Aircraft selling

I just have to vent somewhere. I just got off the telephone with an individual who has an Ercoupe listed on Trade-A-Plane. The thing has an O-200 engine, so I asked what the aircraft weight was. He didn't know. Ok, so I asked what the GPS's he had were (he listed 2 GPS units in the listing). His answer was that they were "airplane oriented". I asked what brand name, and he didn't know! I next asked what the airport designator was at his airfield (after all, I might want to see the airplane, right?). And he didn't know that either. I just don't think that this is the way to sell an aircraft. :(
Sorry about taking up your time, but I had to get it off my chest. If you have a nice Ercoupe (light-sport eligable) for sale, and know what it weighs and where you are I'd be interested.

Estate sale? Or likely a scam...

Buying an airplane, especially at a distance, can be a frustrating experience. When I was looking, I found many sellers surprisingly uncommunicative. I remember calling one in response to the for sale ad he had run. I began by mentioning that I had seen his ad and asked if he had a few minutes to talk about his airplane and answer a few questions that I had. He replied, "Well, I suppose so, but all you really need to know is in the ad."

Jobti, I doubt if most aircraft owners know the weight of their airplane without looking it up and I have never had a buyer ask that info in the sale of 3 airplanes of different types that I've sold.
He,of course should know the airport where it is, if it is at an airport and you can look up the id in various sources. He might be an agent or not even a pilot.
You might call someone like an A& P at that airport an may get an ideal of the condition of the plane. They may not want to commit to much , but can tell you perhaps if it is flown regularly or at all.
The GPS units may be hand helds, not expensive built ins.

It is amazing how people represent their airplanes. Flew to Indiana from Idaho with a friend to look at a C170. I asked if it had any corrosion. Seller said this is the cleanest 170 you will ever see with absolutely no corrosion and a really nice recent paint job. Paint was about a 4 on a 10 scale, rust on most of the steel parts and corrosion everywhere. I pointed out the corrosion and the owner said he didn't realize that's what corrosion looked like. Tough to go airplane shopping out there.

buy arizona aircraft and forget rust worries

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Originally Posted by Allan

buy arizona aircraft and forget rust worries

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Note to self: Move my Florida plane to Arizona to sell it.

:D

Back in the '80's some guys had the bright idea to buy a bunch of used cars from Michigan and bring them South to sell.

In very short order us Alabama boys learned to check for rust and corrosion due to winter road salt.

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Originally Posted by jobti

I just have to vent somewhere. I just got off the telephone with an individual who has an Ercoupe listed on Trade-A-Plane. The thing has an O-200 engine, so I asked what the aircraft weight was. He didn't know. Ok, so I asked what the GPS's he had were (he listed 2 GPS units in the listing). His answer was that they were "airplane oriented". I asked what brand name, and he didn't know! I next asked what the airport designator was at his airfield (after all, I might want to see the airplane, right?). And he didn't know that either. I just don't think that this is the way to sell an aircraft. :(
Sorry about taking up your time, but I had to get it off my chest. If you have a nice Ercoupe (light-sport eligable) for sale, and know what it weighs and where you are I'd be interested.

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Now that you have vented, consider this. Your frustrating experience has the ring of an estate sale to me. Very recently, an elderly friend of mine passed away. A longtime airplane owner, he had decades of experience. Late in life, he proved to be a talented builder and even earned his A&P license a few years ago. I helped him accomplish the factory approved wing modification on his Zenith 601 project well before the airplane made its first flight. The aircraft was still in the early hours of Phase One testing, accumulating less than 10 hours of flight time when my friend passed a few weeks ago. There is no one in his surviving family who knows or cares anything about airplanes. The beautifully crafted airplane fitted with a brand new Jabaru engine was offered up for quick sale at a price I am convinced was at least $10,000 less than what the airplane is really worth.

It is highly doubtful any member of my friend's family could offer you any specific details concerning the Zenith. Ongoing hangar fees are a significant monthly expense and the main priority the family had was to sell the airplane. My point is this. You don't really know who you talked to. The fact that the person you contacted could not even provide basic details about the GPS's strongly suggests that person is as clueless about the Ercoupe's technical details as my friend's family is about the Zenith. Indeed, because that person could not even tell you what the airport designator is suggests the person is not even a pilot. The person you talked to might be a friend or family member who was tasked with selling a valuable asset. With a little more sleuthing and a little less frustration on your part, you just might discover this particular little Ercoupe possesses all the features you are looking for.

OK, Rick. Thanks, I'll try to calm down my frustrations. You have some very valid points. And thanks to the others who have answered here. It's nice to have folks who are willing to help a stranger.