Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

[mhorowit]

I know that if I ask an IA to do an annual, there are standards to which he must adhere.
If I ask for a pre-purchase inspection, what am I getting? Am I correct that unless I specify what to look for I am entirely at the mercy of his level of experience AND his level of enthusiasm at that moment? - Mike

[8708]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

You are right on that. I bought a 172 in 2000 and I had a pre-purchase inspection done. What a mistake! I doubt the A&P even got up from his easy chair. I ended up with an overhaul after the first oil change plus missing AD's, the works.
If I ever do it again I will pay the extra and get an annual done. A pre-purchase does not go in the log book and you do not have a leg to stand on if something goes wrong. The annual must go in the log book and makes the A&P sign it. Negotiate with the seller that you will pay for the annual up to a certain point or if anything is found amiss that you can negotiate that if you still want the plane.
Believe me it is better to leave some money on the table then to accept the cheaper pre-purchase option.
Jay

[N96337]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

I kinda feel the same about a prepay inspection. In order for me to do a thorough enough prepay to satisfy us all, I might as well just do an annual.. the $250 prepay isn't worth much in my book... If the owner doesn't want to hinge things on an annual, then there's probably a reason... I'd rather have it all right out front at the start. That being said, there's alot of people that get by just fine for the nominal fee... but not in my shop.
JH

[Richard Boyer]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

Interesting. On another list I haunt, they aren't above spending 1K to 2K for a prebuy!!!!!! Granted, it is a more expensive and complicated plane (Mooney).

Still, made me think a little.

Richard Boyer

[crispy critter]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

When buying a mooney,comanche,bonanza,etc. you are already spending in the $50,000 to $80,000 range for a nice one so $1000-2000 for a pre buy ain't a bad deal. However for most people buying a t-craft $15,000-$25,000 is a lot of money to just throw around and every little bit counts...but it's better to pay a little extra now and know what yor getting. I think $250-350 is a very fair price to pay for a good complete annual on a t-craft as long as no major job is needed. I also think IA's should always do annuals for pre-buys and sign off the books on it,this way there is no question from either end and everyones butt is covered. This would also cut down on the number of scam sellers like the guy mentioned a while back who wanted $500 just to allow you to do a pre-buy. If your going to do a pre-buy then have the guy do an annual while he's at it....even if the annual was just completed the month before..you'll be glad you did.

[Richard Boyer]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

I completely agree!

I brought my A&P with me to John H's for my Tcraft pre-buy. I knew the plane would be safe because I made him fly with me to Texas from Montana! (ok, made is a little strong as I had a hard time getting him out of the plane!).

Had a great time at John's place too. Although it was a bit cool..

Richard Boyer
N95791

[N96337]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

I did a pre-buy on a friend's 310 Cessna once... (the LAST pre-buy I'll do as such) that had been maintained by an A&P school, signed off as annualed etc. I suggested the annual/prebuy, but Doug was confident enough in what we saw (it really looked pretty clean), and the logs were all up to date, all AD's were complied with properly on paper, so he just bought it and flew it home. A couple days later, he was having some mag problems, so I started into one mag, and found out that eventhough the logs were signed off, NONE of the Bendix mag AD's had actually been complied with!! To make a long story shorter, the whole aircraft was like that... so I called my PMI and he took a good look at what we found... and then went to the school... well, the guy wiggled his way out, because he was "a good friend of so and so" and had been teaching for a long time....blah blah blah.... needless to say, it really added to the cost of the aircraft to get it airworthy, and we BOTH learned a big lesson about prebuys... so no more do I do them without going all the way... if the owner doesn't want to go that far, it's no skin off my nose.. it just doesn't get done by me.. and I sleep much better at night.
JH
PS.. it wasn't that cold Richard!! I have a pic of you in shorts one day!!! hahaha

[hangarb7]

Re: Pre-purchase Inspections; what are you getting?

From my own bad experience I can tell you that the next time will be an annual, from the guy who will annual it next year if at all possible!

Since I was able to do all my own work, it was not expensive but very time-consuming to get the airplane up to the point where I felt safe and my mechanic would sign it off.

The original owner had an over-the-top reaction when I mentioned it to him later. He swore up and down that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the airplane. His mechanic agreed.

They were wrong but I paid for it.

Pay for the annual even if the local mechanic is overcharging. It will be a small price to pay.

Jack Dernorsek
N44057