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FWIW, the single most influential factor in the price of old airplanes is the time on the engine. For the most part as you may already know, these small aircraft engines have a "recommended" 2000 hour time frame between overhauls (a few engine models are as low as 1500 hrs). Generally speaking, buying a mid priced model of used airplane with under 1000 hours on the engine is a pretty safe bet for being able to re-sell it at a similar price several years down the road. OTOH, buying a similar condition (or even nicer) airplane with 1700 hours on the engine for what seems to be a cheap price, is not really going to be cheap as it will likely need the engine to be overhauled while you own it. It sucks, but major repairs (like re-covering a fabric airplane or getting an engine overhaul) nearly always result in you losing money when it comes time to sell.
Example:
C172 with 1000 hours since major engine overhaul might be listed for say $45,000. Similar C172 with 1700 hours SMOH might be listed for $35,000. Well you will likely spend close to $20,000 to get the 1700 engine overhauled after a couple years, but the airplane will not be worth the $58,000 you put into it. It "might" be worth $50,000.
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne
0% Liberal
Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing.
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