Prepurchase Inspections Revisited

There are many waysto do a prepurchase inspection on used aircraft, and whether the method you choose isright for you depends on the outcome. There are those who say that nothing short of afull-blown annual inspection is the way to go, while others do little more than a cursoryexam.

Which way should you go when it comes time to purchase your bird? It depends on thecircumstances surrounding the individual aircraft. For example, an aircraft that just cameout of annual should be in good condition ... theoretically. But we know that allannual inspections are not created equally. Is it necessary to redo the completeinspection? Generally, the answer to that question is "no." The exception is ifthere is reason to believe that the annual inspection was not done properly — which isthe case sometimes when an airplane is for sale — and that can be determined quickly by agood mechanic.

If it has been six months or more since the last annual inspection was done, then youshould seriously consider doing a complete annual. Unless there is some reason not to dothe annual inspection in the seller's locale — e.g., there is no shop in the areathat has the experience level on the particular type of aircraft that you are buying — goahead and do the annual at the seller's locale. Not only will you be saving yourself somemoney, but you will get a better look at the airplane in general.

Before committing to a complete annual inspection it is advisable to have your mechaniccheck the known problem areas on the particular aircraft that you are looking to buy. Ifmany problems are revealed you may forego the annual inspection. That will depend on thestructure of the deal that you have set up with the seller.

Some sellers know exactly what is wrong with their airplanes, and they tell the buyerthat the price is absolutely firm. To them the results of the prepurchase inspection aremeaningless — they are not to the purchaser, however.

If the purchaser's mechanic finds too many problems that are going to cost a fairamount of money to repair early in the inspection there is probably no reason to go aheadwith a complete annual, unless you have reason to believe that the seller is going to payfor some or all of the repairs that are necessary. So, in effect you are doing aprepurchase inspection prior to the annual inspection. But since the airplane is openalready it is easier and cheaper to do the annual at this time.

The buyer must understand that he or she is not buying a new airplane. That means thatit is unlikely that the seller will pay for every little thing that the mechanic writesup. The reason for doing a prepurchase inspection is to determine that there is nothingseriously wrong with the aircraft that will cost the buyer a large amount of moneyimmediately after the purchase. Or, that there is nothing major that will need repair inthe immediate future.

Anything that affects the airworthiness of the airplane should be the seller'sresponsibility. Other items on the squawk list should be negotiated between the buyer andseller.

Most sellers have an absolute bottom line that they will accept for the aircraft andonce they reach that they will negotiate no further. The art of negotiating the paymentfor items that do not affect the airworthiness of the aircraft is a fine one. If the buyergoes into the prepurchase with the intention of not paying for any of the items themechanic finds he is likely not to buy the aircraft unless it was presented to him as asquawk-free airplane.

You have to understand that mechanics write up every little discrepancy no matter whatit is or how much it will cost to repair. As a purchaser that is exactly what you want,but there are different ways to resolve minor problems, and one mechanic's repair may notbe the same as another's.

Before the prepurchase inspection you should have any aircraft that you intend to buyprofessionally appraised so you'll know exactly where you are positioned relative to theselling price. If the airplane is appraised for a value that is higher than the sellingprice then you have some room to maneuver in your negotiations with the seller. However,if the aircraft is appraised for a value that is lower than the selling price you have tobe very careful about how you proceed.

Naturally, you do not want to be into any airplane for more then the appraised value,and if the seller refuses to give you enough money to make the important repairs that arerequired by your prepurchase mechanic then you probably will be searching for anotherairplane.

Unfortunately, there are some very good airplanes on the market that have been somewhatneglected and require some minor or major work to bring them up to the airworthinessstandard. The amount of major work required, and who is going pay the bill, will be thedetermining factor in whether you purchase the aircraft or not. Sometimes, for personalreasons, a buyer will agree to pay for repairs that an aircraft needs if the sellerrefuses. Generally, that only occurs when the price of the airplane is attractive enoughto warrant that. After all, it does cost the buyer more money to go back out into themarket, locate another airplane, and prepurchase it.

I have heard complaints from people who have had prepurchase inspections done and stillhad major problems with the airplane shortly after purchase. Most of the time that occursit is because the mechanic the buyer chose did not have the necessary expertise for theparticular type of aircraft. If the mechanic is not familiar with known problem areas onthe type of aircraft you are purchasing he or she cannot do a good prepurchase inspectionfor you.

Before you engage a mechanic to do a prepurchase inspection for you be certain he hasthe tools and manuals necessary for the job. Ask him how many of that aircraft type hemaintains. If his shop is an authorized service facility for the manufacturer whoseaircraft you are about to purchase he should be capable of doing a thorough prepurchaseinspection.

If the mechanic tells you during your first conversation with him that he does not doprepurchase inspections, that may be true in a technical sense but most mechanics do themalbeit in a different form. There is no official prepurchase inspection in the sense thatthere is an annual inspection or 100-hour inspection. Some mechanics, because they do nothave any guidelines regarding what should be done during a prepurchase inspection, willtell you to provide them with a list of items that you would like to have checked on theairplane, and that they will look at each one. This method is a protection againstliability for anything they might not see during an unspecified prepurchase inspection.

What do you do when an overzealous mechanic tells a buyer there are problems with anairplane that do not exist? Recently, a client of mine specified a well-known nationalshop for his prepurchase inspection on an F33A Bonanza. This airplane was a verywell-maintained example that had been cared for by a Beech shop until two years prior toour looking at it. The prepurchase mechanic told my client that the aircraft needed over$15,000 worth of work.

Almost all the work that was specified was what it would take to comply with all Beechrecommended maintenance procedures and policies. None of it had an effect on theairworthiness of the aircraft. In fact, I have seen very few Bonanzas that have beenmaintained to that standard (one reason why Beech airplanes have a reputation for beingexpensive to maintain).

Naturally, the seller was not in a mood to hear that kind of talk. He was ready to pullthe plug on the deal and take his airplane home. In the end, we resolved the differencesand bought the airplane. But the prepurchase mechanic was of very little help in thiscase.

There are some bad airplanes out there so don't become confused between what you thinkmay be an overzealous mechanic and an airplane that is truly in bad condition. Theprepurchase mechanic should be able to show the buyer and seller any defects that exist.Then, he should create a list of the defects plus a cost for parts and labor to correctthem. 99.9 percent of the time the buyer has to go with what his prepurchase mechanicsays. If the list is too long and the cost of the repairs beyond what the seller iswilling to negotiate then the buyer will be looking for another airplane.

The purpose for doing a prepurchase inspection is to alert the buyer as to thecondition of the aircraft. What you spend on this inspection will return every penny toyou in the form of confidence in the new airplane that you bought or in the relief thatyou will experience because you didn't buy the airplane.