Well here is the laundry list of issues found by Dana @ Monument.... UGH! So much for what I thought was a good inspection and an annual..

N2551G

Skin & structure at tail tie down badly damaged.
AFT tail bulkhead cracked & damaged
Leading edge of horizontal stab. have pulled rivet and broken ribs
Pilot door seal & co-pilots in very bad shape
Co-pilot seat recline lever has worn hardware pilot side also
Rear seat missing attach hardware
No placard for flaps
broken ground straps on engine mount
Air box has cracks
Rudder trim neutral not labeled
Fuel selector handle secured incorrectly
No compass calibration card
Co-pilot window latch has wrong hardware
Pilot door stop inoperable
Compass low on fluid
Forward air vents not sealed
play in cont. yoke V joints
crack in alt attach bracket
Horizontal stabilizer skin cracked
Left aileron rod ends have play
Lower cowl air induct has holes
Cowl flaps have cracks
Lower cowl has several cracks and damage
fuel vent out of rig
access door latched on lower cowl have broken springs
Left cowl flap hinge has play
Baggage door latch has broken springs
No TSO tags on engine
Worn tail ID placards
Top cowl has cracks
ELT batteries due
Paperwork on ext baggage
Cracks in top of LH elevator
Beacon attach hardware missing
no thread penetration on elevator nuts
Bad hanger rash on bottom of left elevator
alternator 337
broken wire at alternator
some surface corrosion
Alternator belt tension low
oil sump leaks on front edge

Vacuum pump return line to case not reinforced rubber
loose case half bolt at magnetos
spinner cracked
RH mooring hook spring broken
loose rivets on RH wing cuff at strut
Flap track SB NOT C/W
small crack in RA flap
flaps chaffed
LH flap well leading edge rivets sheared
Left wheel has broken chunks
RH flap belcrank bracket missing rivets
Wing strut fairings broken
Play in shimmy damper.

Well, someone is gonna say it so it may as well be me

This inspection should have been your pre-buy inspection. Easier said than done sometimes, I know. Don't throw in the towel yet, some of these items are easy. I would have Dana comply with the legal/airworthiness stuff (which may melt your credit card) and then roll up your sleeves and engage in the rest of the list. You may think your not mechanically inclined but when someone charges you $80/hour to source your rear seat hardware and replace it... you'll get up to speed in a hurry.

Good luck. Welcome to ownership 101. My plane had a similar list when I bought it. Helped me knock down the price by 10k but I had a long list of discrepancies. I'm still doing projects every year after 7 years of ownership and the plane is starting to be trouble-free and squawk-free...almost

SixTwoLeemer wrote:Well, someone is gonna say it so it may as well be me

This inspection should have been your pre-buy inspection. Easier said than done sometimes, I know. Don't throw in the towel yet, some of these items are easy. I would have Dana comply with the legal/airworthiness stuff (which may melt your credit card) and then roll up your sleeves and engage in the rest of the list. You may think your not mechanically inclined but when someone charges you $80/hour to source your rear seat hardware and replace it... you'll get up to speed in a hurry.

Good luck. Welcome to ownership 101. My plane had a similar list when I bought it. Helped me knock down the price by 10k but I had a long list of discrepancies. I'm still doing projects every year after 7 years of ownership and the plane is starting to be trouble-free and squawk-free...almost

Yup! A lot of it I can do. The back seat is planned to come out anyway. I still got a decent price on the plane, it just hurts when I thought I did my due diligence. Owner was an a&p/mechanic that does a lot of rebuilds so..... I learned a lesson.

I still might put it forsale as my situation (location) changed since I bought. Relocated from Moab to Phoenix where I can choose to fly a Supercub one day and Cirrus the next. I travel full time for work so flying time will be a lot less than when I lived in Moab.

The plane is a sweet flying plane and a nice straight tail 182~!

Thanks all for listening/venting.

Sounds like somebody did a paper annual, I think I'd be having words with both the former owner and IA on this deal.