Who actually buys old airplanes — broker, cash buyer, parts buyer, or the FBO?
"Who even buys an old airplane?" is one of the first questions I get from owners who've had a Cessna or Piper sitting in the hangar for years, quietly costing them tie-down or hangar rent with no plan to fly it again. The honest answer is that there isn't one buyer — there are four, and they're not interchangeable. Each one pays differently, moves at a different speed, and fits a different kind of airplane. Picking the wrong one is how owners end up leaving money on the table, or worse, stuck for another year.
1. A broker
A broker lists your airplane, markets it, and finds a retail buyer — usually someone who wants to fly it, not flip it. That's the right path for an airplane that's current on annual, flying regularly, and reasonably clean inside and out. The tradeoff is time and cost: a broker sale can take months, and the broker takes a commission off the top. You're also the one carrying insurance, tie-down, and any surprise squawks a prospective buyer's mechanic finds during pre-buy, until the deal actually closes.
2. A cash buyer (this is us)
A cash buyer purchases the airplane outright, as-is, and closes fast — days, not months. We're not shopping it to a retail pilot; we're buying it ourselves and taking on whatever comes next, whether that's a fresh annual and resale, a part-out, or something in between. The tradeoff going the other direction: a cash offer generally lands below what a patient retail sale through a broker could eventually bring, because we're pricing in the time, risk, and work of turning the airplane around ourselves. For an airplane that's out of annual, has been sitting, or the owner just needs it gone without months of showings and financing contingencies, that tradeoff usually makes sense.
This is also the path that works when the airplane genuinely isn't flying-condition anymore. You don't need to get it airworthy first — see our guide on what to do with an airplane that's out of annual or selling a non-flyable airplane as-is if that's closer to your situation.
3. A parts buyer
If an airframe is genuinely done — corrosion throughout, a runout engine with no realistic path to overhaul economics, or damage history that scares off every retail buyer — a parts buyer may pay more than anyone else for specific components: the engine core, prop, avionics stack, landing gear, control surfaces. The catch is that parting out means finding multiple buyers, storing and shipping components, and living with whatever's left over that nobody wants — plus the liability of an airplane sitting disassembled on your property in the meantime. It can work out well for a genuinely rough airframe, but it's rarely less hassle than one buyer taking the whole thing.
4. An FBO trade-in
Less common, but worth knowing about: some FBOs and flight schools will take an older airplane in trade toward a newer one, or acquire it to add to a training fleet if it fits their mission profile. This only applies to a narrow slice of airplanes — usually trainers in decent shape — and the FBO is going to value it against their own fleet needs, not the open market. It's more of a "ask if you happen to be already buying from them" option than something to seek out on its own.
Why the cash-buyer math wins more often than owners expect
Owners often assume the broker route is automatically the better number, since it's the "retail" price. But that comparison only holds if you actually get to retail — on time, with no repair surprises, no financing fall-through, and no months of carrying costs while it sits on the market. For an airplane that's current and clean, a broker can absolutely be the right call. For an airplane that's older, out of annual, been sitting, or the owner just wants it resolved this month instead of sometime next year, the after-cost gap between "eventual retail" and "cash now" is often smaller than it looks on paper — and the certainty is worth something on its own.
How to decide which one fits your airplane
Start with condition and timeline, honestly. Flying regularly, in annual, no rush? A broker is worth a look. Sitting, aging, out of annual, or you just want it gone? A cash offer is usually the straightest path. Genuinely wrecked or corroded beyond economical repair? Parts may be the best return, if you're willing to manage the logistics. Most owners land somewhere between "I want the most money possible" and "I want this handled" — and that's exactly the conversation we have on every call.
If you want a real number instead of a guess, we can tell you where your airplane lands without any obligation. Whether it's a clean Cessna or something that's been parked a while, get a cash offer here and we'll walk you through what we'd pay and why.