Same part number, very different prices: how to compare aircraft part quotes

How far apart quotes really are

Condition is held equal in that figure, so a threefold gap comes from everything else on this page. Some of it is real value: a better certificate, a deeper trace, a part on the shelf rather than weeks away. Some is cost one offer includes and another leaves to you. And some is not a price difference at all, but a mistake in how the price was written or read.

Condition: line up like with like first

Condition codes are the first filter, and the steps between them are large. "Overhauled" has a legal meaning in the US: under 14 CFR 43.2 a part may be called overhauled only if it has been disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, reassembled and tested to approved standards. A serviceable (SV) unit has been inspected and tested and found fit, or to some sellers only repaired for its reported fault; a repaired (RP) unit has had its defect fixed. Neither is overhauled. An as-removed (AR) unit is sold as it came off the aircraft and needs a shop before installation. Our guide to aircraft part condition codes covers each code, including NE, NS and FN.

Read this as a sample, not a price list. Serviceable came out above overhauled here because the two rows cover different part numbers; it is not a rule that SV costs more than OH. What the table shows is the scale: going from new down to AR removes most of the price and hands you the repair cost and the risk of what the shop finds.

Release certificate and dual release

Two offers in the same condition can carry very different paperwork, and the paperwork is much of what you pay for. An FAA Form 8130-3 or EASA Form 1 is issued by an approved organization, as a production release for a new part or a release to service after maintenance. A distributor's certificate of conformity is something else. The FAA's AC 20-62E notes that when a non-certificated person certifies they are shipping the correct part, "the only thing they are stating is that the part number agrees with the purchase order, not the status of FAA-acceptability of the part."

Destination matters too. EASA's guidance under the EU–US agreement accepts used components from a US repair station on a dual release FAA Form 8130-3 carrying the shop's EASA Part-145 statement and approval number, so only a US repair station that also holds EASA approval can issue one. For an EU-registered aircraft, a dual-release overhauled unit and a single-release one are not the same offer. See 8130-3 vs EASA Form 1.

A line that states no certificate is not necessarily a part without one. But you cannot compare it with a line that does until you have asked.

Traceability: how far back the paper goes

Trace is the chain of documents showing where the part has been: back to the manufacturer, to the operator that removed it, or only to the previous seller. The FAA puts the burden on the buyer's side. AC 20-62E states that distributors which are not production approval holders "cannot certify the airworthiness of the parts they advertise and/or sell; therefore, it is the installer's responsibility to request documentation establishing traceability" to the production approval holder.

A cheaper offer with thin trace is only cheaper if your quality system will accept it. If it will not, the price does not matter; if it will only after extra work, add that work to the price.

Shelf life and age

For some items, when the part was made matters as much as what it is. AC 20-62E names sealants and adhesives, which may deteriorate in storage and need testing before use; composites with a refrigerated shelf life and out-time limits; and parts with internal seals, such as pumps, valves and actuators, which can fail early after long storage. It also warns that the storage history of surplus parts is not usually known, and lists shelf-life data, "including manufacturing date or cure date", among what to obtain.

Ask for that date and the remaining life, and compare offers on the life you will actually use. A low price on stock that expires next month is not a low price.

Quantity, time, place and terms

Quantity, minimum order and price breaks

A unit price is often tied to a quantity: one piece, a minimum order, the whole lot, or a break at a higher quantity. Hardware and consumables are often sold by the pack. Compare at the quantity you need: the extended price with any minimum applied, counting surplus you would be forced to buy as cost unless you will use it.

Stock versus lead time

A part on the shelf and a part quoted at 30 days are different offers, even at the same price. Check what the lead time counts: quote guides define it as the time from receipt of your order to shipment, not to arrival. When an aircraft is on the ground, the offer that ships today is worth more, and prices often reflect that. More in our guide to aircraft parts lead time.

Where the part ships from

Two equal prices can be very different costs at your door, and the delivery term decides who pays for what. Under Incoterms 2020 EXW (Ex Works), the seller makes the goods available at its premises; loading, export formalities and everything after are the buyer's. (For a US export, the seller still supplies the export data and, unless you take it on in writing, the licensing decision; see our export control guide.) Under FCA (Free Carrier), the seller handles export formalities and hands the goods to the buyer's carrier. Then come freight, insurance, import clearance, duties, taxes and broker fees. In the US, for example, commercial imports valued over $2,500 (over $250 for goods in Chapter 99, subchapters III–IV) generally need formal entry, with a surety bond and merchandise processing fees.

