Why does one have to buy brand new?
Of course one doesnt.
I have never bought a brand new aircraft or car or house.
My parents always wanted a brand new house, and bought one.
Why? I suppose some people love the idea of spec'ing it as they wish, like the idea that it doesnt come with a "history", like to feel they have the benefit of a full warranty, want the latest offering - in short there are plenty of reasons without which all these industries would collapse and we would have no used examples.
Mind you I was thinking today whether we are "dumbing" down some "consumer" items. I was discussing yachts with someone today. He made the point that nearly all the quality manufacturers have gone. You can take your pick of mass produced 50 foot yachts but few of them will last. As Cirrus stands accused they will also look tired very quickly. There are a multitude of "ultra" light new aircraft but none of them look like they will last very long. I flew a Bambi I little while ago. Very fast, very up to date, but as flimsy as a paper dart compared with a Cirrus. Of course price is a factor. You can make a 50 foot yacht for £400K and enough people will buy, you can make the same yacht to the quality being built only five or six years ago but it will cost double that - the market is all of a sudden a great deal smaller.
Cirrus could build in metal, fit traditional instruments and use the best quality leathers etc - the whole thing would be a work of art, but you would need to double the price.
I find myself wondering if their is a market for a hand crafted aircraft - albeit a very small market. People will pay the price demanded for a Veyron. The trouble is people are buying into a reputation. It is doubtful anyone would buy into a reputation in the light end of aviation because almost nobody has one.
I came very close to buying a new 42. I love the aircraft and still do. I suspect the 42 with Lycomings is everything the diesel version should have been - thank goodness I didnt.
The other issue with aircraft at the top end of the GA market is their utility value to most pilots. How many Cirrus in the UK are privately owned by a single person? In reality even if money is no object people find it difficult to justify the utility value against the cost where half a million dollars is involved; £100K and its a very different matter.
A TB20 will get you from A to B in the same time as makes no difference as a Cirrus and will do so in as much style. Sure it doesnt have pretty screens and sure some may say it is a bit dated but are the screens and styling worth and extra £100k plus a great deal more depreciation? Then again you could buy a perfectly serviceable Archer with a zero timed engine for half that cost. It would add maybe 25% to the journey time but a clean example will take you there in as much style and comfort and given you only get in an out once each journey does the single door really matter that much.
I drive a Hyundai - albeit a nearly new Hyundai. It gets me from A to B safely, its got pretty much all of the gimmicks including the auto pilot
but it is not a Merc. I ask myself why I would want a Merc and cant find a good enough reason. When I buy my yacht to sail around the world I dont want a mass produced one simply because in my opinion it will not do the job any where near as well as an Oyster. If I had a need for a 90% despatch rate with business throughout Europe I would buy a turbine, but how many private pilots have such need.
So what point am I seeking to make - only that we are each motivated by different considerations, all a manufacturer has to do is appeal to enough of us to survive. Clearly Mooney has failed that test - in other words it doesnt matter how good the product, if not enough people buy it you are stuffed.