[kevin]

Oh no Kyle, I completely disagree with Larry (sorry Larry). I think 56K is a "fool catcher" price, to use your words.

A mid-time 71 337F books at 66,500 to start with. Subtract half the cost of mid-time engines, plus the labor to put them in, and overhaul the associated accessories, I compute that to be 20K to start with (40K to replace 2 normally aspirated engines with remans and overhaul the accessories, plus labor, is normal, maybe even low). Assuming just a minimal IFR stack that needs to be fairly quickly replaced, you are talking a 15K including labor, and that is *minimal*, most folks spend 20K or more. Unfortunately, resale value on that stack is only about 10K over what you have now, (i.e. folks will pay about 10K more for an airplane with "acceptable" radios vs one with crap radios, although a few will pay more for really cool new radios), so you should subtract another 10K for the radios. Damage history makes an airplane harder to sell, and lowers the value, although finding an airplane without damage history is becoming a little more difficult, but I would expect a 10% to 15% hit to the value of the airplane, and as I said, when you go to sell it, you will wait much longer for a buyer if you have damage history. (Note: I am NOT saying that necessarily makes sense, a properly repaired airplane, emphasis on the *properly* should not be of significantly lesser value, but the market does not seem to agree with this).

So, just on numbers, start with retail book of 66.5K. Nobody pays retail book for non-creampuff airplanes, so I would knock it down to 60K immediately, but that is a matter of opinion. Now subtract:

6K for damage history (this probably should be more)
20K for engines
10K for avionics

I get a book value of 24K. But the airplane has been sitting for a long time, and that reduces the value further, although there are no hard and fast rules for how much. (I am not talking about the engines now, I am talking about the effect of sitting on hoses, seals, corrossion in the airframe and electrical system, on an on.) The way I would think about this is the following.

When you buy a new airplane (to you), the first annual is always a bitch. Your mechanic may not agree with the previous mechanic on one thing or another, he will research and check ADs more carefully on the first annual, and because the airplane is new to him, he will inspect it more carefully and see things the other guy just plain missed. So, with average shop rates, you can figure that the first annual on a 337 is going to be 8K to 10K (not owner assisted). After the first, your annuals should go down to 4K or so in good years. BUT, if the airplane has been sitting, I would expect at least an additional 5K in maintenance (in addition to the engines, which you will likely replace) and it could be more, over the first year. So let me do a comparison.

My figures, book value is 24K. Let's say you pay this for the airplane. At the end of the first year, you have spent:

24K for the airplane
5K for the extra maintenance for the year
20K to replace ONE engine (you "get away" with the other)
15K for the radio stack

You now have a good airplane, with nice radios and one runout engine. You have paid 74K for this plane, and you must replace the other engine soon probably. You can resell it, however, for only about 60K because the runout engine subtracts 10K and the new radios add 10K (6K reduced for damage history). So you are 6K backwards in the airplane as long as that engine lasts, and when it goes, you are 16K backwards in the airplane. *And that is if you pay 24K for it.* Imagine where you will be if you pay 56K.

Now, lets say you go find a mid-time, no damage history 71 337F with King radios, like KX155 era that has been flying 100+hours per year, so the engines are only 6 or 7 years old. You can buy that airplane for book 66K (proably 50K in this market), and just go fly it. You have risk on both engines (not everything makes TBO, true of all airplanes), but the regular flying means the risk is lower and you pay 5K less in maintenance the first year and you don't have to wait out 2 months of downtime while the annual is done, an engine is changed and the radios are replaced. If something changes in your life, you can sell the airplane for pretty much what you paid for it.

I think just buying a good airplane, rather than a distressed one, is worth the reduced aggravation. But if you do buy a distressed airplane, make sure you REALLY buy it VERY cheap (for a "song" as Ernie recommended), or you will end up sad later.

I have seen people buy distressed Skymasters over and over again, and sell the airplane two years later complaining that "those 337s are really high maintenance". But the fault was not of the airplane, it was the owner buying an airplane that had been undermaintained and underflown for years (like the one you are describing) and the piper needed to be paid.

Others may quibble with the figures in this message, a few K either way. But my point I think will stay intact. Do I think the owner of the airplane will sell it to you for 24K? Probably not. Maybe Don can chime in here with what the salvage value of a 337 is, I think it is about 20K, but I have no real data. You are buying a flyable airplane, and that is worth something. If you want to buy a project, and have an airplane that you have thoroughly gone through (either paid to do, or you are an A&P or have skills and A&P supervision) I can imagine people paying 30K, maybe in even 40K for such an airplane. But not more than that. And, as you can derive from this message, I would not be one of them.

The above is a distillation of what I have learned, sometimes painfully, in owning 9 airplanes over 30 years. It is my opinion only, and you should make your own decision about whether to purchase the airplane, obviously.

I want you to be a happy Skymaster owner, and that is my motivation for writing this message. I hope it helps you.

Kevin