We are looking to buy a cessna 170B that my grandpa sold 18 years ago! I have found the current owner and turns out he is looking to sell it. Since he has bought it he has had some upgrades and kits added to the machine: Sportsman STOL kit, Sportsman droop tips, VG's, ART wing extensions, Baggage Door, 4 place intercom, KT79 transponder, and Becker VHF radio. It already had 180 gear on it when my grandpa sold it. The TAFT is 3263 with a C 145hp TSO 1576.

Now of course we are super excited to have the chance of bring this plane back into our family as my grandpa owned it for just about 40 years! It does not have a current C of A at the moment but the owner is an AME and has said all that needs to be done is install new ELT, and the seat track AD and it should pass an annual no problem. BUT, we don't want to rush into anything and act impulsive. WHAT, should we be asking the owner? What should we be getting down before buying the plane? The asking price is $59k CDN but he has told us that if we bought it would sell it to us for $54K. He bought it from my grandpa for $32k

THANKS for any input and advice!

Here is a link to the ad https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-other/pent ... nFlag=true

That is a clean looking 170.
I would want to pull the carpet up to check for corrosion. That would be my biggest concern. Price seems fairly close inline with what I have seen available.
Where are you located?

Run a borescope into the wing spar carry throughs to look for corrosion. Also closely check the vertical stab attach bracket for corrosion. Get on the C-170 Assoc forums for a lot more detailed info. Good luck. Price is a little high for the engine time. Sportsman's and VG's are relatively cheaper upgrades.

High time engine. Not worth that much. You’ll be looking at an overhaul in the not too distant future. Price one of those before you pull the trigger.

MTV

Thanks for the input and advice, Located in Saskatchewan, Canada. Will definitely be getting an annual done before purchasing and will make sure they pay extra attention to any high corrosion area's along with the areas mentioned above. Can't remember the Total Time before O/H on these engine but would love to upgrade it to a 180hp down the road. We don't fly much more than 100 hours a year so the engine will still have pretty good life in it for us. Most 170's i have seen for sale mostly on barnstormer are in the $45K+ USD range. Will be speaking with an AME (who is not the owner) who has completed the annual on this machine in the past and get his opinion, hopefully unbiased. I have also posted on cessna 170 page on FB still waiting confirmation to the 170 assc. so can post there as well. Thanks for the advice!

That’s a really nice 170 but I agree the price is high considering the engine time. I sold my 170 2 years ago with a lot of nice mods (repainted inside and out, new panel, leather seats, Selkirk foam interior, extended baggage, bushwheels, double pucks, baby bush tailwheel, sportsman, FA dodge seats, 8042 and 7655 prop, and more) but 1400SMOH for 42,500. I think most people asking big bucks for their 170s aren’t getting what they’re asking and they sit on the market for a long time, this one in Canada included, I remember seeing it for sale on barnstormers over a year ago, not sure if it’s the same guy selling it. The good thing with that 170 and the wing-x in Canada if you do a 180HP or higher HP conversion you’ll get a 200lb gross weight increase, of course you’ll be into it 100k at that point and could buy a nice 180 instead. That’s the same reason I sold mine and got a Pponk’d 180.

Guys, keep in mind that he is saying Canadian $$. Put it pretty much where Rob sold his for. Probably a bit high, but not bad. Theres engines out there to b had for cheap from guys who wrecked or are doing upgrades. Wouldn't necessarily be stuck with having to overhaul one. Theres always options...
I would have the annual done by someone other then the owner. Might see some other things that have been overlooked/missed by the current owner. Not saying hes intentionally missing stuff, but when you see the same plane day in and out, it's easy to miss some things.

A1Skinner wrote:Guys, keep in mind that he is saying Canadian $$.

Good point, I’m so used to almost every Canadian plane I see for sale still listing USD. 54k CAD is about 41k USD, that’s a good deal for that airplane I think.

robw56 wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:Guys, keep in mind that he is saying Canadian $$.

Good point, I’m so used to almost every Canadian plane I see for sale still listing USD. 54k CAD is about 41k USD, that’s a good deal for that airplane I think.

That was my thought. But I was starting to second guess my judgement after all you guys saying it was high! Haha.

I saw that airplane when I bought my 185 in Kelowna and really liked the paint. No harm in offering a bit lower price. Don’t spoil it over a small amount of money though. You won’t get another chance at that exact airplane.

If you have someone who will look after maintenance for you when you get it home, pay them to go inspect it while it’s apart for annual. Ask for them to have alone time with the airplane. It shouldn’t be a social visit between the seller and your inspector. Your guy will know he has to answer to you after it gets home if he misses something, so he’ll be motivated to represent your interests. This is going to cost you a couple thousand in travel and labor, but could save you thousands more.

Pinecone wrote:I saw that airplane when I bought my 185 in Kelowna and really liked the paint. No harm in offering a bit lower price. Don’t spoil it over a small amount of money though. You won’t get another chance at that exact airplane.

If you have someone who will look after maintenance for you when you get it home, pay them to go inspect it while it’s apart for annual. Ask for them to have alone time with the airplane. It shouldn’t be a social visit between the seller and your inspector. Your guy will know he has to answer to you after it gets home if he misses something, so he’ll be motivated to represent your interests. This is going to cost you a couple thousand in travel and labor, but could save you thousands more.

EXCELLENT advice!

Don't miss out on an opportunity to buy this special airplane and treat it well. My father pinned is whole life for a 170B; guess what I purchased, that's right. The emotional connection means more to me then just the aluminum, every time I go flying it creates a memory that goes well beyond the day of.

Enjoy the memories