Adam, with the above in mind, are you saying that you'd let someone take your airplane to his mechanic hundreds of miles away, keep if for several weeks while he removed the interior/engine parts and with no supervision or input?

I'm just thinking that process entails considerable risk to you, with little protection . . .

not adam, and no for me. If you want to inspect my airplane you are free to disassemble as much as you want down to major structural items, and take as much time as you like. But you'll do it in my hangar. Bring your mechanic and I'll loan you all the tools, jacks, etc you could ever want. But the airplane doesn't leave my hangar until you buy it.

We are on the same page Jeff, but I'm seeing more of this "I'll do an annual at my favorite shop" and in fact I lost a sale last month because I wouldn't let him take my plane 3 states away for two weeks for an annual. He then replied he felt I was hiding something . . .

We are on the same page Jeff, but I'm seeing more of this "I'll do an annual at my favorite shop" and in fact I lost a sale last month because I wouldn't let him take my plane 3 states away for two weeks for an annual. He then replied he felt I was hiding something . . .

I'd add a bit more detail to the logbook review. First, most turbines have a maintenance tracker which is basically a summary of all the required inspections and other recurring MX showing when it was last done and when the next task is due. When I bought my Conquest, I went totally off that. The problem is the maintenance tracker is not always accurate. The only way to really know is to go through the logs and read every entry carefully which takes hours and gets really tedious especially when you can't read the handwritten entry or when the entires are really vague. For example the MX tracker said both starter generators were overhauled in the last 100 hours. I started having a problem with one and that got me to dig into the logs. It turns out neither SG was done when the tracker said it was and they were both well overdue for overhaul. On top of that, the tracker had the wrong serial number SGs. And the MX tracker was generated by Yingling in 2015 and my pre buy was by Weststar - neither shop noticed the error and those are supposedly top notch shops. So for the logbook review I would add that someone needs to identify the key components (engines, SGs, FCUs, governors, props, landing gear, etc) and go through the logs to verify the MX was properly recorded, the serial numbers are correct, and at a minimum there is a note of who did the work and on what work order (an 8130 copy is better). It's a time consuming, tedious, PIA but worth it.

I am going through all this right now. Pre-buy (mechanical part) starts Monday. I didn't have anyone really helping besides what I picked up here and what I consider to be somewhat normal in acquiring farm equipment.

Steps in order:
-Get the cash and insurance figured out. Insurance lined up on type of aircraft and quote for what amount of money you're willing to spend. Repeat, cash needs to be in hand. Don't waste anyone's time, be serious. Go from there. You may find insurance dictates the type of plane you purchase. You may not.

-Start looking. Find 3-4 aircraft you have interest in and call. Ask all the basic questions. If you like what you hear, request logs. If logs aren't scanned or available, walk away. Any sales pitch on why this airplane is fantastic is limited only to foundational stuff. New paint? ok. Was flown by a guy that... nope, don't care. I kept a document on my computer outlining all the features, times, whatever.

-Take a rough look through the logs for any big items, I wanted to be the gatekeeper for the mechanic down the road. I don't want him to go through the logs (while I'm paying for him to do so) and find out, "Hey, did you know this thing has a new wing from a wreck?"

-Pick your top 2-3 airplanes and get a block for the price from the owner/broker based on your belief of value. "Pending pre-buy, I'd like to buy this plane around $150-160k." This is where you find out who wants to sell, who is realistic, etc. And it may be you that needs a wake-up call.

You can feel free to throw some kickers in there outlining at what level you'll overlook things vs. what you consider deal breakers or price concessions. My goal here was to eliminate any future belly aching. Ensuring everyone knew what I was going to do/say depending on the issues found. No surprises from me (that's all I can control).

-If it works, pick the best deal in your eyes (and deal isn't totally price driven). Things like an owner willing to work with you in a harmonious way to ensure all parties are happy has an intangible price.

Send it off to pre-buy and hopefully you get a nice airplane (that's where I'm at now).

Contracts and all that is a person by person action. That's up to the individual. Also, title/lien search, AD/SB compliance was all done before pre-buy took effect.

When I sold my Bonanza I let the buyer take it a few states away for his pre-buy. We just had it in the contract that it was at his expense to get the airplane back to me if he wasn't pleased.

I never saw her again.

And there is no standard for a "pre-buy". Better to do an annual with a trusted shop, then you know what you got.