I found a plane that I would like to consider for purchase. The plane is at a small airfield in BFE Idaho. "Complete logs" "fresh annual" and "ready to fly". I am 12 hours away. It's an older plane late 1970's w Lycoming 540. The only mechanics around are the mechanic that have worked on it or at least know the plane. It's a small town. I would like to have a pre buy on any plane I consider and would probably have the pre buy mechanic complete a fresh annual at the same time. My issue is where do I find that mechanic willing to go to BFE for days?
I can easily go look the plane over as best that I can myself, see it fly, fly it, pick the owners brain, pick the mechanics brain, pour over the log books and look for flags, research AD's and see if complied with etc. What I can't do is dig into the engine, and inspect critical things like fuselage, fuel tanks, wing internals, etc. Kinda imnportant stuff. So we are now where I need the advice on the logistics of purchasing a plane from an individual in small town.
How do I go about locating a non biased mechanic/inspector when the plane is so far away? Is it customary that the seller delivers the plane to a mechanic unknown to them at an airfield far away and lets them tear their plane apart? Should I be searching for a mechanic that will travel to the small town and stay there while doing the pre buy and annual in a shop that's foreign to him? How have you who are not mechanics done your pre buy due diligence in a situation like this?

Thank you.

Find a mechanic who is knowledgeable in the aircraft type and pay them good money to fly out and tear it apart. Go with them.

If its a Cessna Bigrenna / www.bushwagoneast.com helped steer me away from some expensive decisions.

Cubby,

Another option is to meet the owner at a mutually agreed upon FBO within a reasonable distance. Not knowing where the aircraft is located I'd suggest Mustang Aviation in Pierre South Dakota. They have an outstanding shop and I know the owner well. I'd be happy to facilitate an inspection.

You and the owner meet, the plane gets inspected, squawks are negotiated and the deal gets done or it does not. I'd set up and fair cost for the owner to meet you and if you buy the plane you need to either take him home in your new plane or agree to get him an airline ticket.

Its a good mutually neutral situation for both parties.

MW

Where is "BFE Idaho"??? KBFE is in Texas.... Give us some idea of WHERE and maybe someone can come up with a closer mechanic.

I agree that you need to get a mechanic familiar with the type to look at it.

Give us a better clue, and maybe we can assist.

MTV

Looking at it from a neutral perspective: A prebuy needs to be done but I'm much too busy to fly my airplane to some strange mechanics hanger and let me take it apart. For all I know he could find something he doesn't like then hold the plan hostage until I pay him to fix it.

However, a prebuy has to be done so I'd be more than happy to facilitate having your mechanic come to my hangar. Or I could take it to a reasonably close by and agreed upon shop. Then, the mechanic can perform a prebuy inspection. Once terms are set and you've purchased the plane your mechanic can complete an annual inspection.

As a buyer I'd be reaching out to my pilot network looking for a qualified mechanic that is either willing to travel to the plane or has a shop that the plane owner is willing to take the plane to. But before I pay a mechanic to look at the plane I would look at it myself, if at all possible.

I helped with the purchase of a plane a little while back. We didn't go look at the plane because it was several states away. We hired a mechanic, completed a prebuy and annual, scoured the logbooks, then purchased the plane. When we got to the plane to take it home I was pretty disappointed. Corrosion everywhere, fuel leaks, etc. If I had looked at the plane myself beforehand we wouldn't have messed with getting a prebuy. But it was too late, the plane was already bought and it's turned out pretty good...mostly.

I'm in East Idaho. I know a few mechanics that might be willing to travel depending on where the plane is. If I can help out send me a message.

If I was in your shoes (I have been multiple times), I would personally go see the plane first before hiring people. See if it’s what you imagined and almost more importantly, if it’s what was advertised. Get a feel for the seller and the location and stuff.

While there, if your hopes aren’t dashed, I would negotiate a price with the seller, pending a pre buy inspection. If the prebuy reveals things are as advertised, the purchase is done. If it reveals things that were not advertised, renegotiate or walk away. At this first meeting I would offer a deposit, refundable if the prebuy discovers something unexpected, needing work, or unairworthy, NOT refundable for “I changed my mind”. This prebuy ideally would be a type-specific mechanic you know flying out to see the plane. It’s not cheap but it works well. A nearby yet unaffiliated shop would work too.

I believe this shows that you’re serious, you respect the sellers time, and leaves the negotiating to in-person interactions. This does require you to know at least some things about general airplane condition when you first see it.

Airplanes exist on a spectrum from stained-carpet shitbox to Italian-leather bespoke. I believe the inspections exist on a spectrum as well, driven by the deal, your needs/intentions, and of course the airplane. Ain’t no need for a $6k prebuy on a $40k plane. Ain’t no use for a $250 prebuy on a $200k plane.


All this being said I’ve bought and sold airplanes sight unseen, so don’t listen to me.

