Goodyear, AZ 85395, US
The Failed Tries
The First Offer
My first offer was on a BEAUTIFUL 1974 Cessna T210. I fell in LOVE with this plane. It was amazing. The avionics were great, engine and prop were near new. Paint and interior were recently and tastefully done. This plane was what I will call situation #1. Based on my extensive research and an adjusted price for nearly every listing adjusted for avionics and condition and the engine and prop for the past 18 months, it was WILDLY overpriced. I offered $30k below the asking price for just a little less than I thought it was worth. Color me surprised when the owner countered with $25k below asking.
However, the plane was located in the middle of no-where, and while the seller was willing to have the plane inspected, he was insistent that it could not be moved. If I were going to get it independently inspected, I was going to have to pay someone to drive a couple hours, bring all the tools he needed and then hope he did a thorough inspection on the tarmac in the W TX heat. The owner of course offered his existing A&P could inspect it for me, but why would he tell me that he had been doing a poor job of maintaining it?
I WANTED THIS PLANE. I still believe in my heart that it would have been fine. However, knowing that I could not likely get a fair shake on the inspection, I had to walk away. This plane also helped me redefine my budget, which I dropped to about $175k, knowing that a really nice place could be had in this price range. I just needed to find the right seller.
The Second Offer
After losing #1, I made another offer for $170k on a 1978 Cessna T210M, another beauty. It was listed for $195k. This one was laced with all the latest in avionics, GNS750/650 combo, Stec 55X, G345, and a G500 / JPI 930. A truly glass panel machine. They accepted the offer and sent over the log books. While they had disclosed in the ad that the engine had 1300 out of the 1600 TBO, what was not disclosed was the fact that 3 of the 6 cylinders were under 55 compression on its last inspection. After looking at the books and knowing that their was a $45k prop/engine combo, It was simply more than I now wanted to spend.
Three and Four
By this time, I was growing frustrated. I just "KNEW" that the T210 was the plane for me. But the remaining inventory was all so wildly overpriced, or such a "fixer upper" that I could not / did not want to wait for another one to appear. I made a couple offers beyond the first two, but they were both rejected.
There are no more 210's to look at
I exhausted the 210 market. I had made offers on, and talked to nearly every bird owner in the category. I had a choice, wait for another one to appear, or change types. I again focused on the Piper Saratoga for a while, but did not see anything in the available planes there that "wow'ed" me here either or felt like a good deal. The guy who owned my flight school had told me several times that I really should consider a Cessna 182. I had not really looked at them, as I was so focused on the others. So, that search begins.