Looking for advice on buying a P337

[muesr]

I owned a P337 back in the late 70's.
I'm looking for another and would appreciate any advice concerning sellers and then shops to evaluate a P337.

[aldoradave]

That is a very broad question and I wouldn't be able to give a broad answer, other than to say that it still seems to be a buyer's market. I went through a buy process in February and ended up with just what I was looking for, a 73 P337 N84E.

My guidance was AOPA's VRef aircraft valuation program, then punched in the numbers for each aircraft that seemed to be in line with my needs. If a seller was willing to take a price at or near that Vref value I pursued it further. I ended up making one wasted trip to Dallas for an aircraft that looked better in photos than it really was, but finally made the connection near Annapolis. Given that I live now in SoCal the cost of the ferry had to be added to my basis.

The result was a 2700 hr airframe with mid time Mattituck engines, nice paint and interior, but with marginal avionics. Mods included Horton STOL and the Gear Door removal (that I now see as essential to any 337). It also had a fresh annual.

I paid $69,500 cash and consider myself very fortunate to have found a motivated seller who owned it for 10 years but recently only flew on occasion.

As for a qualified pre-buy inspection, you probably ought to ask that question once you identify the region you will need it in.


Dave Dillehay

[muesr]

Dave,

Thanks for the advice. Your input provided information that I will use.

I hope that you enjoy your P337. I had one years ago and trusted it to get me home safely every time I flew it.

Mike Ellington

[hharney]

Mike
Have you searched your question on the website search option? The thread below, which is the second thread in the message group, is all the info about buying a Skymaster. I would suggest that you review this info and then ask some specific questions about the aircraft. It would take hours to answer your question as written, someone like myself that has a great passion for the aircraft could go on for days but may not touch on all the things you are really looking for. The newest Aviation Consumer magazine features Skymaster but I was not impressed with their review. It may help you answer some questions though. Please dig into this message board because there is lots of info.


http://www.337skymaster.com/messages...ead.php?t=2190

[aldoradave]

It seems that Aviation consumer perpetuates the story line that the 337s are maintenance hogs. Indeed there are a few idiosyncratic items that do require different levels than a conventional twin but I don't think those to be of much importance when evaluating the relative maintenance needs.

From my experience of owning a Seneca III (same motors as my P337) I don't think there is much difference at all. My guess is that some compare the 337's maintenance costs to that of a single, and of course it is going to be more--but not in comparison to other light twins.

Dave Dillehay