- Joined
- Dec 19, 2017
- Messages
- 157
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Has anyone had any experience having avionics installation or painting done in Mexico? I live in Southern California and the Mexican border is just an hour or two away.
Some years ago I drove my car down to Tijuana and had it repainted. The price was way cheaper than what US based body shops wanted to charge. I've heard about people having RV's painted in Mexico as well (it costs a bunch to have a 40 foot RV painted in the US).
I recently read an article that discussed how all of the major US commercial airlines (United, American, etc) fly their airplanes down to Mexico or El Salvador for major overhaul because the price is 1/4 what it costs to do the same work in the US. I know that there are lots of private airplanes in Mexico so there must be skilled mechanics, avionics techs, painters, etc that are able to do a quality job for much less than what it would cost to have the work done in California. The trick is to find a competent shop in Mexico that won't steal your airplane.
Installing a new panel in my Cherokee will cost upwards of $10,000 in labor alone if done in Southern California. A complete strip and repaint will cost about the same; $8 - $10k. So, I'm looking at spending $20,000 plus the cost of new avionics on the plane to get a new panel and new paint. If it's possible to get the same work done and the same quality for 1/2 to 1/3 the price in Mexico that means saving more than $10,000. That's worth the cost of flying the plane down to Baja and leaving it there for a month or two to have the work done.
Has anyone had this done? Can you recommend competent and honest shops in Mexico? Experience? Prices?
Some years ago I drove my car down to Tijuana and had it repainted. The price was way cheaper than what US based body shops wanted to charge. I've heard about people having RV's painted in Mexico as well (it costs a bunch to have a 40 foot RV painted in the US).
I recently read an article that discussed how all of the major US commercial airlines (United, American, etc) fly their airplanes down to Mexico or El Salvador for major overhaul because the price is 1/4 what it costs to do the same work in the US. I know that there are lots of private airplanes in Mexico so there must be skilled mechanics, avionics techs, painters, etc that are able to do a quality job for much less than what it would cost to have the work done in California. The trick is to find a competent shop in Mexico that won't steal your airplane.
Installing a new panel in my Cherokee will cost upwards of $10,000 in labor alone if done in Southern California. A complete strip and repaint will cost about the same; $8 - $10k. So, I'm looking at spending $20,000 plus the cost of new avionics on the plane to get a new panel and new paint. If it's possible to get the same work done and the same quality for 1/2 to 1/3 the price in Mexico that means saving more than $10,000. That's worth the cost of flying the plane down to Baja and leaving it there for a month or two to have the work done.
Has anyone had this done? Can you recommend competent and honest shops in Mexico? Experience? Prices?