Whee makes some valid points. As far as a pre buy being akin to "taking the airplane apart" I differ on the scope of a pre-buy inspection. Logbooks, open up the aircraft for a good thorough inspection, compression checks and borescope all are very reasonable requests without taking the plane apart.

Also if an owner balks at the idea of a shared cost inspection and is not willing to fly the plane to an independent mechanic then maybe that is telling to the condition of the aircraft.

I totally agree with Whee you must go see the plane with your own eyes. Also MTV hit the nail on the head, type and location information posted here will go a long way toward helping you find what you need.

MW

Couple things

Have the owner fly it, seeing how he flys it will tell you a lot about how it was treated

When you fly it do some timed climbs and decents, get it to cruise, compare to book, see how the rigging feels, heavy wing? Etc

Do some power off stalls, tells a lot about rigging

Test all nav, shoot a rnav and ILS if it’s equipped, all the way through a missed

Be there and be hands on for the prebuy unless you’re very rich

Have the logs sent over (scanned first) compare to a NTSB search by N number as well as SN, order the FAA CD and compare to above
https://aircraft.faa.gov/e.gov/ND/


A good prebuy will be the most in-depth annual it ever gets under your ownership, airworthy is simply expected (unless it’s a project), a prebuy goes far beyond that to condition for you to make a informed decision on value

I would suggest not planning on the prebuy being an annual. In my mind, the prebuy is your chance to have someone who knows what to look for look for it. Oftentimes that's obvious quickly. I had an A&P who was a friend of a friend look at a Cherokee 6 for me, and got a call ten minutes after he arrived that said "Don't buy this". If the initial once over looks good, sure, continue it to an annual if you want. Getting a plane you've never seen lined up to do an annual somewhere out of the owner's town with an outfit you don't know sounds like a recipe for pain, especially after you pay to do an annual on something that you don't end up buying. Manage expectations on all sides...

Having just recently closed on a couple planes I believe one of them was an AOPA contract off their site that had specific pre buy conditions well stated….I feel the buyer has to expect delivery to a shop within a reasonable distance (if they are remote, the expectation should be further on their part). Generally the purchaser pays for the pre-buy and the seller would take care of any airworthiness items discovered.

Take the mechanic that YOU are going to have working on the airplane. That's who's eyes and signature is going to be needed on the next inspections. Most of us IA's are more than happy to have a "paid vacation" with some work thrown in to it! Everyone sees some things a little different, but this is the person that is going to be signing your logs and doing your annuals. He/she should be proficient in that model aircraft, or you don't want them working on it anyway. If it's something that's exotic or specialized, give them a little time to do some homework on it before they go. I always try to get the owner to combine the prebuy with an annual if the owner is receptive to that. But as stated before, not many would want to do that.
John

mtv wrote:Where is "BFE Idaho"??? KBFE is in Texas.... Give us some idea of WHERE and maybe someone can come up with a closer mechanic.

I agree that you need to get a mechanic familiar with the type to look at it.

Give us a better clue, and maybe we can assist.

MTV

Mike,
Just a guess, but I'm thinking BFE is: Bumm F*ck Egypt. IE...Middle of nowhere. LOL

WWhunter wrote:

mtv wrote:Where is "BFE Idaho"??? KBFE is in Texas.... Give us some idea of WHERE and maybe someone can come up with a closer mechanic.

I agree that you need to get a mechanic familiar with the type to look at it.

Give us a better clue, and maybe we can assist.

MTV

Mike,
Just a guess, but I'm thinking BFE is: Bumm F*ck Egypt. IE...Middle of nowhere. LOL

Good one, Keith! And likely accurate…..

MTV

What a ton of great advice and suggestions here. Thank you so much. Yes, BFE was not KBFE, it was the Egypt version lol.
So the plane is no longer listed for sale, and I wasn't the buyer. It was an older Maule 1978 located in SE Idaho. I would have take you up on your offer @Whee. You probably are familiar with the plane it's in Burley. If you know of anything in Idaho that may be available feel free to let me know. I made another post about narrowing down the right plane for me. Thanks everyone.

There's an article in the December issue of Aviation Consumer about how to get a good prebuy inspection. I've been through the process twice and would encourage you not to skimp on the process, even though it can be costly in time and money.

You might consider using a service like Savvy Aviation to manage your prebuy. I use their lower-tier maintenance management service (Savvy QA) and the experience has been mostly positive.

In winter, it's a huge ask for someone to travel long distances, perform the prebuy, and do an annual. Would they even have a heated hangar?

Recommend. Just get the prebuy done locally by a mechanic not working the area preferably by one very familiar w your model, get the airplane home and have your own mechanic do your annual. As you know the first annual is usually the most expensive and you really don't want two expensive annuals. Every IA is different and every owner is different to their prefs.

Every prebuy should be taken with a grain of salt. The red flags will be glaring and you should never be afraid to walk away. And every prebuy cannot capture everything. Paperwork, FAA records should be done first.