Pawn Stars buy Piper Warrior

[MDeitch1976]

Last night I was watching Pawn Stars. Do no know if it was a new episode or not. They bought a Piper Warrior that needed some work for $6500.
They had a used motor with supposedly only 500 hours on it installed(don't know what motor), a new paint job, and new interior, and I believe they may have changed a couple avionics, and they made a repair to the nose gear. The total investment came out to $21,500. This just does not seem like a realistic number to me? That or they get quite the hook up?

 

[flyingron]

Remember that everything on that show is staged, it's only a quasireality show.
An overhaul would run $15K, I suspect a 500 hour engine probably could be had for $12. An airtex kit and a cheap paint job certainly could be done under $5K.

 

[Velocity173]

Yeah quite a cheap price for all that. If that total investment includes the $6,500 purchase price, that was some cheap work.

 

[MDeitch1976]

Remember that everything on that show is staged, it's only a quasireality show.
An overhaul would run $15K, I suspect a 500 hour engine probably could be had for $12. An airtex kit and a cheap paint job certainly could be done under $5K.

I want to say they put the motor in for $6000. I agree with the Quasireality. They probably changed the numbers to make it appear as they would actually be able to make a profit. They probably lost money on trying to flip the plane. When you have a good supplemental income off the show, I guess you can turn a loss into a gain.

 

[N801BH]

I saw that episode last year... or maybe before that..

I thought it was strange they blanked out the N number.... Why would they be worried about it getting identified ?

 

[DaleB]

I saw that episode last year... or maybe before that..

I thought it was strange they blanked out the N number.... Why would they be worried about it getting identified ?

Probably because if most people knew those idiots had been anywhere near that aircraft, its value would drop to whatever the aluminum scrap and engine core are worth.

 

[MDeitch1976]

Probably because if most people knew those idiots had been anywhere near that aircraft, its value would drop to whatever the aluminum scrap and engine core are worth.

I think the company that repaired it was Mojave Aviation. I would imagine they would have done an A+ job on this plane. They were after all on TV tied to this plane. Unless the hypothetically, the quasireality of it is this plane never went to market, just for parts. Plane built for TV.

 

[X3 Skier]

I thought it was strange they blanked out the N number.... Why would they be worried about it getting identified ?

Saw that and immediately figured it was fudged up so when it was marketed, the potential buyer would not know what the cost was to get it flying and have a better negotiation position.

I did like the comment that they "had an engine laying around in the junk pile" IIRC, that they installed for $6000.

Cheers

 

[AggieMike88]

What I wish the producers would show is the dealings when the item they purchase is sold.

We see the commentary that they think they could sell it for $XXX. It would be interesting to see if they actually did get that, and how long did it take.

 

[Steve Foley]

I thought it was strange they blanked out the N number.... Why would they be worried about it getting identified ?

Probably for the same reason that they blank logos for items that don't pay for product placement. They don't want anyone to be able to advertise the "Pawn Stars" plane for sale unless they can get a piece of it.

On the other hand, my brother looks just like Rick Harrison, and has a Gold and Silver Pawn Shop shirt, so I'm sure he'll pose in front of your Warrior so you make people think they're buying a famous airplane (Like the Price is Right Cherokee)

 

[JHW]

I did like the comment that they "had an engine laying around in the junk pile" IIRC, that they installed for $6000.

Cheers

Seems reasonable to me. Last year a friend and I bought an aztec for $20k because it had 2 low-time O-540's. We each took an engine as spares for our pawnee's, kept some instruments, sold the pair of props for $4k and the rest of the airplane for $5k. So I've got less than $6k in a 300ish hour O-540 sitting in my "junk pile".

 

[bflynn]

It's an old episode, I saw it .... two years ago? Last year? I don't really like Pawn Stars, I just happened to go past channel surfing and saw the Warrior.

The plane was repaired and flew on the show. But yeah, it was a real mess when they started with it.

There's another thread on this already - maybe more information there
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38271

 

[N747JB]

What I wish the producers would show is the dealings when the item they purchase is sold.

