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Cost to buy

Kmdpilot

Member
Looking at hopefully buying an RV6A in the next year or so. So much depends on the market as aircraft are still rapidly flying away on prices. I am not here to whine about the inflation on used aircraft. My question is about the prebuy stuff. How much do you think it all costs up front before you even get to the purchase part? Gotta get it inspected. Cost to travel to the plane to look at it. I am sure a bunch of other costs. Then once all that time and money is spent and the inspection reveals a deal breaker, then the search starts over again. How much have people typically spent looking for their plane? This includes looking at other planes and what not. I know the best situation is to find that sweet plane that is just a few hangars down and the owner is selling it at a great deal. I am not talking about the lucky unicorn finders.
 
It's really important that you do as much due diligence, in advance, as possible. Don't be afraid to ask for RECENT photos, copies of the airframe, prop and engine logs, builder's log, oil analysis results, service bulletin status, etc.. Then, have someone that knows RVs go over all of it with you. If you do this part well, you can usually have a good idea of the cost effectiveness of a trip to go see it.
 
Often over looked and a cause for wasting money is the price.
Determine how much you are able and or willing to spend. Negotiate the price up front before committing to traveling to see the plane and spending money on inspections, and make a conditional offer contingent on successful pre buy inspection.
 
7A Purchase

I live in Michigan and purchased a 7A from the builder in Oregon. We agreed on price before going there. My plan was to fly out there and fly the plane home at the same time but the weather did not cooperate so I ended up flying home and rescheduling for a month later.

I did find a CFI and AP for the inspection and transition training at the same field. Definitely try and do that.

As far as costs I had one round trip ticket and a one way ticket to Portland plus the inspection charge and transition training.

The flight home was the best trip ever flying across the Rockies through the Great Plains and across the Mississippi. I took two days to make the trip home I should have taken a week to do some extra site seeing.

Spending a few thousand is not much when your buying a 100k airplane.

Good Luck!
 
As I was in the buying phase, I found a plane I really liked. I asked for copies of oil analyses and airframe/engine logs of course, but also cleared with the previous owner that it was OK to talk to his A&P. I was fortunate that this particular A&P had done all of his previous condition inspections as well as install various components and mods. He was very helpful and very forthcoming about his opinion on the condition of the airplane. I (or my RV wrangler) spoke with him a couple of times before flying down to look at it, spoke with him once while I was there, and I’ve spoken with him a couple of times after I bought it. He didn’t want any money, although I did offer to pay him for the conversations. In my case, I trusted my conversations with the A&P and didn’t arrange my own pre-buy…flew commercial down there with my RV guru (a good friend), he looked it over, flew it, and advised I buy it. He negotiated the price for me. So we flew it home doing transition training on the way. My buddy didn’t charge me anything for any of that, but I covered all his expenses (one-way flight, overnight hotel, and meals…fortunately he doesn’t drink). Those were my only costs in the process. I didn’t have to hire any expertise, although I was prepared to if I or my buddy thought it advisable.

There are a lot of ways to do it…that’s how I did it. I was very fortunate. All the variables lined up well and I was never more than appropriately uncomfortable. Might not be a practical process for everyone but it worked really well for me.
 
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Additionally,

always be prepared to walk away. It’s easy to get worked up over a particular plane and the expense you’ve already incurred and make a bad decision under self imposed duress. And, careful with any A&P you don’t know or doesn’t come with a recommendation from someone you know well - home cooking is real and there are many tales of woe from it.
 
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My advice is that you want two different types of pre-buy inspectors

1) a builder of that model to look at build quality, compliance with SB's, did the guy avoid the common gotchas (HSTAB bolts), wing incidence... and I'm not sure someone who built a later model (with so much prepunch) can judge a 6. Note I didn't say A&P. A&P's work on many different types and can trust the factory to not make big mistakes.

2) An A&P familiar with Lycomings to go over the whole Firewall Forward.
 
