Well I (almost) bought a plane

Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Mtns2Skies
Sorry in advance for the @denverpilot long post. ;)

Well, I've been cautiously excited recently because I thought I was going to be buying my dream plane this weekend. This plane all started about a year and a half ago with this thread: https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/i-found-a-plane-but-its-not-mine.96338/
I found a plane sitting on the ramp here that I'm absolutely in love with. It has half-deflated tires but looks to be in amazing shape otherwise. I've asked around and no one knows the owner. I'd be interested in buying it, getting a ride in it or even just getting to sit in it.

Two weeks ago I sent a letter to the owner's address I found via the FAA N# registry with no response yet.

Is there anything else I can realistically do other than drool and wish he would contact me back?

It all started in the summer of 2016 when I saw a beautiful Cessna 180 sitting on the ramp. I looked it up on the FAA registry and actually mailed the owner a letter asking to talk about it and see it. Sure enough about a week later I got a call from the owner and we set up a time to go to the airport. We got to talking and he was VERY nice. A 747 cargo pilot that just wasn't home a whole lot so he wasn't able to fly very often. He also was in the process of building a supercub. Additionally I got to know the mechanic that had been taking care of the plane for the last decade pretty well as he was a local CFI.

Later that day after I got home he offered the plane to me for a fantastic price and unfortunately it just wasn't the right time for me to buy that and I told him so. He said he was in no hurry to sell it and to contact him when I was ready to buy. Let me say this skywagon is exactly what I want. Stock airframe with fold-up interior seats. The panel was VFR and needed some love to be IFR, older paint and older interior.

A year goes by to the summer of 2017 and I see that in 4-5 months I'd be all set for plane ownership so I gave him a call to see if it was still available and if he'd still be interested in selling and sure enough it was. He mentioned he was glad that I called and he wanted the plane to go to me because he really wanted a good home for the plane. Come thanksgiving I gave him a call to set up a time for the pre-buy - due to his work schedule and my school schedule it was decided that Jan 5-7th would be the best. Also a cylinder was getting overhauled but would be back on in time then. He hadn't changed his price at all in a year and a half and it would've been a screaming good deal for me.

I'm getting pretty stoked. I had EVERYTHING lined up for the pre-buy and the flight home. Got hangar and insurance all arranged, also flights, rental car and hotel, and I'm really just waiting for the date to happen. The plane is in Eastern Washington and my brother lives in Seattle so I thought I'd visit him before flying out to see the plane.

This morning I got a pretty bad call. They were going to put on the new cylinder today when they saw serious galling on the lifters I believe he said and that the engine (1200hrs) would definitely need an overhaul. I talked to a LOT of people to get advice on it but unfortunately it just didn't work out at the new price and considering the plane is half the country away and I wouldn't be able to get it home to supervise the overhaul etc. I had REALLY gotten my hopes up about the plane and came out here completely expecting to come home in a Skywagon and my hopes had been up for this specific plane for almost two years.

In the end it ended up being a good thing. The owner's wife passed away a few weeks ago and he wasn't flying the plane because she hated flying. So he said he was going to look to the future rather than the past and repair and fly the plane now. I also learned an ENORMOUS amount about plane buying and and got a massive amount of wisdom from the process. I'm just so bummed from how invested emotionally I was but the plane will live on getting flown. I'm glad the owner was such a good guy and told me about the engine problem the MINUTE he found out about it rather than trying to hide it.

Live and learn.

Special thanks to @G-Man and @MrsMtns2Skies and MANY others for all of your support.
 
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Bummer - sorry to hear it didn't work out. We all know we shouldn't get emotionally invested in these things but it's so damn hard not to. Gets a little easier with each year, mostly because you've been let down so many times :)
 
That's gotta suck but there's a lot of airplanes out there still waiting for you.
 
Ah definitely a bummer! Nice to deal with honest, upfront people, though. There will be more my friend, don’t get discouraged!
 
Don’t give up,there are plenty of good buys out there,with honest sellers. Wishing you luck .
 
There seem to be more planes out there that need a good home than pilots available to offer one. You'll find the right airplane in due course. Patience and persistence will be rewarded.
 
We all know we shouldn't get emotionally invested in these things but it's so damn hard not to.
You're not kidding. Right now I have a hard time thinking about starting that whole process over again - it's SO involved and I was SO invested in this one.
 
Look on the bright side. You didn't buy a plane that wound up needing an overhaul a few moths later. Better yet, you didn't buy a plane who's engine subsequently self-destructed over hostile terrain (I hear they got a lot of that in your neck of the woods).
 
