Back to square one on buying an Arrow

We got closer this time. We actually had our verbal offer accepted.
That's progress (for this, the 2nd offer we've made on an Arrow).

Things were going well into the weekend. I'd tweaked the prepurchase
agreement from the seller, made plane reservations to fly out and
see/fly/touch/smell the plane, setup the pre-buy inspection, provided a
preliminary timeline to the seller...phew, lots of work.

Sunday evening, I sent the modified prepurchase agreement to the seller
along with a proposed timeline for the pre-buy. Monday evening...wham,
the seller suddenly decides things are out of hand. I get a left hook
to the chin e-mail, completely out of the blue with all sorts of
concerns and a final suggestion that maybe it's better if everyone walks
away from the deal. Whaaaaa...huh???? Houston, we have a problem.

I called my partners and their opinion is pretty much "fine, we keep
looking"...but...I'm not ready to walk just yet. I checked into the
possibility of moving the pre-buy up a day and/or my travel out a day in
order to make a better overall timeline. It's a no-go on both accounts
so the only option is to stick with the original plans. By this point,
I know it's a dead deal. It's just a matter of confirming that fact
with the seller. The seller and I finally talk via phone and, as
expected, we're done. Oh, he gives me a line "If you can rearrange your
travel and the plane is still available, sure, call me back". Ya,
whatever.

Actually, I'm fine with everything. As many folks have advised me,
you've got to be able to walk away if things go south or just don't feel
right. Sure, it's frustrating to spend so much time only to walk away
in the end but, really, given how things suddenly came unglued on this
deal, I'd rather not buy this particular plane.

Ah, this airplane buying stuff...it's a hoot! :-)

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Buying Student, current on base percentage: 0 for 2

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

sounds to me like he really does not want to sell...
or is afraid of the outcome of the prebuy inspection..

things probably seem "out of hand" to the seller because he is not in
control..
hopefully you can recoup the cost of the canceled airline tickets.. but
doubtful

BT

"Jack Allison" wrote in message
...
We got closer this time. We actually had our verbal offer accepted.
That's progress (for this, the 2nd offer we've made on an Arrow).

Things were going well into the weekend. I'd tweaked the prepurchase
agreement from the seller, made plane reservations to fly out and
see/fly/touch/smell the plane, setup the pre-buy inspection, provided a
preliminary timeline to the seller...phew, lots of work.

Sunday evening, I sent the modified prepurchase agreement to the seller
along with a proposed timeline for the pre-buy. Monday evening...wham,
the seller suddenly decides things are out of hand. I get a left hook to
the chin e-mail, completely out of the blue with all sorts of concerns and
a final suggestion that maybe it's better if everyone walks away from the
deal. Whaaaaa...huh???? Houston, we have a problem.

I called my partners and their opinion is pretty much "fine, we keep
looking"...but...I'm not ready to walk just yet. I checked into the
possibility of moving the pre-buy up a day and/or my travel out a day in
order to make a better overall timeline. It's a no-go on both accounts so
the only option is to stick with the original plans. By this point, I
know it's a dead deal. It's just a matter of confirming that fact with
the seller. The seller and I finally talk via phone and, as expected,
we're done. Oh, he gives me a line "If you can rearrange your travel and
the plane is still available, sure, call me back". Ya, whatever.

Actually, I'm fine with everything. As many folks have advised me, you've
got to be able to walk away if things go south or just don't feel right.
Sure, it's frustrating to spend so much time only to walk away in the end
but, really, given how things suddenly came unglued on this deal, I'd
rather not buy this particular plane.

Ah, this airplane buying stuff...it's a hoot! :-)

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Buying Student, current on base percentage: 0 for
2

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:bewXd.70605$Tt.28162@fed1read05...
sounds to me like he really does not want to sell...
or is afraid of the outcome of the prebuy inspection..

things probably seem "out of hand" to the seller because he is not in
control..