BaseLeg Aviation

I agree on Vic Syracuse and BaseLeg Aviation. The first inspection after my purchase, I flew to BaseLeg and had Vic do a through inspection. I left the plane for two weeks and was very pleased with his shop. I was happy to hear him say it is a good plane.

I wanted his expertise mainly because the only person to do a condition inspection on my plane had been the builder. The builder did a great job but its always better to have different eyes look at the plane.

My "Nuts were tight" for those of you familiar with Vic's book.
 
Remember

Remember you are buying a used, one of a kind, amateur built airplane. A thorough prebuy by someone familiar with the type of aircraft you’re interested in is extremely important and should reduce the surprises later.

However that doesn’t guarantee there won’t be build quality issues, mechanical issues, etc identified after the purchase. Expect to discover some problems after purchase - it’s just part of the process!

Vic has a reputation for being the goto guy for prebuys and his guidance and recommendations have economic value to both the buyer and seller - but he’s not the only expert. Honestly, I prefer an RV that’s had condition inspections performed by multiple A&Ps - not just the holder of the Repairman’s certificate. The more eyes looking at an experimental aircraft should allow for (IMHO) a better aircraft.

I agree you can reduce (narrow the field of eligible aircraft) the cost of your search by a thorough review of electronic aircraft logs, recent pictures and having someone from a local EAA chapter give you an opinion of the aircraft. If these things check out then only you can decide whether it’s worth a visit. Arrange for the prebuy after the visit!
 
Get a deposit on !

Hi, I took about 5 yrs to find the right RV 6 for me.This is my process,
1. Agree on price.
2. Get some one nearby that you can trust to have a look at general condition.
3.Put a deposit on it after step 2 is ��.( this is important as I missed a good one because I was to slow with this step.
3. Get an A& P to do an through inspection including any SBs.( someone who knows RVs & what to look for).
4. Go for a fly in it (even if in the right seat).
5.Pay for it ( the hard part).
6. Fly away ( the good part)
This worked for me ,also ask around other builders & pilots who may know the aircraft in the same area..
Good luck.��.
 
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Looking at hopefully buying an RV6A in the next year or so. So much depends on the market as aircraft are still rapidly flying away on prices. I am not here to whine about the inflation on used aircraft. My question is about the prebuy stuff. How much do you think it all costs up front before you even get to the purchase part? Gotta get it inspected. Cost to travel to the plane to look at it. I am sure a bunch of other costs. Then once all that time and money is spent and the inspection reveals a deal breaker, then the search starts over again. How much have people typically spent looking for their plane? This includes looking at other planes and what not. I know the best situation is to find that sweet plane that is just a few hangars down and the owner is selling it at a great deal. I am not talking about the lucky unicorn finders.

If you are located in Bend Oregon, just a guess, watch for RV's here on the Left coast.... Be ready, be flexible, and be aggressive. Watch Barnstormers and be ready to move. Educate yourself so you buy only what you need and not a panel that will never be used.

Buy less than what you want in a panel if all else looks good. Same with paint and upholstery..... All of those can be used to negotiate the price.

If found on the west coast, have it delivered to your airport and try to get checked out at your home field.
 
Hi, I took about 5 yrs to find the right RV 6 for me.

Just checked my logbook. I owned a Skylane at the time and looked at my first potential RV-6 purchase on June 23, 2004. I didn't purchase until June of 2022. Thats, what, 18 years? Gotta be some kinda record.

What got in the way are the same things that builders endure: life. Marriage, work, kids, moves, yadda yadda yadda.

Everyone seems to find their plane a different way. For me, it was a friend and student of mine who just wasn't flying enough and wanted to see his airplane go to someone he knew. If not for that, I wouldn't own an RV; the prices are just too high these days. Sometimes I'll find an SR22 listed for far less than most RV-10s. Never thought I'd see that, especially given the way Cirrus prices have launched into the stratosphere.

--Ron
 
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