We see the commentary that they think they could sell it for $XXX. It would be interesting to see if they actually did get that, and how long did it take.

They never show them selling anything! I used to really like it, but after I came to the realization that it was all set up and basically fake, I lost interest. These sellers are set up and interviewed before the show, the shop is cleared of other customers etc.
I have a friend that is on one of the house hunting shows, he and his partner had to have the condo UNDER CONTRACT before the show would start the shoot! He told my wife that he had to act mean to the agent as part of the show! In reality he is an absolute gentleman that probably never raises his voice.

 

[olasek]

They never show them selling anything!

During my watching experience they showed one item being sold because the buyer happened to be a TV celebrity. I have no problem understanding why most of the entertainment value in this show is in buying rather than in selling. In original buying you get issues related to identification, authenticity, age, true value, restoration, etc. I think that selling part most viewers would find quite boring.

 

[MDeitch1976]

During my watching experience they showed one item being sold because the buyer happened to be a TV celebrity. I have no problem understanding why most of the entertainment value in this show is in buying rather than in selling. In original buying you get issues related to identification, authenticity, age, true value, restoration, etc. I think that selling part most viewers would find quite boring.

Some shows(not pawn stars), do show the selling. Then you get to see them rip someone off.
I forget what show. One of them bought a motorcycle for really cheap. Put, very little into it. Wanted one value to break even which they didn't think they could get. And, ended up ripping someone off for so much more. Really keeps your faith up in other people in this world.

 

[olasek]

Then you get to see them rip someone off.

Like I was saying in another thread about advertised used car prices I see plenty of attempts to rip uneducated customer off and this comes from very well established and large dealerships which have big ad slogans about how they pride themselves on customer/service satisfaction. You don't have to watch pawn shop shows or some back alley deals to see it all the time.

 

[catmandu]

Some shows(not pawn stars), do show the selling. Then you get to see them rip someone off.
I forget what show. One of them bought a motorcycle for really cheap. Put, very little into it. Wanted one value to break even which they didn't think they could get. And, ended up ripping someone off for so much more. Really keeps your faith up in other people in this world.

Saw one episode of Fast 'n Loud. Hot Rod shop in Dallas that flips cars. Two cars sold at auction for something like a $15k loss. I like that honesty, might watch that show again one rainy day.

 

[N747JB]

Saw one episode of Fast 'n Loud. Hot Rod shop in Dallas that flips cars. Two cars sold at auction for something like a $15k loss. I like that honesty, might watch that show again one rainy day.

I've watched that one a couple times, not sure about the premise. Reserve a spot at an auction without the car being ready or even close doesn't seem like much of a business plan. They also get these cars finished WAY to fast and cheap! They make it look like you can get a show quality paint job in 48 hours, probably more like a week or two to do a decent job. They seem to conveniently leave out some expenses when figuring gross profit, like sale fees 5-10% at classic auctions, shop labor, and about half the parts.

 

[skyflea]

Last night I was watching Pawn Stars. Do no know if it was a new episode or not. They bought a Piper Warrior that needed some work for $6500.
They had a used motor with supposedly only 500 hours on it installed(don't know what motor), a new paint job, and new interior, and I believe they may have changed a couple avionics, and they made a repair to the nose gear. The total investment came out to $21,500. This just does not seem like a realistic number to me? That or they get quite the hook up?

that episode was from couple years ago, and Rick is hooked in Vegas, friend of mine knows him pretty good, the guy have half of Vegas working for him, pretty smart guy and cheap as hell

 

[olasek]

Two cars sold at auction for something like a $15k loss. I like that honesty,

There is no shortage of reality-type shows where losses are frequently mentioned (again, if you believe the show to begin with). Wayne Carini in his "Chasing Classic Cars" frequently complains that a car sold at a "loss" though you wonder why he decided on a no-reserve auction. You see Pawn Stars heroes frequently pay too much for an item, I have watched Rick pay $13,000 for a book with a fake signature. His biggest loss is said to be a $40,000 purchase of a stolen jewelery. His biggest single gain is said to be $80,000 on an antique Rolex watch (per show's trivia).