I’ve always been one to think carefully before spending any money, but I might not have described myself as an obsessive buyer until I was looking for a new kitchen faucet a few years ago.
Knowing that my family and I had to live with this faucet for some time, I had already spent well over an hour thinking about the many features available and hundreds of competing products. Did we want a model with one or two handles? How about a motion-sensitive faucet that turns itself on and off? What kind of sprayer? Should we choose stainless steel, brushed aluminum, nickel-plated, bronze or brass? How about a soap dispenser? Which brand had the best reputation? And was a $ 400 faucet really better than a $ 200 faucet, or was it just twice as expensive?
To answer such questions and narrow down the long list of options, I had done some research online, asked my handy brother for advice, and made trips to the Home Depot and a local plumbing store, respectively. Now I was back at Home Depot after narrowing the field down to a few finalists. I stood at the faucet display for about 15 minutes studying the fine print on boxes about warranties, water efficiency, and installation procedures when a couple came after me.
“Hey, don’t we need a new faucet?” said the man.
“We do that,” said the woman. “How about?” She pointed to a box.
“Sure,” said the man, picking it up.
And away they went.
Maybe her decision wasn’t going to turn out as good as mine, or maybe she would. In any case, I suspect that this incident helps explain why I often have less free time than my friends.
When I remember that experience today, all I can think of is, “Thank goodness I am unable to buy a business jet.” I would probably be dead before I was ready to take off.
Of course, you don’t have to be as neurotic a buyer as I am to be overwhelmed by the task of buying an airplane. Unlike kitchen faucets, airplanes involve large sums of money, make important decisions, and require serious thought. You’ll need to think about insurance, financing, cabin completion or renovation, electronics, residual value, and more. The impact of your decisions can be huge.
Therefore Business Jet Traveler created its annual Buying GuideThis is where you can find authoritative advice on all of this, as well as lists of business aircraft models, a key manufacturer report, and other important information. The guide, which appears in July each year, has been popular with readers since it was launched in 2008. He was also a four-time winner in the Best Buyers’ Guide category in the annual editorial competition sponsored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
So if you’re in the market for a business jet, be sure to check out our just released Buying Guide for 2013. But don’t call me for advice – at least not if you’re hoping to make a decision about a jet sometime in the current century.
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