AEA Pilot's Guide 2018-2019 - 33
Photo courtesy of Stevens Aviation OPPOSITE PAGE AND LEFT: Not having a realistic budget for an avionics upgrade can lead to confusion and disappointment. Mistake No. 1: Not having a realistic budget for the project "We run into it all the time - a prospect wants a quote on an avionics upgrade and they either don't have a budget, or worse, don't have a realistic budget," said Monica Gualandri, repair station coordinator for Sarasota Avionics. "The avionics OEMs are fantastic at marketing - they put prices in their ads starting at $X, and owners figure their budget using those types of numbers, which is a big mistake. Aircraft owners don't understand that the total cost of the installation can be up to twice the cost of the equipment. You have labor, accessories and other components to figure in there, also." "One thing we run into a lot is a customer who has a budget, but won't share it with us," stated Gary Brown, service manager at Stevens Aviation. "In a lot of cases, they are shopping around and think if they tell the shop what they are willing to spend, the price will go up to meet that number. "It's a lot easier to architect an upgrade if you know the budget in advance. More than once, I've given a customer a bottom-line price only to have them say they can actually spend $30,000 more. So I have to do the work all over again. Trying to trick someone is no way to approach a project like an avionics upgrade." Mistake No. 2: Selecting the shop that quotes the lowest price "Be suspicious of a price that seems too good to be true, especially if that quote is much lower than the others you have secured," stated Mark Lee, owner of Carpenter Avionics. "It isn't likely that the low-cost shop has figured out a way to do the work so much more efficiently than all the other shops. "Have you confirmed the shop is truly an authorized sales and service affiliate for the brand of avionics that interest you? The affiliation matters because, should you have an issue in the future, the manufacturer could possibly not honor the warranty claim if the equipment was sold and installed by someone other than an authorized shop." "Shops make mistakes with their quotes, too," stated Kirk Fryar, president of Sarasota Avionics. "Owners show us other quotes, and there are times when they've missed something they're not familiar with. Once your airplane is disassembled in their hangar, it's too late to catch these kinds of mistakes. You can put a price tag on experience, and it's not usually the lowest one you will find." According to Lee, "You should consider doing business with shops that extend fair and reasonable pricing because you want them to be around in a year or two in case you have any issues." "Owners also make the mistake of assuming their avionics will be installed legally," Brown added. "There are shops that don't exactly do the installation correctly, and the certification path they are using is questionable. Down the road when the owner wants to sell the airplane and it goes through a pre-buy inspection, they find it's illegal. That's a big problem." Continued on following page... - 33 -
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