Help with a/c purchase price??

itsjames2011

itsjames2011

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Chicopee MA
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James
After being in a flying club for the last six months, I've decided I can't deal with the too many chiefs and not enough Indians thing they have going on. With that said I'm in the market for a Cherokee 140 and I stumbled upon this one:

http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail...e+Piston/1968/Piper/Cherokee+140/1623802.html

The seller has it listed for $24,000 qnd AOPA vref shows its value at $15,000. Does anybody know if thr AOPA VREF is accurate? Every other blue book seems to come with a high monthly fee.
 
I've always found AOPA vref to be 35% too high (or more).

btw - until recently, I owned a '74 cherokee 140.

another btw - a 46 year old engine that has never been majored? yikes!
 
the vref is usually high on their prices. High time engine with older avionics ,not a great deal. imo.
 
I gather the overhaul is about 13,000 on this airplane and if I could run it to 2200 while paying myself $25 an hour, I could live with that.
 
itsjames2011 said:
I gather the overhaul is about 13,000 on this airplane and if I could run it to 2200 while paying myself $25 an hour, I could live with that.
Click to expand...

FWIW, the overhaul price is just that....the amount a shop charges to overhaul the engine once it is in the shop.

That doesn't include removal/reinstallation/crating/shipping and replacing of other miscellaneous components that typically occurs at overhaul time.
 
Vref and all the others mean little. It's just what they sell for that matters.

If you think it's only worth 14k, make the offer. Id highly doubt he'll take it, but that's the only what you'd know.
 
A 46 yr old engine, never majored is a problem. 3 cylinders out of 4 replaced in the last 100 hrs is just the beginning. On average it has only flown 38 hrs a yr for 46 yrs. or worse, most of those hours were in the early years and it has been sitting. Potential for a lot of rust inside that engine.

I'll bet old radios too. Offer low, the best case is he runs down the offer.

Ad says hangared, but the pictures are under a shade hangar. Back seats look good, recently upholstered?
 
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I came up with an AOPA Vref value of $12,000--considering it's not a 1761 hour engine....for valuation purposes its a 2000 hour engine. At nearly 50 years old, it's runout, no matter how you look at it.

Considering how far off the asking is from the value, I wouldn't even bother making an offer. There are plenty of better examples of the vintage out there.
 
Have you ever bought or sold a home without an appraisal? Vref is totally subjective. You place a higher or lower value based upon your bias and their database is not complete with a lot of older avionics. I am NOT associated with NAAA but I have a friend who is. We ran an appraisal using Vref and his NAAA database and there was a significant difference. Spend a few bucks and get a certified appraisal.

The owner can only tell you no and you know you are not overpaying.

BTW, my friend is an appraiser not far from that area.
 
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Just offer what the aircraft is worth to you. The seller will either say yes or no.
If the A/C is worth 18k to you and the seller is asking 15k buy it.
 
BillTIZ said:
A 46 yr old engine, never majored is a problem. 3 cylinders out of 4 replaced in the last 100 hrs is just the beginning. On average it has only flown 38 hrs a yr for 46 yrs. or worse, most of those hours were in the early years and it has been sitting. Potential for a lot of rust inside that engine.



I'll bet old radios too. Offer low, the best case is he runs down the offer.



Ad says hangared, but the pictures are under a shade hangar. Back seats look good, recently upholstered?
Click to expand...


Not to mention corrosion in the plane itself
 
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