Trade 348 in for 1/2 share of Piper Seneca twin, or keep 348 and buy into a 1/4 share

I am torn over the past few days thinking over this. I don't think my thought process would get any clearer on its own, so I'm thowing it out there to get some feedback.

I've had my 1990 348 TS for a couple of years now. I had rented a similar car for a weekend when I was engaged years ago with great memories, so I knew what car to get when I was ready for a Ferrari.

Fast forward a couple of years later, the thrill has dimmed somewhat. I don't drive it all that much although I do use it consistently (at least once a month even in winter time). The car has gotten to be very reliable with the $ and work put in over the past while - timing belt change (done by independent mecahnic), new clutch and bearing / flange (combination of Ferrari dealer and DIY), etc.

Every older Ferrari has quirks, and mine is no exception. I'm not going to list them here, but suffice to say while the quriks don't affect the driving, they start becoming annoying over time to the point of affecting how often I take her out. Also to the point of thinking I should get a more modern one next time around (like a 360), where the creature comfort would be enhanced.

The plane part - I just got my multi-engine rating recently and I'm itching to get into some type of ownership for longer trips, etc. Took the 348 to see a Seneca II A few weeks ago and the owner's eyes lighted up when he saw my car. Kept asking me if I wanted to trade. At the time, I insisted I didn't want to trade because I didn't want to part with it. The Seneca II is worth around $100K give or take, and my 348 - you already have a good idea.

Well, the Seneca II hasn't sold yet, and the owner has resigned to accepting partners instead of outright selling it. And I'm warming up to the idea of partnership.

So the question is should I let go of the 348 and have a half share and likely go with another partner I know so both of us take the plane off the owner's hands. And would still probably spend another $10K on annual / maintenance right afterwards? Or pay cash for 1/4 share of the plane with less expenses afterwards because it will be split 4 ways.

The pros for the trade aside from the $ part is I get to "free" myself up for another Ferrari in the distant future - probably 5-10 yrs, and as a trade, the plane seller would be more accepting of the quriks than if I sell it to another F car buyer.

The cons, well, I might not ever get back into the F world because financial situation changes or loss of interest. By now, it really doesn't cost me much to keep the 348 year after year.

Obviously if $ is no object, I wouldn't be having this dilemma. My budget for this whole exercise is up to $20K cash. But of course the less the better. I do have 2 young kids so there are other priorities as well.

Any thoughts would be appreciated as it might trigger something i haven't considered.

 

Would like to report what seems to be a happy conclusion for both parties.

Just came back from a flight this morning in the Seneca II. The plane flew very well. All the seats were put back in and I just loved the club seating (ie. back seats facing each other like in a limo) and the leather. Also seemed to be getting along with the owner well - this was our second time meeting.

He and I were able to come to a mutual arrangement. And I get to keep my 348. So it's win-win all around.

I did let him drive my car when we went to lunch and also when we got back to the hangar. He was blown away. It didn't occur to me that he might have wanted photos of him and the car - which was of course taken care of when he got his cell phone out. It's all kinda ironic that while I was so used to my 348 by now that things have almost become too predictable, he found it all so invigorating and was really taking it all in which is of course natural. The irony was I was doing the same thing just minutes before in his plane - well, I was really more drooling over the interior and the new paint job which were both marked departure from the trainer I'm used to. Whereas he has been trying to get rid of it so he probably wasn't seeing any of the things I was seeing.

Both of us couldn't be happier. We will now just have to deal with the logistics like adding me to his insurance policy for the plane. As I don't have a lot of multi time, I fully expect to need to do a number of dual hours with an instructor or qualified pilot which will be fine.

Thank you for everyone's input - you have been a great sounding board.

 

Blampee - you hit it right on the nail - basically go with one's gut. Well, I really wanted the use of a nice twin engined plane with a new paint job and reupholstered interior, but I also was not quite there to let my 348 go, yet. And now I get the best of both worlds. Yay!

You mentioned boats. There's this friend of mine, he used to be a commercial pilot years ago and also instructed on a Seneca. Then he got out of the whole thing and haven't flown in years. A couple of years ago, he bought a 27' Bayliner and really got into it in a big way. For me, I've done the boat thing but it didn't really do all that much for me. Although that was before kids so maybe it will change. But like you said, the passion is either there or it isn't.

 

Splitting Atoms - I used to think exactly like you until I got my multi ticket. So I fully agree with everything you've said. However, things are changing for me.

There are lots of single-engine planes available to rent. And I've been renting singles for the past 10 years - both the steam gauges ones and glass cockpit. There is very little point in owning except for bragging rights. And for all the hassles it's not even worth that. However, with multi's, most FBO's don't even rent them. Especially where I am in Canada. Same with helicopters which I have some time in as well - either they don't rent them, or they have very stringent requirements to the point of not being practical. I flew an R22 out of WA state, and their currency requirement is you need to fly once every 2 weeks - aside from a little bit of money-grabbing aspect to it, the complexity of flying a chopper or a twin especially for low timers like me does warrant stricter requirements than a single. Plus the twins that I can rent - they are really just trainers (although they are Seneca I) , and they are so beat up with worn interior from 1973 that I would hesitate to put friends and family in the back. It would definitely take some of the joy out of it.

Having said that, your point of holding onto the 348 and converting it into cash if needed down the road is very valid. Certainly provides more wiggle room considering two engines means twice as many parts that can fail in a big way =-(

 

SrfCity - "If the money is just lying around it'll be up for grabs pretty soon if you get my drift and will be gone". So true. I've lost enough money on investments over the years that I now truly enjoy spending money on big ticket items - at least I know exactly where it went and what I got out of it. With investments, nobody starts out planning on losing. But when it does happen for all kinds of reasons, a lot of times you don't even know what hit you. And you wish you could have just consciously spent it instead even if it's frivolous.

"Sharing something usually has it's draw backs. Expectations usually conflict on some level" - true again. Basically the arrangement I came to with the twin owner is somewhat of a compromise. I was going to bring another person into it, but in the end the twin owner and I decided having a third partner is probably not worth the hassle for the smaller incremental benefit. So he and I will try this out for a while and see what happens.

 

Mitch Alsup - "Planes have higher costs sitting on the ground than Ferrari have sitting in a garage" - couldn't agree more. However, that's probably part of the attraction, isn't it? If Ferrari's cost the same as and are as practical as Honda Accords, this forum probably wouldn't exist in its current form.

Then again, my 348 does cost the same as a fully loaded Honda Accord, so never mind =-)

 

Insurance wanted 25 hrs dual with a flight instructor. Not much of a surprise there ...

Photo attached.
Image Unavailable, Please Login