This time of year lots of unrealistic sellers, high time engines bad paint old avionics and still want high price. Buy the plane you want not the one you think you can make into the one you want.
 
Mtns2Skies, I think you did a thorough analysis and review and made the least painful decision. There are other options, and the door is not completely closed on this. You're wiser for the future, and it didn't cost you much money, heartache, or inconvenience.

You were fortunate to have an ethical seller, and rewarded him by behaving well yourself. Hope both happen again next time!
 
Does it have to be a 180? Here's a 170 that I started to have an interest in. 1/2 interest but you might buy it completely, I don't know.

FOR SALE: One Half Partnership for Sale $25,000 - 1954 Cessna 170B; 5851 TT, 212 SMOH. Annual complete June 2017. Hooker Harness, Rosen Sun Visors, Low time Mags, plugs, wires. New CHT/ETG gauge, New Carb Temp gauge. All flight gauges rebuilt and new panel mounts installed. King 155 newly rebuilt, second King 155 not installed. Ship Powered Garmin 296. New Cleveland Brake rotors and new tires. Fairings off plane and in perfect condition. HD L19 “fish-mouth” tailwheel mount installed last annual. Engine Mounts replaced two annuals ago. Scott 3200 tailwheel with new internal parts. “P” Landing Gear, Jasco Alternator, battery 3 yrs old. Cowl Saver Friction Free Engine Baffling, spin on oil filter, new flap rollers. Wheelen Strobes. Always Hangered, Great Paint and Interior. Complete logs. This has been my baby for the last 7 years, but my son and I do not fly it enough. Bill Sargent 205-365-5738
 
Does it have to be a 180? Here's a 170 that I started to have an interest in.
Yeah. 170's are a bit under-powered for the Rockies and by the time you invest the money in a bigger engine... you might as well have just bought a 180. Thanks though!
 
Sorry to hear it didn't work out, Austin, but these things happen sometimes. I had a feeling with that plane that it might end up needing an engine, and that's an unpleasant situation to be in. The 414 is getting two new engines in the not-too-distant future, sometime before the end of the winter I think. In our case it makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, but it ain't cheap by any means.

Fortunately there are more planes out there, you'll find one. :)
 
I complied a list of five planes that I thought met my requirements. When I called about number 1 the seller said he pulled it off the market and the plane was in annual. When I saw it on the market again I called and it had sold... I really wanted that one...:mad2: Number 2 also sold (I couldn't get a return call from the seller). I ended up with number 3 and I couldn't be happier... It was number 3 because there wasn't a price in the add, but I took a chance and called the broker anyway. So hang in there the right one is out there waiting for you....:yes: Good luck with your search...
 
Bummer - sorry to hear it didn't work out. We all know we shouldn't get emotionally invested in these things but it's so damn hard not to. Gets a little easier with each year, mostly because you've been let down so many times :)
If we didn't get emotionally invested in these things, a 50 year old plus airplane would be worth about $1,850.
 
Bummer - sorry to hear it didn't work out. We all know we shouldn't get emotionally invested in these things but it's so damn hard not to. Gets a little easier with each year, mostly because you've been let down so many times :)

Man, that sounds like my single life:rolleyes:
 
Sorry it didn't work out.
Maybe keep in touch with this guy, and tell him to come and take you for a flight, or meet him half way.
He may not keep flying, and call you in the future...never know.
 
The renewed hunt is not going well. I found one on the Western slope of Colorado with missing logs. This isn't too much of an issue for me since I don't plan on selling it in my lifetime. I called the owner and well.. he's bat **** crazy. Won't let any mechanic touch this plane, some of what he said wasn't lining up and well I'm definitely not buying it.

I think I was definitely coddled and protected from the real market by the owner in the OP. I fear that the supply/demand curve is heavily skewed against me in the 180 realm :/... Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Upon further digging the owner from CO has been to jail on multiple occasions.
 
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Tip: change your search to a pa-28-180. It’s still a 180 and the wing is in the right place.
 
Mtns2Skies: I have heard there is allegedly a concept called "Patience."
It has never been successful for me the very few times I've ever considered it. But might it be worthwhile for you?
 
Patience didn't work too well for me when I bought my airplane. I ended up jumping on the first one that met most of my requirements! I was fairly lucky that, out of the whole US, this one came up at a local airport I often flew to, brokered by a guy I know and trust.
 
Patience didn't work too well for me when I bought my airplane. I ended up jumping on the first one that met most of my requirements! I was fairly lucky that, out of the whole US, this one came up at a local airport I often flew to, brokered by a guy I know and trust.
That's how you have to be with 182s. The good ones are usually gone within a day or two.
 
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