Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only Looking for a 150 or 152

I started looking at airplanes for sale years ago hoping one day...

The price on these airplanes have gone up but I don't think they are going back down. What do you guys think? Is the price going up down left right yaw roll?

I have been checking trade a plane, controller and barnstormers. Is there a better place to look?

1. What can I expect to pay for a 150 152? I have seen a lot of prices out there but have no idea if they are going for that price.

2. How much is an ADS-B installation? I still see them without.

3. Dose anyone know a good A&P just north of DFW Bravo?

I'll post a link for us to talk about. Just put yourself in my shoes and tell me what you think about it.


https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/208890435/1978-cessna-152-piston-single-aircraft


O I guess I should tell you what my shoes look like they are brown SAS 11s I'm a 46 year old rusty pilot with less than 100 hours and it's been almost 2 years since I've left the ground. Sad I know. Mission, 95% will be within 2 hours of base back the same day. Mostly small airfields.


Thank you
Randy

Randy, you're right about the prices. They have gone up, in some instances, way up, and it happened in a relatively short time. Are they going to continue climbing, or maybe come down? Who knows. We didn't see this coming, and have no idea about the future.


What affects the price of a used airplane? According to the AOPA, generally speaking they are:

Engine hours — perhaps the most common influence on resale value. The closer an engine is to its recommended time between overhaul (TBO), the less its value. Equally important is a record of consistent use coupled with a good maintenance program. Regular use helps keep seals and other engine components lubricated and in good shape.

Installed equipment — such as avionics, air conditioning, deicing gear and interior equipment. The big item here is usually avionics that can easily double the value of some older aircraft. Also, older equipment is generally more expensive to maintain.

Airworthiness Directives —ADs are issued by the FAA for safety reasons and are a fact of life for most every aircraft. Once issued, owners are required to comply with the AD within the time period allotted. It’s important to look at the AD history of an aircraft. Check the nature of the ADs and whether they are recurring or one-time compliance. Make sure the logbooks show compliance with all applicable ADs. You can search for ADs on the FAA website or you can have a list prepared by Aircraft Title and Escrow Service.

Damage history — major repairs can affect the value of an aircraft significantly, but may be hard to pin down. A damage history will decrease the value of an aircraft, depending on the type of accident, nature of the damage and the degree to which major components have been involved. Any aircraft with a damage history should be closely scrutinized to make sure it has been properly repaired in accordance with the applicable FAA regulations and recommended practices.

Paint/interior — used on occasion to give "tired" aircraft a quick facelift. Check new paint jobs carefully for evidence of corrosion under the surface. Interior items should be checked for proper fit and condition. Done properly, both items enhance the value of the aircraft.


Airworthiness Directives are the least concern with 150s. There aren't too many of them, and the last one was issued many years ago. A couple of them have recurring requirements, but they are easy to comply with.

Engine hours and installed equipment are the biggest factors.

A uAvionix tailBeacon ADS-B unit costs $2,000. Installation adds to that, but this one is pretty easy so it should be reasonable.


The 152 you linked to has some very desirable things people look for in a 150/152:
- Good paint, good interior.
- The Sparrowhawk conversion. That is very desirable mod as it adds extra horsepower to the Lycoming engine.
- It's being not a Hangar Queen and is being flown regularly

And it has a few undesirable items:
- The engine is getting high on time. 2,000 hours is the TBO, so you've got about 500 hours to go. But TBO is not an absolute number in recreational flying, engine overhaul is on condition.
- Those radios. The ARC radio and transponder are getting long in the tooth.

Don't know if it has complete logs, if it has any corrosion, or the history of the airplane.

All in all, looks like a nice airplane that has been well cared for. Is it worth 50 grand? A few years ago we would be laughing, but today, might be close to the right price. But when you get right down to it, an item is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Hi Randy.

It always makes me a little suspicious when people say things like “Plenty of time left on the engine.” I wonder when it was overhauled? The Sparrowhawk conversion is a good thing. My mechanic told me a week or so ago that he sold a nice 150 in two days for $35,000. They are indeed expensive right now!

Good luck with your search, but be careful. The higher prices have brought a lot of “sitters” out of the woodwork.

Randy, welcome to the forum, and the best type club on the planet!

I'll just echo Stacey's warning - watch out for "sitters," planes that haven't flown much in between annuals. You may just end up spending three times what you purchase it for in the first few years of ownership. Ask me how I know....

Of course, if you're willing to put in the money, it's always good to see someone getting one of those birds back up in the air often instead of rotting away on the ground, so...

I personally don't see the prices coming down soon. They were already on the way up for 150s and 152s after Basic Med was implemented, and pilots that lost their third class medical just a few years prior started looking to get back in the air for as little TCO as possible. Then COVID shutdowns forced some pilots to have to unload their planes, and it seemed like flight schools from overseas/outside the US started buying them up for, it seemed, whatever people were asking for them. That drove the average prices up a little. Toss in the recent inflation increases, and it seems to be even more of a seller's market now than in recent years.

I’ll second the note about flight schools buying up 150’s having received three enquiries from schools looking to buy my 150M. Seems they are keen on the M model as well as 152’s. After all, they still represent the best value for money.

Interesting, as our flight school is looking to sell our 150s (standardizing on 172M/N). We just sold one and have two more we are looking to sell. The last one had poor paint, decent interior, engine at or past TBO, not sure TTAF hours, sold for $25K CAN. I thought that was super expensive, but like the old adage says - "whatever the market will bare".

Buying a Canadian plane with US dollars would maybe save some bucks at the front, but I don't know what import looks like. If you want more info you can PM me

Eric

Hey Randy, I'm selling my 76 150M check your mailbox.