Engine's run out. Overhaul it or sell as-is? The math nobody shows you.
I get this question more than almost any other: "My engine's at or near TBO — do I overhaul it, or just sell the airplane the way it sits?" There's no single right answer, but there is a right way to work the math, and most owners never actually run the numbers before they decide. They go with their gut, or with whatever the last person at the airport told them. Here's how I'd walk through it if it were my airplane.
TBO is a recommendation, not a cliff
First, the thing people get wrong most: reaching TBO doesn't mean the engine stops running or suddenly becomes unsafe. TBO is a manufacturer-recommended overhaul interval, and plenty of engines run well past it on condition monitoring — good compressions, clean oil analysis, no metal in the filter. What TBO does change is how a buyer values the airplane and how insurance and lenders sometimes look at it. That's a market and financing reality, not a mechanical one, but it's the reality you're selling into.
What an overhaul actually costs you
This is where I see owners underestimate two things at once: the dollars and the downtime.
An exchange overhaul on a typical four-cylinder Lycoming or Continental — an O-320, O-360, or IO-360 class engine — generally runs well into five figures by the time you count the core exchange, accessories, and installation labor. Six-cylinder engines and fuel-injected/turbocharged variants run higher. Those are broad industry ranges, not a quote — your actual number depends on the shop, whether you're doing an exchange or a field overhaul, and what the accessories need.
Then there's the calendar. A reputable overhaul shop with a full order book can mean months of lead time before your core is even opened up, and more time for the install and break-in afterward. During that whole window the airplane isn't flying, isn't earning its keep if it's a rental or charter aircraft, and is still costing you hangar, insurance, and tie-down money. I've had owners tell me the overhaul itself was less painful than the six months of "when's it going to be done" phone calls.
What overhauling actually buys you
To be fair to the overhaul side: a fresh engine is a real asset. It resets your value clock, it opens up buyers who won't touch a run-out engine at all, and if you plan to keep flying the airplane for years, you get to fly those years on a zero-time engine instead of paying down someone else's flight hours. If you love this specific airframe and intend to keep it, overhauling can be the right call even though it's expensive.
What selling as-is actually costs you
The honest version: yes, a run-out engine reduces what a retail buyer will pay, because most retail buyers either want to finance the airplane (lenders get twitchy near or past TBO) or don't want to inherit an overhaul bill themselves. That discount is real. I'm not going to pretend it isn't.
But here's the math people skip: compare the retail discount against the overhaul cost plus the downtime plus the risk that the teardown finds something worse than expected — a case that needs machining, a crank that doesn't pass inspection, cylinders that were already marginal. A field-condition surprise on an overhaul isn't rare. I've opened up engines that looked fine on the outside and needed real money once the case was split.
How I'd actually run the comparison
Line it up like this: take a real valuation of the airplane in its current, run-out condition — not a guess, an actual number. Then get a real overhaul quote from a shop, not a ballpark off a forum post. Add your carrying costs for the realistic downtime window. Compare that total all-in cost against what the airplane would be worth with a freshly overhauled engine. If the gap between "overhauled value" and "as-is value plus overhaul cost and downtime" is thin or negative, selling as-is and letting the next owner make their own overhaul decision is usually the better financial move. If you're planning to keep flying it for years and the numbers are close, overhauling can pencil out.
One thing I'd flag either way: don't let "it needs an engine" become an excuse to skip everything else. A run-out engine on an airplane that's also been sitting is a different, more complicated conversation than a run-out engine on an airplane that's been flown regularly and well maintained otherwise.
If you decide to sell as-is
A run-out engine doesn't mean the airplane is undesirable — it means it's priced for what it is. Cash4Planes buys airplanes with run-out or mid-time engines all the time; we factor the honest condition into the number so you're not stuck between an overhaul bill you don't want and a retail buyer who's scared off by the words "near TBO." The same logic applies to airframes with other known issues — condition gets priced in, not treated as a dealbreaker.
If you want a real number either way — as the airplane sits, or what it'd be worth freshly overhauled — tell us about it or call (386) 209-6722. No obligation, and it'll give you the real inputs for whichever decision you make.