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Old April 5th 19, 05:37 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathon May
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Posts: 82
Default Buying LS3a or ASW20a? ~$25k cross country glider. Which one and why?

At 15:01 05 April 2019, Tango Eight wrote:
On Friday, April 5, 2019 at 10:31:48 AM UTC-4,

wrote:
On Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 8:07:42 PM UTC-4,

son_of_flubber wrote:
On Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 11:46:26 AM UTC-4, Papa3

wrote:
=20
Here's the math for an ASW-20:=20
=20
- Moderately crazed ASW-20 in otherwise fair shape.

$25K
- Full refinish at retail north of $25K (being generous

here)
- Total cost $50K (forget about all the other stuff -

instruments,
t=
railer, etc.)
=20
Now, go look at the classifieds. Several nice to very nice

ASW-20s
f=
or mid $30K. =20
=20
So a fair price for a "Moderately crazed ASW-20 in

otherwise fair
shape=
" would be $8K. Invest $25-30K in repair and you'd get a good

glider for
=
$33-38K. Buyer deserves some compensation for the hassle,

risk and delay
o=
f refurbishment.
=20
People who're setting unreasonably high prices for their

poor
condition=
gliders are hurting themselves, and hurting the sport by

making it harder
=
for young people to get into the sport.
=20
I suggest that people who want to get into the sport start

offering a
r=
easonable price for trashed gliders $5-8K. Sellers (or the

executors of
the=
ir estates) will eventually come to their senses.
=20
Here is the reality from somebody who has been doing this

for more than
2=
decades.
It is almost impossible to buy a glider at a price the seller will

accept=
, refinish it commercially, and sell it at a favorable price. If it

was
tha=
t easy, everybody would be doing it, including the refinish

people.
My experience is that a refinish adds somewhere around half

the
commercia=
l cost to the salable value of the glider.
A recent example.
Club member buys a Cirrus 75 with older Komet trailer for

$12000.
Over 2 years he refinished it in my shop. It required almost

exactly 400
=
hours, mostly his labor. Materials(polyester finish) cost about

$1000.
He now has a very nice glider that may get $22K or so on the

market.
=20
Someone wanting to enter the market that does not have the

resources to
p=
ay for a "nice"(defined as not expecting to need a refinish

anytime soon)
g=
lider, is going to have to settle for an older glider needing clean

up and
=
care and fly it for a few years while saving up the dough for a

nicer
glide=
r.
=20
UH


The other part of the reality is the refinished 20 in question has

an
unusu=
al history and was sold very cheap (distress sale cheap) at one

point.
The=
seller can sell at an attractive price and do very well. Good for

him.
T=
his isn't a "market", it's a one off. =20

Would be buyers have little cause for whining at this time.

Great
selectio=
n of very flyable, decent performance stuff out there at very

reasonable
pr=
ices. If you want nice, one way or another you pony up. =20

T8


You do pay a premium for Flaps,it may be better to go for a std
15M ship LS4 would be good or a asw19.