Airplane buying- Pay retail, bargain, what???

[Jaybird180]

If a purchaser has an specific airplane in mind he wants, what is customary? Is it bargaining like buying a car or house or like buying clothes off the rack (pay what it says on the sticker).

Obviously I know there's wiggle room for pre-flown airplanes. My question pertains to the new airplane smell.

 

[steingar]

I've never bought anything big without some haggling, including my cars. Only chumps pay the asking price.

 

[Jim Logajan]

I've never bought anything big without some haggling, including my cars. Only chumps pay the asking price.

Don't always count on it. It always depends on the market. Personal example: When we sold our last house we had 13 offers - all were over the asking price. Our real estate agents (we had a mother-daughter team; the father taught real estate classes at a community college, so they were nowhere near being tyros) tried to set what they thought was a good high asking price in a seller's market and still managed to come up short. (Obviously this was a while back - in 2005.) The market was that crazy.

 

[TripleZ]

Dealers are probably going to have their prices set across the country. Or unless you want to fly 6 states away (for an airplane, thats not unreasonable) you wont find a better deal. For the new stuff, think Apple. Their price is constant everywhere, however deals can be found on last years "new" model.

I'm sure there is haggling room, after all, a new plane is over $100k. But more likely on options, rather than base price. I will never have the money to find out if that's true though.......... :wink2:

 

[Fearless Tower]

Don't always count on it. It always depends on the market. Personal example: When we sold our last house we had 13 offers - all were over the asking price. Our real estate agents (we had a mother-daughter team; the father taught real estate classes at a community college, so they were nowhere near being tyros) tried to set what they thought was a good high asking price in a seller's market and still managed to come up short. (Obviously this was a while back - in 2005.) The market was that crazy.

This is very true. In my area the past year, houses have been closing for 15k more than the initial asking price.

Even with cars it can vary - most new car sales usually involve alot of haggling. Mini-Coopers on the other hand are another story. The demand is high enough that you are highly likely to get the dealer to go down from the sticker price more than a couple hundred.

 

[poadeleted20]

There's always more bargaining in the used plane market than in the new plane market, but that doesn't mean there's no room at all. Only way to find out is to make an offer and see what happens.

 

[Anthony]

EVERYTHING is negotiable. However, they can always choose NOT to negotiate, and just say no. You must establish a strike price at which you are willing to walk away, and stick to it.

 

[flyingriki]

This is very true. In my area the past year, houses have been closing for 15k more than the initial asking price.

Are you Sh**ting me! Does this mean the Realtors are lowballing asking prices to get some action? Up here in a NorCal college town the asking prices that move quick are obnoxiously low.

Seriously, would be glad to hear your thoughts and others experiences.

 

[Tom-D]

it is the responsibility of the buyer to know the value of what they want to buy, also it is the sellers responsibility to get as much money they can for their product.

When some one comes to buy an aircraft from me and wants to Haggle, I simply tell them they knew the price when they came here, if they didn't think the aircraft was worth the asking price in the ad, why are they here?

When my 170-B was for sale the asking price was 45K, the first buyer came and looked at it, thought it was a great aircraft and handed me a check for 40K, I looked at it and handed it back and said " I think You are trying to cheat me, the deal is off, I will not sell the aircraft to you" He looked shocked, and left the hangar. I sold the 170 to the next person who saw it at full list price.

It doesn't pay for a seller to haggle, you always loose money.

 

[schmookeeg]

We get a sizeable discount on cessna stuff by being a CPC. When we bought our new 172SP, we were able to secure an additional 6% off. I think our total savings were in the 40k range.

If you're buying a new cessna, PM me, maybe we can work something out.

 

[wabower]

Discounts can be had, even when markets are tight and sellers appear to have the upper hand. The largest discount I have personally negotiated on the purchase of a new aircraft is $4.5 million, but it was a twin.

If a purchaser has an specific airplane in mind he wants, what is customary? Is it bargaining like buying a car or house or like buying clothes off the rack (pay what it says on the sticker).

Obviously I know there's wiggle room for pre-flown airplanes. My question pertains to the new airplane smell.

 

[Fearless Tower]

Are you Sh**ting me! Does this mean the Realtors are lowballing asking prices to get some action? Up here in a NorCal college town the asking prices that move quick are obnoxiously low.

Seriously, would be glad to hear your thoughts and others experiences.

Alot of it has to do with the fact that (at least in my area of San Diego) the market in the past year has stabilized at what most folks feel is the bottom. Rents have risen and there are a ton of folks now looking to buy, so the buyers are finding that if they really want the house, they need to go in with a high offer in order to be competitive. That has been the situation for the most part in the past year. It may start cooling off, but we shall see. Also, the banks have been doing a good job of holding back the distressed properties so as to not flood the market with too much supply. There are still a ton of foreclosed properties sitting vacant that are not listed or being offered for sale right now.