I’m hoping to get some guidance from the Cirrus community regarding the resale value of an accident-repaired aircraft.
I’ve been looking at a particular SR22T that was involved in an accident and has since been repaired and returned to service. The broker has been very transparent about the aircraft’s history, which I appreciate. During my own due diligence, however, I discovered the repairs ultimately exceeded $500,000. Earlier in the process, I had been told the damage was “possibly around $150,000–$200,000,” so I suspect the broker simply didn’t know the final repair cost.
The aircraft is otherwise very attractive—low total time, the airframe warranty from Cirrus remains in effect, the Continental engine warranty is also transferable, and from everything I’ve seen the repairs appear to have been completed to a very high standard.
I understand that, regardless of the quality of the repairs, the aircraft will always carry an accident history in its logs. My question is for those with experience buying or selling accident-repaired Cirrus aircraft:
What kind of discount from the market value of a comparable non-damaged SR22T would you expect? Are we talking 10%, 20%, 30% or more? I’m trying to determine what a fair purchase price would be, recognizing that the accident history will likely affect both resale value and the future pool of buyers.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with firsthand experience or knowledge of how the market typically values these aircraft. Thanks in advance.
Repairs included a new wing, landing gear , prop and the engine was sent off to continental.
There was also some firewall work. I realize it is substantial. Cirrus has signed off on it and they are honoring the warranty. This is a very low hour plane.
In Cirrus part pricing, a new one would be 15 million I guess but that sounds really high and makes one wonder how this was not written off. Must have happened early in the planes life.
That implies some fairly serious damage… probably about $200,000 of that would be replacement of the wing.
Generally, Aircraft are totaled when the repair cost exceed 80% of the insured value
So this must’ve been a pretty high value Aircraft at the time of the accident
It’s also not uncommon for shops to submit a somewhat lowball repair estimate that escalates dramatically so that they get the repair started and also the final high payment
Stigma value depends somewhat on how recent repairs were and perhaps who did them.
Some shops can make it better than new and that wouldn’t take the price down too much
A Repair, that’s 10 years old is proven sound and probably not much of a devaluation
A recent Major Repair at a less than famous shop could be trouble or a bargain
I’m not sure there’s a standard figure but if Repair is less than a couple years old, it certainly is probably in the range of 20%
My 2007 Cirrus was involved in landing accident the cost $385,000 Repair in 2009. There has never been a secondary maintenance issue related to that repair and now that it’s nearing 20 years, I would not consider much of a discount if I were selling it, but, some buyers wouldn’t be interested. It was repaired better than new
For me it would depend who did the work and what the repairs were. The dollar amount would be irrelevant.
I just discovered a botched firewall replacement on a customers plane that was in for paint recently.
There are maybe 5-6 shops total that I would fully trust to do major repair work on Cirrus’s. It isn’t rocket science, but one missed step could be disastrous.
That said, properly repaired planes can take little to no hit on value.
I have probably bought 40-50 wrecked Cirrus’s and repaired them and they have all been good airplanes with little to no hit on resale value. Some have changed hands multiple times with no problem selling.
In those cases, those aircraft typically had things like new powerplant, new paint and interior, new chute, new avionics etc, which made them nicer than the majority of the other similar aircraft for sale.
I’m curious as to the motivation. You can overhaul and replace everything on an aircraft but the model tear, TTAF and pedigree.
For me, I try to manage my downside risk as much as possible. In the event I need to sell the aircraft, I don’t want to have any substantial barriers that allows me to meet the market as needed. Damage history will ensure it’s the last one to sell. It’s not a trade I personally would ever make.
Ross at Midwest is the gold standard… you mentioned repairs in CA so I suspect TDL in Merced relived it. They do good work and repair a lot of planes. For Ross I’d probably trust without verifying for any others I’d get an independent inspection to verify all work and Cirrus engineering support.
To get the attention of the full Cirrus community and the full benefits available to you from COPA, join. This Guest forum is just a teeny little morsel and gets few eyeballs.
First Join COPA! It is so valuable. At Steel, we repair a lot of Cirrus aircraft, and I can tell you that $500,000 in damage is substantial. I would expect the value deduction to be significant, although the exact amount depends on several factors.
A few questions that matter:
How long ago did the damage occur?
What was actually damaged (composite structure, firewall, CAPS deployment, wing, etc.)?
Who performed the repair?
Is the documentation complete?
Ultimately, the question is whether the price discount is enough to justify buying the airplane. The “juice has to be worth the squeeze.”
If you’d like, I’d be happy to take a look at the aircraft, the repair records, and the asking price and give you my opinion on whether it’s a good buy.
Hire Russ for a consultation. Disclose everything you know to him. Follow his advice to the T. The small consulting cost will be worth 10x as much. Join COPA. That’s what you do.
but that sounds really high and makes one wonder how this was not written off. Must have happened early in the planes life.