Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Downward spiral in 150 prices

Is it me or are prices going down substantially for c-150's. I see some very nice aircraft( low engine times ,new paint) on ebay that are barely bid up to the 12-14K range. These same aircraft probably would have made 18-19K or more 6 months ago. Hopefully the trend will reverse itself soon. Its definatly a good time to buy though.JimB.

Some of the more recent E-Bay -150s have had some high time (due or past due TBO) hours on them. Many never met the reserve. I suspect that those who bid on EBay for a 150 are really looking for a below market steal (aren't we all) but you may be right about the general downward trend.

I think you're right, James! There are signs that the economy is slowing down a bit. The housing market is one indicator, with new construction down from last year, sale prices peaked out, mortgage rates climbing again, and some talk of asking prices coming down .... in some areas they already have! New car and boat sales and other high ticket items are also down compared to last year.

Whenever people start worrying about money and the cost of essentials, sales of luxury items slows down, eventually bringing prices down. I am surprised that used aircraft prices are down so soon though, usually droping more slowly than higher volume markets! Then again, the lower end prices of small aircraft are more volatile than higher end prices, too.

I think your all crazy! Eventhough, I feel the same way.

Maybe it's just human nature to always spot a better deal then the one you just got. I did the same after I bought my plane.

Kyle,

My solution was to stop looking Cessna 150 prices after I bought 075.

YEP.. Me too.

That's why I missed out on [color:"red"] Mr. ED [/b] [/color] [b] ...........................BILL!!!

No, guys. You are all correct. Things are slowing down quite a bit. If you look at the last quarterly indicators, things are down in every sector of the economy. Some of them are pretty bad such as car sales (durable goods). GM has nearly seven months of production on the car lot and Ford is nearly as bad and is facing up to it by cutting production this year. GM is going to have to give thier inventory away at cost and even finance it at zero percent with zero down to do it. Existing housing sales and real estate are off nearly 40% though some markets are still pretty hot (Las Vegas, Palm Beach, ect). Some luxury goods such as airplanes and large boats have value tiers where, though they still are though of as exotic, they are considered as throw-away items within the tier. A lot of folks will walk away or take a loss on a 18k 150, but won't back down on a 200k used Sirius. A lot of buyers will still pay close to asking price on the high tiered Sirius or Bonanza, but dicker at 50% on the 150. The good news is if you have the cash and want that bigger more capable airplane or boat, it will be a buyers market this winter. There is a local guy with a really nice Warrior that hasn't had a bite in a month with it on the market since april has told some of the guys at the field he will drop his price again by October. If he does go below 35k, I just might be a Warrior owner this fall. To get an idea about the relative health of the economy, the indicators look pretty fair looking at the numbers excluding food and energy. Roll in energy and food and things look ratty. War, China, and $70 per barrel oil is whipping up on all of us.
Bob Martilla

Just like the Fed to take away the punch bowl just as the party's gettin' started.

Things are pretty slow. One more pretty good whack, such as a hurricane, successful terrorist attack, or some idiot fanatic in Iran/North Korea/axis of evil....China telling us to "shut up" like they did last week (why are we building them up anyway??????????), then we gonna have a big problem.

Isn't consumer sentiment down? I think that's what the indicators said. I dunno..... but there are gonna be a lot of properties in the real estate market goin' on the foreclosure block in the next few months. Looks like a lot of folks overextended themselves.

Oh my...

History repeats itself over and over and over and over and over...

There is a bright side to all this for some of us! Good but derelict 150's/152's have always been a bargain for somebody like myself, who enjoys making them airworthy again! There are probably hundreds of them out there, most needing only an engine or rebuild and maybe some minor repairs. I've had to pass up some fine examples in the last couple of years, as my money is already tied up in 3 planes and parts for restoration. If prices drop TOO dramatically, I may have to liquidate some assets in order to finance more purchases for future projects!! (Of course, I'd have to wait for prices to rise again, before I'd realize their true financial potential!)

Hey Carl,

Maybe you could interest a cable network in a "Flip that airplane" show like they do with houses.