. from my perspective, brokers can suck it. all of them.
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I totally understand this. If you're selling me a car, and you are a dealer, your best bet is to be honest up front. Any greasy games or trying to pull a "switcharoo" will get me to walk away from the best deal on principal. I cant think of a better word to describe it but if I get that "greasy" salesman vibe, I'm probably walking.
 
I have owned eight planes over my 20 years of flying. The last plane I bought, which is the current one I own, was also the first plane I've ever bought from a broker.
The purchase could not have been smoother: from first seeing the plane ad for sale, to actually having the plane in my hangar, was only four days.
I guess whether or not you buy from a broker, depends on whether or not you actually believe the owner and what he says about his airplane (if you have the chance to talk to him). I preferred to let my mechanic tell me about the plane over what the last owner has to say.
 
When I was looking, my first action was to call and get history and info. So I see nothing wrong with that. I had lots of guys want to take me flying in the plane some even offered to fly it to me. My standard line was that I didn't want them burning Av Gas until I knew I was interested. I suspect sellers could burn through a heck of a lot of Avgas just giving rides.
 
I used a broker ( Kansas Aircraft ) to sell my Malibu. The whole process was seamless. A great experience for me. The birds came home to roost when they presented me an offer and said the buyer wanted a pre-purchase.

I sold the 172 last fall myself and didn't try at all. Found the perfect buyer for a really great airplane.

I was lucky this time. Controller never got back to me about my first free listing until after it was sold.

I would still recommend a broker. I had a goofy buyer going around the broker trying to trade an LSA for my Malibu. I told him I'm trying to get rid of airplanes. Brokers get all of the tire kicker calls that I wasn't willing to take.
 
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