Buying a first aircraft help

[mhoran]

This is in line with prices I've seen on Controller over the past year or so. We increased our insurance hull coverage in 2022 and should probably do it again this year. I agree the market is insane, this is nearly 2x what I paid back in 2014. Prices may come down, but they've been steady for a while now. We'll see.

[BenPeterson77]

What would you estimate for annual insurance/maintenance costs?

An easy way to estimate or visualize the premium for a Diamond Aircraft is: 1%, 1.5%, 2%, and 3%

-1% of the hull value for experienced pilots with a Private and Instrument, less than 70 years old, less than 3 named pilots, single owner, high hull value greater than $400,000
-1.5% of the hull value for experienced pilots over 70 years old, more than 2 fractional owners, more than 3 named pilots
-2% of the hull value for Private Pilots working on an Instrument and Multi-Engine license, very low time Pilots buying an expensive DA62 without Multi or Instrument
-3% of the hull value for Student Pilots working on a Private Pilot License, brand new Private Pilots, Commercial flight operations like flight schools

I hope this helps!

[cereal_killer]

Thanks @BenPeterson77. I had a look at an online quote and looks like it's 1.5% roughly for me. Probably comes down to the number of hours, I've got 110 hours total and about 20 hours on a DA40.

It seems like the price is a bit on the high side so I guess I'll see. I've got a plan to go see the aircraft next weekend. They've got a buyer they said for 325k which doesn't leave any wiggle room in case if a pre-buy inspection were to find something - only option is to walk away. I guess just got to be patient and wait for the right aircraft to come to the market.

[cereal_killer]

How much do you guys think having the extras of MT 3-blade composite prop, a long range tank and performance landing gear is worth?

[mhoran]

All those items were standard on the 2007 XL model. They would be included in the VREF price I linked above. I would not consider any of them adding to the value. In fact, many moved away from the MT prop due to various issues at the time. The two blade composite might add some value, but the aluminum would be equivalent.

[cereal_killer]

Ah cool got it thanks!

[jwx96]

I have the 40 gal tanks and always land with 10-20 gal. A 3 hr VFR flight with a 1 hr reserve is easy. An IFR flight is a different story. If you need to plan for an alternate, an IFR reserve, approaches and possible holds you may have to settle for 2 hr flights or get a plane with the 50 gal tanks. Personally I’m ok with what I have and I pick my weather and flights accordingly.

[pisymbol]

Screenshot_20230120_185119.png

This is in line with prices I've seen on Controller over the past year or so. We increased our insurance hull coverage in 2022 and should probably do it again this year. I agree the market is insane, this is nearly 2x what I paid back in 2014. Prices may come down, but they've been steady for a while now. We'll see.

Prices were lagging. I just spoke to one Diamond dealer who confirmed that they are expecting a siginfiicant drop across the board in 2023.

I still contend. A 2005 G1K WAAS model should be around 250k, maybe less. I love the DA40 but it is astronomically high compared to its competition right now. Again, I think this was a supply issue with the backlog for ordering new DA40s being 24 months (or longer...that's what I heard).