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RV 12 Value retention

Jcy482

Member
I’d like to build an Rv12 soon. I have the means to do it, but also know that I am likely to want a change within a year or two. I know these aren’t an investment and losing a little money is ok. I’d just like to understand what kind of loss I should be expecting. Let’s say I spend $80k and put 100 hours on it. What could I likely expect to recoup? How long should I expect it to take to sell? Just to be clear, it’s not about trading up, but rather a constant need for a new project.
 
$70K return. And maybe don't paint it to reduce losses...... sell in less than 90 days.
 
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You should make profit !!!

All Vans aeroplanes are appreciating, not depreciating.

We built 2 and comfortably covered our costs, sold within 6 months, unpainted so the new owners can make their own choice.

Was done as an engineering project for a buddy who can't fly but wanted to tick the box of building.
 
In the US at least, I have not seen any real $ growth for the RV-12. The LSA market has lost (or not gained) some value since the advent of basic-med.

You should make profit !!!

All Vans aeroplanes are appreciating, not depreciating.

We built 2 and comfortably covered our costs, sold within 6 months, unpainted so the new owners can make their own choice.

Was done as an engineering project for a buddy who can't fly but wanted to tick the box of building.
 
I’ve built and sold two 12’s and didn’t lose any money on either one of them. I actually made money on the 1st one. It was sold in 2014 and took two weeks to sell by word of mouth. At that time 12’s were a hot commodity. My second 12 was sold in 2019 and the market was very different by then. I didn’t lose any money on it and it took a month to sell. In both cases the first guys to come look at them bought them. Both of them presented well with no excuses required. A buddy just bought a decent 12 for a surprisingly low price. All three of these 12’s were carbureted models and it appears that since the Is was introduced, have lost some luster. I think the Is models are probably a better investment
 
$70K return. And maybe don't paint it to reduce losses...... sell in less than 90 days.

Interesting! I would think if I were buying a finished plane I would not want to have to paint it. That said, I like the idea! Definitely some encouraging responses here. No one has laughed at the idea and said get your check book out!
 
You should make profit !!!

All Vans aeroplanes are appreciating, not depreciating.

We built 2 and comfortably covered our costs, sold within 6 months, unpainted so the new owners can make their own choice.

Was done as an engineering project for a buddy who can't fly but wanted to tick the box of building.

Profit? Are you adding anything for your labor or is your time worth nothing?
Dave
 
Good deals on the 12.

A buddy just bought a decent 12 for a surprisingly low price. All three of these 12’s were carbureted models and it appears that since the Is was introduced, have lost some luster. I think the Is models are probably a better investment

There are some tempting deals on the legacy 12s right now in the $60-65k range. That's making me rethink dropping 35-40k on a 150/2 before transitioning to the RV world. I may keep saving for another year.

I'm just shy of 100 hours so that may be the ticket to building time and figuring out the mission that will determine which RV to build.
 
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I took a negotiating class years ago. One exercise Split us into teams of 4 and gave half the teams an undisclosed amount of money and instructions unknown to the other half who were sellers of a fictions stock. The Secret instructions to the buyers were they could keep whatever money they didn’t spend. The undisclosed instructions to the sellers were that they could keep the money the buyers gave them.

The actual amount was $30 for each buyer group. In the end the actual price paid by the buyers ranged from $5 to $25. The point the instructor made was that it’s worth what someone will pay, and you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.
 
Might want to factor in risk of MOSAIC as well. If sport pilots are able to fly more capable planes in a few years it could reduce the value of "legacy" LSAs. If, could, might... I accepted this risk and decided to start building. Carpe Diem!

Cue the "it's the government" comments now. :p

From bydanjohnson.com:
"FAA generally agreed with our back-calendar estimate that the NPRM may be forthcoming in late 2021 or early 2022. This was based on the perceived amount of work remaining.

The NPRM must be released about that time to allow FAA to have a finished regulation by the end of 2023. The 2023 date is a deadline set by the U.S. Congress as part of approving FAA’s budget — called the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018."
 
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Just read that FAA calls the LSA revision plan a 2023 project. Even by their own plan changes aren’t exactly going to drop soon. I’m guessing any meaningful change to LSA rules won’t happen before 2025 at the earliest.
 
Just read that FAA calls the LSA revision plan a 2023 project. Even by their own plan changes aren’t exactly going to drop soon. I’m guessing any meaningful change to LSA rules won’t happen before 2025 at the earliest.

