Buying first plane... Broker?

[tinerj]

I'm on my 6th plane...bought them all "myself", without a buyer's broker...I found it ridiculously easy.
Sooooo, I don't understand: what does a buyer's broker do? Why would I need one? What am I missing?

Suppose you are a office worker who has no mechanical skills. You love to fly but have only begun you training for PPL. Without a background in flying you are clueles as to what to look for when reading log books. You have a good income, but are cramped for time with your job and flight training, and know a pilot that you trust who will find a plane for you, test fly it, run it by his mechanic and will do so for a reasonable fee. That would be an agreeable.

 

[tawood]

...His fee will probably save me that much and more in money...

Two way street:

As a life long "do it yourselfer", I can see how this applies to only your first purchase...If you think your first plane will be your last plane, then for some the broker would make sense.

But, in my case, I consider that money spent not using a broker as my "lesson" fee...now every other plane I bought since I learned how to do it, I've saved by not paying a broker. Like I said, I've bought six planes in 20 years. Even the first one, which admittedly took some time and money, was fun. Now just fun...which I guess is different for some too, as I see the hunt and buying part of the fun, and why, on earth, would I pay someone for taking away the fun?

But, I'm not trying to cut down on those that use a broker, and thanks for answering my question.

 

[JOhnH]

I'm on my 6th plane...bought them all "myself", without a buyer's broker...I found it ridiculously easy.
Sooooo, I don't understand: what does a buyer's broker do? Why would I need one? What am I missing?

Perhaps if you were better at it, you wouldn't have had to buy 6 of them.
I bought my first one without a broker. I sold it a few years later because of all the mistakes I made, even though I spent a year researching on the internet about how to do it and what to look for.

If I kept on buying on my own, I would probably be on my 6th plane too.

 

[JOhnH]

How can some people say that if you choose a broker, he needs to be experienced in the type, have lots of experience, know all about the AD etc. Then they turn around and recommend that the least experience person available (the first time buyer) do it himself, even though he meets none of the requirements.

 

[GeorgeC]

Yes, after you buy your first plane, you will be broker.

 

[tawood]

Perhaps if you were better at it, you wouldn't have had to buy 6 of them.
I bought my first one without a broker. I sold it a few years later because of all the mistakes I made, even though I spent a year researching on the internet about how to do it and what to look for.

If I kept on buying on my own, I would probably be on my 6th plane too.

Nothing to do with a broker...at least for me. You, on the other hand...

 

[tawood]

How can some people say that if you choose a broker, he needs to be experienced in the type, have lots of experience, know all about the AD etc. Then they turn around and recommend that the least experience person available (the first time buyer) do it himself, even though he meets none of the requirements.

You sound like the real estate agents that came to my house saying, "How could you POSSIBLY sell your house on your own??????" BS

 

[N747JB]

Randall, it's funny you bring up the part about double dipping. When I bought my Citation in 1999, Howard and Rusty helped me, as you guys were buying my 441 back, and I was using it as a trade in. The dealer I was buying it from kept wanting to stay away from Howard and deal directly with me, he thought he would owe Howard a fee. Howard and I both assured him, the 441 was all he wanted! Rusty helped me through the pre-buy at SAT Citation center, while I was sitting in the comfort of my own home! It was another fun buying experience! Howard sold it for me when it was time for it to go! We both agreed that the timing was perfect! If Rusty is hanging around, kick him in the butt for me!!

Here is a little of my insight on brokers. If you decide to use a broker, I would find a guy that is an expert in THE model airplane you are looking to purchase. He would then be able to provide insight on the market trends of that particular model over the years, and can give you a really good idea on how it does in regards to value retention vs. just scouring the market and getting an idea of current prices (anybody can do that). There are a lot of brokers that will represent everything from a 150 to a King Air, and you just have to ask, how much does he really know about all of those airplanes?
While I'm on my rant, there is one other thing to be cautious about. It's what we call double-dipping. You are paying this broker to assure you get a good airplane. You would be astounded to learn how many of them also ask the dealer or owner for a "finder's fee" which will not be disclosed to you. That finders fee, which is typically $2,000 or more, ends up coming out of your pocket as it gets budgeted into the negotiations. I've had a couple guys tell me in the past that if we pay them a finders fee, they will also help "push the sale through pre-buy". Now who are they working for? Hearing that made me want to throw up in my mouth at the sheer thought of the deception to their client.
As far as inspections, unless that broker is an A&P or IA, I don't know that I would trust that person solely with the reviewing of the logbooks. Let a good mechanic do that. Damage history is easy to spot, and again, just about anybody can do that, but also knowing the status of ADs, SBs and good routine maintenance is very important. A mechanic that knows that airplane well will be very familiar with its intricacies/ recurring issues in regards to maintenance and will know what to look for.
Lastly, in my opinion, purchasing an airplane is definitely something that can be done yourself. Get an agreement at the price you are comfortable with, get the airplane to a shop that knows THAT airplane, use escrow to assure clear title (we find a lot of old liens hanging out there from decades ago), and fly off into the sunset!

 

[Zeldman]

Broker...... Yes.





Then we fixed 'er

 

[rfunston]

Randall, it's funny you bring up the part about double dipping. When I bought my Citation in 1999, Howard and Rusty helped me, as you guys were buying my 441 back, and I was using it as a trade in. The dealer I was buying it from kept wanting to stay away from Howard and deal directly with me, he thought he would owe Howard a fee. Howard and I both assured him, the 441 was all he wanted! Rusty helped me through the pre-buy at SAT Citation center, while I was sitting in the comfort of my own home! It was another fun buying experience! Howard sold it for me when it was time for it to go! We both agreed that the timing was perfect! If Rusty is hanging around, kick him in the butt for me!!

That's awesome! He's still around. I'll kick him hard for you!