Real Value

I am on a flight home from New York after a successful few days showing our Gulfstream IV and our Falcon 900B to two different buyers.  And, I’ve been thinking about conversations I have had this week with many different buyers and brokers regarding what determines real value and what distinguishes real value between two competitive offerings.

I was reminded yesterday when I showed our Falcon 900B S/N 42 of what a great airplane it really is. It has average total time for its vintage.  The records are impeccable.  The aircraft has no major damage history. The cosmetics look great.  It has a lot of avionic and cabin upgrades. The engines are on MSP Gold.  And, we just lowered the price by $900,000 last week making it the most competitive offering in the market.  Then I thought how ridiculous it is that most lenders would probably refuse to loan money to a buyer with good credit, even one possibly willing to put 20% down, based on age alone.  Many lenders clearly don’t recognize real value.  I’m glad that the prospective buyer that I am talking to does!

On Monday of this week I showed the Gulfstream IV that we are representing for sale.  I have written before about the need to look below the skin of the onion to really understand the differentiating factors between competitive offerings.  The prospective buyer asked me why our aircraft was worth more than others that are on the market.  If you took all available Gulfstream IVs and just looked at total time and vintage you would think that they should all be worth the same thing.  If you, however, study the inner layers of the onion for each, you would clearly start to see significant tangible differences: engine programs, modifications, cosmetic condition and more.  If you continue to dig down you will also start to understand the value of pedigree and maintenance history.   I really believe that the great pedigree and condition of our GIV S/N 1165 (average total time, full engine program, highly equipped and with high ASC compliance, no expenses spared maintenance, average cosmetics, ready for immediate worldwide operations, one U.S. owner) will result in lower go forward costs compared to other offerings.  No two aircraft are exactly alike and you need to look at the inner layers of the onion to understand true value or you could end up with pretty skin and a rotten core.

I could go on and on, but the point has made.  Aircraft don’t just have to be new or like new to have real value.   And, there are real tangible and intangible value differences that can effect the go forward operations and costs of the aircraft.  They aren’t all worth the same just because we are in a depressed market.