The deadline has always been 2023. I'll repost my previous quote here:

"The NPRM must be released [in late 2021 or early 2022] to allow FAA to have a finished regulation by the end of 2023. The 2023 date is a deadline set by the U.S. Congress as part of approving FAA’s budget — called the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018."

I understand that people are skeptical of the government, but I believe it is unfounded in this case. The FAA has stated over and over that it is committed to MOSAIC, congress has mandated it and tied the FAA budget to it, and industry advocates working directly with the FAA on the reg updates, such as LAMA, have voiced nothing but confidence in the progress to date.

Could the FAA ask congress for an extension? I suppose, but no one actually involved in the process has even hinted that the deadline is in any sort of jeopardy. We keyboard cynics and curmudgeons certainly do not have more information than them. :p
 
Bobby,

Charlie Brown always thought Lacy would hold the football. How did that work out?😝

But I’d be happy to have the bureaucrats pleasantly surprise me for once.

Rich
 
I was just browsing For Sale ads on the internet and there are multiple RV12s that don't support the theory that you can recoup most to all of your money. Is this normal, are these planes lower quality or is it just a great market for the guy who wants a used RV12? There is one for about $45k!
 
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I was just browsing For Sale ads on the internet and there are multiple RV12s that don't support the theory that you can recoup most to all of your money. Is this normal, are these planes lower quality or is it just a great market for the guy who wants a used RV12? There is one for about $45k!

Only 96 hours in 10 years and sitting in Florida. That thing will be a corrosion nightmare.
 
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There are airplanes that pop up from time to time priced well under what you’d think the market price is. I paid substantially less for mine than what others were selling for, because it had a number of issues that needed fixing. I knew it would be something of a project when I bought it, and I think I paid a fair price for it. If you look at all of the RV-12s listed, you’ll see that the one in Kissimmee is an outlier by a pretty wide margin. Having not seen the airplane I won’t speculate on why, but I’m sure there are reasons.
 
There are airplanes that pop up from time to time priced well under what you’d think the market price is. I paid substantially less for mine than what others were selling for, because it had a number of issues that needed fixing. I knew it would be something of a project when I bought it, and I think I paid a fair price for it. If you look at all of the RV-12s listed, you’ll see that the one in Kissimmee is an outlier by a pretty wide margin. Having not seen the airplane I won’t speculate on why, but I’m sure there are reasons.

Sounds to me like (with few exceptions) the "you get what you pay for" applies well here.
 
I didn't want the Dynon Flightdeck D180 and Garmin 396 GPS package. It wouldn't work very well flying anywhere pretty much around most of California, we have congested airways.

In case anyone finds them self here in the future looking for purchase advice, ADSB out is only required when flying in Class B, Class C, and Class E airspace above 10,000.

So if you live in the flat lands, and don't have a need to mix it up with the heavy traffic in in Class B (within the mode C vail) & C or fly above 10,000 (or below 2500 ft AGL to provide a safe passage margin over higher terrain), then an RV-12 equipped without ADSB out will work just fine.

And that means that a good portion of CA (and a lot of other areas in the country) is accessible.

BTW, ADSB In is pretty easy to add to any airplane. It is ADSB out that can be a bit more challenging.
 
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Everyone’s situation is different... I owned a J3-Cub for 23 years and traded it for a flying RV-12. I wanted to build but family matters precluded. My search criteria were two-fold: I wanted to trade the Cub to lessen cash outlay and I wanted to find a plane in my home state to circumvent sales tax.

Almost immediately, I found a 12 built by original owner and he was interested in a trade. The builder was 80 years old and CFII. The builder, his son (A&P), and his significant other owned 20 airplanes between them – you know how a Grandmother opens her wallet to show you pictures of all the grandchildren? There is a lot more to the story that I’ll save for another day. Most of the SB’s needed to be completed with the owner furnishing parts.

It has been a fun and memorable journey. I have owned my 12 for five years and have flown it almost 600 hours. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing…
 
While Skyview would be nice, it’s not really a viable option. We’ve equipped our older D180 panel with ADS-B IN and OUT (uAvionxi) and upgraded the GPS to an IFly 740b. The wiring wasn’t too bad at all. Swapping out the SL40 and intercom for a GTR 200B was substantially more work, but well worth the time and effort required.
 
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