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$15K vs $27K for the Rotax 912 100HP: what's the catch?

JP,

What is offered for $15K is just an engine and its accessories. The Van's kit is "Firewall Forward", which includes a lot more stuff. That's part of the story. Also, I couldn't tell if this was a 912ULS or a different model. The exhaust system shown is way different than the Van's.

Others that have purchased their own engine and then bought the extras, and tried to make everything fit have later concluded they should have just gone for the Van's FWF kit in the first place, although this might not be the case for you if you have a lot of experience with these engines.

Best of luck, which ever way you go.

JP
 
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Don't forget that (unless you are building E-AB) you won't get Van's documentation for your E-LSA build unless you buy all the kits with no deletions from them.
Larry
 
Thanks Larry and John, I was just curious and you confirmed what I suspected. The E-LSA certification is too important for me to take the risk anyway.
 
I watched the video and have a question for those who have purchase a 912. Do they really ship them in that crummy single thickness cardboard box with two by fours in the corners?! Is it on a skid? In particular, it looked like the prop flange was extremely vulnerable. Seems like a pretty Mickey Mouse way to ship a $20,000 item across an ocean.
 
Just got mine and the Rotax comes inside it's own extremely well built wooden box with steel reinforced corners. The Rotax box is then secured inside another very well built crate that contains everything else. IMO, nobody packs and crates better than the boys at Vans.
 
szicree said:
I watched the video and have a question for those who have purchase a 912. Do they really ship them in that crummy single thickness cardboard box with two by fours in the corners?! Is it on a skid? In particular, it looked like the prop flange was extremely vulnerable. Seems like a pretty Mickey Mouse way to ship a $20,000 item across an ocean.
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen anything shipped from Vans that is packaged in "crummy" shipping materials? :rolleyes:
 
Old ignitiion

I noticed that the ignition does not have a yellow sticker. Therefore it is the old version that is more susceptible to kickback.
Joe
 
Because I live on the Rotax side of the oceans I asked Van's for a price for an engine kit without the engine. They would subtract $15750,- for the engine. For that price I'm can't buy an engine here so I ordered the whole package.

The offered engine has a price tag of $15000,-. Do you take the risk for $750,-?
 
Wow, yeah, that's an attitude.

DOM/Purchase is needed for warranty. And as soon as it is opened... it losses it's "NEW IN BOX" Seemed like he feels he got scammed and just wanting to recoup his losses. Eh go figure... I just watched the video, I didn't not listen to it.

It was just weird that he felt the need to make a video of opening the box, just just take pictures.....
 
Now That He Has Been Fired by Warner Brothers

Holy Cow! Who knew Charlie Sheen was into aviation?
 
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Liers never proper!

The serial number on the out side of the box in the video is 5645086. I received my rotax from Vans in the Fall of 2009, around September as I recall. My serial number is 5652556 so since his number is 7470 lower than mine I would say that engine is several years old at least. This also means that it lacks several improvements that rotax has made over the years to its engine. If a seller of something is not willing to be completely honest about his product then don't buy his product.:mad:
 
Full Disclosure?

I recently bought a Lycoming engine that was 3 yrs old. in a sealed box.

Prior to the sale:

The vendor supplied ALL the documents, receipts etc.
All the shipping information, all the relevant dates.
Agreed that the sale was contingent upon a full inspection.
All mods to date complied with.
Re inhibited and re packaged for Long Term Storage.
Sold only upon issue of EASA form 1.
Paid for the work.

Open, honest and a gentleman to do business with, no question was too sensitive to ask and always received an answer.

Don't touch this rotax with a barge pole....!:eek:
 
The engine in my CT was manufactured 12/2006 and is 5647660 so whatever is being offered is older than mine.
 
So I guess the seller has a different definition of "new". Perhaps "never run" would be a more accurate description to have in his ad. In any case, those email replies are awful peculiar.
 
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Somebody "in the business" and who knew what they were actually buying might be able to make money by parting it out and selling the pieces at 70%. The factory run time on a new engine is between 0.5 and 1.5 hours depending on if it is certified. There is a market for these parts. New cylinder heads alone are a $1700 item.

There is also a definite market for used engines with far more hours than this one. For example, at my just completed Rotax certification renewal I was told that a 1500 hour engine in good condition has a current market value of $8-10K and that selling such an engine and replacing yours with a factory new would be cheaper than a "factory approved" rebuild. Probably meaningless in experimentals but something to consider when you get to rebuild time.

To use it as is there is a list of bulletins longer than your arm that should be complied with, or at least you should be aware of them before using the engine. Some aren't cheap and are safety of flight. All rubber parts such as hoses, carb sockets, etc are required to be replaced at 5 years even if the engine has never been run. Probably about $1200 in parts alone. Of course, in an experimental much of that can probably be legally ignored.
 
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