An offer without an origin is an offer without a freight estimate. Ask before you compare.

Outright or exchange

An exchange price cannot be set against an outright price until you add what comes after. You pay an exchange fee, commonly a percentage of the part's outright value, receive a serviceable unit now, and send back your unserviceable one, the core. The core charge is a deposit: paid up front, or invoiced if the core does not come back. How your core's repair reaches you depends on the terms:

• Flat rate — the repair of your core is included in the exchange fee.
• Cost plus — the fee now, and a separate bill for the actual repair later.
• Standard — repair is covered up to a set limit; beyond it come over-and-above (O&A) charges.
• Beyond economical repair (BER) — if your core is not worth repairing, you are billed the core charge, in effect the outright value.

Add the freight to return the core and the return window: Duncan Aviation notes that most vendors allow 14 or 21 days, after which extended-use fees, late fees or even outright billing may apply. The fair comparison is the exchange fee plus your core's expected repair and return costs, against the outright price — remembering that if you buy outright, you keep your unserviceable unit.

Who is selling: manufacturer, distributor or broker

The channel changes the paperwork and the length of the chain. A manufacturer, or a supplier it has authorized in writing to ship directly (FAA "direct ship authority"), ships with the production approval holder's documentation. An independent distributor sells its own stock, with whatever trace that stock carries. A broker may quote stock held by someone else, which adds a link, time and a margin. None of these is wrong; they are different offers.

Warranty

Warranty is a commercial term set by each seller. Ask for the period, when it starts, what it covers and how a claim works. An AR unit is sold as removed, so check whether any warranty applies at all.

When the gap is a data error

Some of the widest gaps in our own data are not market prices at all: at the far end of the spread we find unit mistakes and one-off items. Before acting on an outlier, check:

• Unit price or line total. A total for ten pieces written in the unit-price column, or a unit price read as the line total, makes an offer look ten times dearer or cheaper than it is.
• Unit of measure. A price per each against a price per box of 100 is a hundredfold gap that means nothing.
• The part number. A different dash number, suffix or alternate may be a different part, or one your illustrated parts catalog does not allow.
• Currency and quantity. Same currency on every line; quantity quoted versus quantity actually available.

How to compare offers fairly

1. Same part, same unit. Exact part number and dash number, unit of measure, currency.
2. Filter by what you can accept. Condition, certificate, trace, shelf life. An offer that fails your requirements is out, whatever the price.
3. Price your quantity. Extended price with minimums and price breaks applied.
4. Bring it to your door. Freight, clearance, duties, taxes and fees under the offer's delivery term.
5. Finish the exchange math. Expected core repair or O&A, BER exposure, core freight, late fees.
6. Put time and risk beside cost. Lead time plus transit plus customs; everything unstated or unverified.

Record the same fields for every offer, as the columns of one spreadsheet:

From those fields, each offer gets three figures:

• Cost at your door = extended price + freight + clearance, duties, taxes and fees + for an exchange, expected core repair and return costs.
• Time to your door = lead time + transit + customs.
• Risk = what is missing, unstated or needs verifying before installation.

If one of the offers on your sheet is ours: MG-AVIATION prices are Ex Works our warehouse in Orlando, Florida. Where the supplier states it, each line shows the country the part ships from, and in our client portal the cost of bringing a line to Orlando is shown separately per line ("Shipping / line"), so the arithmetic to your door starts from Orlando.

Sources

• 14 CFR 43.2, Records of overhaul and rebuilding — eCFR.
• AC 20-62E (Change 1), Eligibility, Quality, and Identification of Aeronautical Replacement Parts — FAA, 2010, change 2018.
• What kind of release document is considered equivalent to an EASA Form 1 under the US-EU bilateral safety agreement? — EASA FAQ.
• Incoterms® 2020: EXW or FCA? — ICC Academy, January 2025.
• 19 CFR 143.21, Merchandise eligible for informal entry — eCFR.
• 15 CFR 30.3, Electronic Export Information filer requirements and 15 CFR 758.3, Responsibilities of parties to the transaction — eCFR.
• What is the Difference Between Outright and Exchange for Aircraft Parts? — C&L Aero.
• What To Know When Reading Aircraft Part Quotes — C&L Aero.
• How to Read Parts Quotes — Aircraft Accessories International.
• 16 Important Aircraft Parts Sales & Core Exchange Terms — Duncan Aviation, December 2018.