I'm interested in moving from my O200 150G to an O320 172. Ideally I'd like something with under 6000 hours TT and under 1000hrs SMOH. Obviously less is better. I've started looking on Barnstormers and Trade A Plane. Most planes of this type seem to list for around $35,000 and go up from there. I don't need IFR, new paint, latest avionics (prefer steam gages anyway), etc. Just want a good, solid, reliable airplane to fly for the next bunch of years.

I'd like to find one for 25,000 to 28,000. Given today's airplane market is this a reasonable expectation or am I dreaming? There are 12 pages of 172's on Barnstormers right now. However, $28,000 seems like a long way down from a $35,000 asking price. Anyone been seeing anything like what I'm looking for? If you'd like to PM me, shaw.fe@gmail works best.

On a different note, went up with the CFI that taught me to fly yesterday and did my first 3 spins. Holy Crap!

Thanks in advance.

Frank

Bring your $28K cash with you when you look at the plane, you might be surprised. All that cash might look really good to the seller, who also knows there is 12 pages worth of 172's on the market

Good luck in your search!

If you track those $35K airplanes for a while you will see they appear month after month. Bart is right, bring your $28K with you. Well, better still leave a few thousand at home to cover the pre-buy expense.

I sold my Lycoming 172 six months ago for a price you would have liked. Where were you? Solid original airplane with worn paint. I simply held out for the best offer, and it wasn't very darned high. So keep looking, the best bargains are airplanes that are good mechanically but with poor cosmetics.

I second showing up with cash.

I picked up a great deal on my 172 because I was ready to buy on the spot.

Its a bit of a trip, but check out www.alaskaslist.com I know that its a long flight get look at a plane, but people already spend tons of money to come here on vacation. Also, Anchorage Craigslist works too.

I third showing up with the cash. We used 0-320 models on the pipeline and got around 3,000 between overhauls. The airframes will have high time. I flew one with over twenty thousand hours. They will be ugly. But they are well maintained and cheap. We also used the 160 hp H2AD engine. That plane will cost more and the engine doesn't do quite as well. It will get well over 2,000 hours but you have to use the expensive oil with the additive Lycoming recommends.

These TBOs may be misleading. Pipeliners get that many hours because the airplane is flown around twenty five hours per week. Watch for corrosion around the battery box and firewall. That gave more problems than anything. Maintenance free batteries are worth the extra when corrosion maintenance is considered.

You're really cutting down the possibilities by limiting yourself to Lycomings. There's some good deals available out there on the old straight-tail C172's, which are basically a nosewheel version of the 170. I logged about 1700 hours in my old 170, and had no complaints-- they're a good honest airplane. I'm sure the same holds true for the early 172. There are some really nice ones out there, people not familiar with them have a hard time believing they're 50 year old airplanes.
The O-300 Continental engine has it's weaknesses, mainly in that you will eventually need to pull the cylinders to repair the exhaust valve guides & seats, but it is otherwise a good engine- very smooth running and easy on fuel. The cylinder work usually comes one or two at a time over several annuals, so it's not one huge expense, although it might cost less in the long run to just do them all when the first leaker shows up at about 800-1000 SMOH.
Good hunting.

Ditto what hotrod150 states about the older 172's. I've had a 1960 172A with the same O-300 powering it since I purchased it 28 years ago! Silky smooth engine that is easy to maintain and very easy on gas. I have the auto-gas STC which helps even more. My prop is pitched more for climb and being so the plane is a respectible performer with decent cross country speed. Not blazing fast but it has carried me all over the lower 48 states.
These older planes can be found for a very reasonable price if you are in no hurry. I have seen a few needing paint sell in the high teens to low 20's!!! Granted they are minimally equipped but most of that stuff is just extra weight anyways. Basic radio, engine gauges and a map....that is what fun flying is all about.

I agree that the early model 172s are a lot of plane for the money. A comm radio, and transponder is all you really need. All the other stuff in the radio rack is just fluff and extra obsolete weight. The main advantage to the lycoming 172 is that it us easier/cheaper to convert to the 180 horse. But from a purchase standpoint that may not be as much of a difference.

Those 5 horses difference between the Continental and Lycoming I think are Clydesdale's.

You should be able to get a nice '68 or later Skyhawk within your budget. It's a buyer's market. If an owner gets offended by an offer then move on to another.

I certainly wouldn't rule out the early models. I've flown a lot of Lycoming & Continental powered 172s, lots of them one right after the other, and there isn't much real-world difference between them weight, props, etc. being similar. Being in the industry, I've seen a lot of aircraft over the years, and I urge you to be very cautious as many people selling are worse than used car salesmen. There is much variation between well kept, well maintained planes, those that have sorta been, and those that haven't. Look past the cosmetics. Many buyers focus on a nice paint job and nice interior and never see the costly problems until after money has exchanged hands. Beware the plane being sold with new paint and interior. It's a buyer's market out there, so take your time and do a thorough pre-buy inspection.
Tom