The Perfect Time to Buy Used

Tom Benenson

Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 09:40 PM ET

Verified

Cessna 182RG John Miller

Key Takeaways:

The current used-airplane market heavily favors buyers, with significantly depreciated prices across various aircraft types due to economic slowdowns, offering an opportune time to purchase.
Prospective buyers should clearly define their mission needs, investigate insurance requirements early, and always negotiate the asking price, which is often higher than the selling price.
The most critical step in buying a used airplane is to hire an independent, knowledgeable mechanic for a thorough pre-purchase inspection, including a detailed review of all logbooks, to uncover potential issues.
While current market conditions offer attractive deals, buyers must be realistic about their budget and ability, remembering that a more capable or "bigger" airplane will likely incur higher ongoing fuel, insurance, and maintenance costs.

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The opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” is an apropos description of today’s used-airplane market.

For buyers these are great times to be in the hunt for an airplane that’s gotten some gentle use and good care. But for sellers, faced with an economic need to relinquish the airplane they’ve enjoyed and nurtured, often for years, the times aren’t so good.