What he said.

hopefully you can recoup the cost of the canceled airline tickets.. but
doubtful

Up until about a year ago I did 50-100k miles/year on the airlines and I
managed to game the system abotu as well as it can be done. The most
important thing is to try and make your ticket changes before the original
flight is scheduled, preferably 24 hours before. If you call customer
service an hour after the flight you originally purchased leaves, they will
tell you to hang the ticket on the wall as a souvenir because that's all
it's good for.

I have often had luck in applying the value of my ticket to another
itinerary even with "non-refundable" fares. Also, you can almost always
rebook the ticket for a later date with the same itinerary, even if it is a
dirt-cheap fare. You will pay a fee for all of these htings, but it's often
cheaper than a new ticket straight up.

Also, it's worth keeping in mind that all the low-cost carriers e.g.
Airtran, SWA, JetBlue, and Independence typically offer a Y ticket
(full-fare refundable) for a little more than the majors will charge you for
a no-changes-allowed ticket. This more than anything else is helping them
skim tons of business travelers off the majors.

-cwk.

BTIZ wrote:

things probably seem "out of hand" to the seller because he is not in
control..
IMHO, that's it.

hopefully you can recoup the cost of the canceled airline tickets.. but
doubtful
I can use the ticket, for a $100 penalty plus/minus whatever fare
differential. It's good for a year. Airline is America-West. All
things considered, a fairly small amount of cash to throw away. Could
have been worse.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Buying Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

"Jack Allison" wrote in message
...
We got closer this time. We actually had our verbal offer accepted.
That's progress (for this, the 2nd offer we've made on an Arrow).


Jack,

Nice job of keeping things in perspective.

Don't get discouraged. IMO, it sounds like buying is similar to flight
training...The journey is "half' the fun.

Sounds to me like you've got the right mix of patience and humor. You guys
will "git 'er done..." eventually and it will be the right fit for all
involved.

By the mere fact that you are at the stage where you can pull the trigger on
a deal at all, puts you light years ahead of a lot of "dreamers*."

Regards,

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ
(*Dreamer)

Jack Allison wrote:
We got closer this time. We actually had our verbal offer accepted.
That's progress (for this, the 2nd offer we've made on an Arrow).

Yeah, but better than going out there and deciding the plane isn't
worth buying. I burned up one set of airline tickets heading out
to Kalamazoo to look at a plane. Had to use a second set to go
to Wisconsin to look at the one we bought.

Keep plugging...we must have talked to and obtained info/pictures on
a dozen planes, looked at three, bought one...

Ron Natalie wrote:

Yeah, but better than going out there and deciding the plane isn't
worth buying. I burned up one set of airline tickets heading out
to Kalamazoo to look at a plane. Had to use a second set to go
to Wisconsin to look at the one we bought.

That's pretty much what I figure too Ron. It cost us an extra $100 to
use the tickets I have and I've tied up a couple hundred bucks in
pre-buying my next flight. Could be much worse.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Buying Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:38:12 -0800, Jack Allison
wrote:

We got closer this time.

If the seller seems odd about anything during the sale, that is good
reason to let it go. Don't worry about the long search, it is common.
It took me close to 6 months to find my plane.

From your post history, I believe you live in CA. I was surprised
that your search brought you to the Midwest to find an Arrow. The
Arrow is common enough that I would think you could find a reasonably
priced (and good condition) example in CA, or at least the West Coast.

Of course, I just checked aso.com, and they did not list a single
Arrow in California or the W. Coast. - so maybe that's the problem,
they have all migrated East :-)

Another Arrow deal gone south

Is it only me, or does anybody realize that a Grumman Tiger that is
tuned well
and in good condition will blow the doors off an ARROW! Try one out
and then
decide if you really want to pay for the annuals for the retractable
every year.
I am not selling mine right now so this is not a promo, just a
suggestion to
compare. You might just be convinced.

Bill Oparowski
N10SX

wrote:

Is it only me, or does anybody realize that a Grumman Tiger that is
tuned well and in good condition will blow the doors off an ARROW!
Try one out and then decide if you really want to pay for the
annuals for the retractable every year.
I am not selling mine right now so this is not a promo, just a
suggestion to compare. You might just be convinced.

Or a Traveler that geaux's just alittle slower, for alot less money...