Due Diligence on an aircraft purchase

[airbaker]

Guys and Gals,

My owner just approached me today and threw me for a loop. He has decided that in addition to his Excel, he'd like to acquire a King Air asap. Without going into detail he's looking at probably a used 200 or maybe a new C90B. I believe his budget is around 2 - 2.5 mil.

In any event, he has asked me to do some research and find him a plane. I've never done this before. Could anyone steer me in the right direction? With short notice I've already contacted a Raytheon sales rep in VNY and am having him send me a cost analysis/mission profile between the two models.

If we decide to go the used route, will I be acting as a buyer's agent? I know that sounds like such a novice question; I'm just wanting to present an accurate picture to my boss, and try my best to secure him the most favorable deal.

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Timebuilder]

As a recovering wrench-turner, my first instinct is to tell you to buy some lunch for somone who fixes King Airs on a regular basis. He can give you intelligent info on AD's, variants, STC's, and the like.

There are a lot of sales magazines like "controller" that can help you to see what's out there. In this economy, it should be a buyer's market.

 

[slickmagneto]

How did your company aquire the XL? If new, you used Cessna. If used , a Broker. Same goes for the KingAir. I think you need more input from the boss because of the operation aspects of a 200 vs 90.
If you use a broker, you will have a written contract and someone doing the legwork for you.
If you are the owners agent and you end up with a Hangar Queen, I think you know whose fault it will be.
Using an experinced KingAir mechanic to help you during research and Pre-purchase inspection is a good investment.

 

[501261]

New or used get a broker. Why, because if a few months down the line you come to discover that your bird is missing a $200,000 AD, or that you over paid, or any number of things that might happen when buying million dollars airplanes, you might be out of a job if you can't shift some of that blame to the broker.

KA 200 or 90, if you have a C560XL, the 90 might be a better choice, simply because the XL and B200 overlap in mission profiles on trips of less than 300 miles. Now obviously if you’re going to be taking more than 5 people the 90 might be too small.

 

[Rado]

Buy a PC12...

 

[Conquest Driver]

planes

The Controller.com or Aircraft Shopper On Line (aso.com) has really good ads with pics. I agree with everyone on here though a broker makes sense. In our purchase there were little things that came up before and after we bought the plane that the broker took care of. I also suggest taking the aircraft to West Star for Conquests or the King Air Equivilant to have a good pre-buy inspection and log book check.

You could try looking at a Cessna 441, Conquest II
You can buy a nice one for about 1.5 mil and go 300 KTAS and carry 6 people for 1200 NM. With the -10 engines it burns alot less fuel than a King Air 200 and goes faster and farther. It burns about 450 lbs/hr in cruise at 300 TAS, and about 650 or so in climb. We typically fly at 280 or 290 but the airplane will climb right up to its service ceiling of 350. It handles extremely well and has trailing link gear to make you look good to your boss on landing.

 

[jergar999]

F90!!

 

[P3-Adub]

C90B or 200 ?

The 200 is a work horse with plenty of room just in case the XL is down for MX. The 90 is also pretty slow, 30-40kts slower. For the kind of $$$ you are talking about, I would go with a later 200 possibly a B200, even the 300kt King Air 300 is within that range. All adivice on a broker and a quatlity pre-buy inspection is very good, use a Beech Service Center for your pre-buy ( be very specific in what you want inspected), do a little home work on Brokers. Good Brokers have access to Amstat which is a listing service similar to listing a home, the info is a lot more current than anything else advertised. This program also lets you do comparisons, sort by price, hours, options, ete.... I know a few good people out there and have worked with them as a co-employee in sales and also in aircraft aquisition once leaving for greener pastures. Let me know if you need a recommendation.

There is a lot of info on the NBAA website, BCA, A/C Flyer, Pro- Pilot, and various other pubs. I would try to sit down with the principal and find out what he or she is really wanting as far as mission, see if they have flown on these before, and see if another Citation would not be a better choice ? You don't want to be they guy that chooses one and then finds out they are unhappy with it.

Good luck with your quest, could be fun and rewarding. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

[JetA1]

Airbaker,

I have access to AMSTAT and have been in the Sales business for quite some time. I currently have a 1991 B200, with 1950 hrs. TT on the airframe and engines, excellant paint and interior available. The asking price is 1.95 mil. (Sounds like it fits your boss's budget). The aircraft is also the lowest total time B200 on the market in the 1990 model years. If you are interested drop me a line. I can present you with an overall market analysis of the King Air B200 an 90 market for your review.

Regards

 

[Capthuff]

If you want a B200...
#1159 is for sale. 1983 w/ TCAS 2 and GPWS and efis HSI. I have about 500 hours in it and it is a great bird. Tyler Turbines in Texas has it now. I dont know anything about them tho.
Since I can't find anyone to buy it for me, it may as well go to someone from this board.

Cappy

you cant go wrong with a B200, however, if you dont care about the year and your trips are typically less than 200 miles get a straight 200 - less money and just as good performance.

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

go with the broker but you have read that above. Check out Elliott Aviation. Http://www.elliottaviation.com

They do all our maintenence and we have bought from them in the past. No suprises with them.

They always seem to have a number of KA's for sale. I know they have a 90's Be90 for sale with full efis and all the cool toys.

 

[JetA1]

Elliott is a good shop...getting ready to send a B200 there for pre-buy right now....

 

[400A]

No matter what you do, use a Raytheon Warranty approved shop. I have managed all models of the King Air exept the 300 for 10 years. Since you are there at VNY I would use the Raytheon shop there.

If you properly protect your boss in your purchase agreement you can be fairly safe doing this yourself. The main thing is to have the clause that all Mandatory service bullitens and AD's are complied with. All airworthy squawks to be corrected. No one will know this better than a Raytheon shop. Pay your inspection fee upfront, then the seller is responsible for repairs. Then all you have to do is decide what optional repairs you want to make.

Also, ask your Raytheon rep about their used fleet.

As for which aircraft. Its just plain hard to beat a 200. I have operated C-90, F-90, 200, B-200, and 350.

The 350 is a no excuses a/c but may tap your budget. A good low time B200 with 5 inch EFIS and a good FMS will work for you every day. They are fun to fly, have great passenger acceptance and are very reliable. 4 blade props and Ram air recovery are highly advisable.

Be very careful on your brokers, ther are some real snakes out there. There are also some very good ones. Also, invest in a Blue Book NOW! The market is very depressed and many a/c are selling just around the wholesale mark.

As far as other turboprops, I believe in staying with one that is still in production and supported by the factory that built it. As far as other 300Kt turboprops, they may be 10-15 kts faster but have no where near the cabin of the King Air 200, some are so small that in turbulence you may bounce you boss's head off the low ceiling. We had two mid 90's model B200's and they would give us between 280 and 292 kts every day, and we use very conservative power settings. I found Garret turboprop engines to burn less fuel, but very difficulty to budget, and much more complicated to operate. The NTS system is really poor compared to autofeather.