split cost of annual and/or pre-buy?

T

tvlawyer

New member
I am getting ready to make an offer on a 1999 KCAB.

Is it typical that the buyer pays the cost of the pre-buy? If the plane will be out of annual within a few months, is it reasonable to ask the seller to pay or split the cost of a new annual?

Can anyone chime in on what a good pre-buy inspection and annual should cost?
 
Well here is one instance where you get what you pay for.
Surely you would not want a mechanic to skimp on his/her investigation on what might cost you monies in the future.

When I bought my plane I paid for the prebuy inspection. The way I looked at it, it was my monies invested to save monies down the road. Most items discovered are either fixed or megotiated into the purchase price.

An aircraft is sold as is for the most part unless you specify a warranty, but of course this will cost you. Most planes close to annual are offered for sale for one price, and in annual for a higher price. Again be careful who does the annual. I would want a mechanic I chose to do both inspections, someone working for me.

Get intouch with mechanics in your area that are framiliar with the aircraft in question, I am sure Robert can give you a top notic persons name.

Good Luck
MP
 
I would suggest hiring the mechanic you plan to do future maintenance perform the pre-buy. This gives the mechanic a heads up on the next annual which could save time and money along with giving you something to bargain with seller should something major be found.

Just my 2¢ worth. :wink:

Eric D
 
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A few thoughts, how can you be ready to make an legitimate offer without already knowing who's going to do what. One would expect a 1999 to be in really nice shape but not necessarily. You should look over the logs, carefully look over the aircraft, does it look new or beaten up? How does the owner seem? What is the planes history? Can you really buy it? You should have a shop in mind and talk to them before you even think of an offer.

There is nothing that will leave a worse taste in both your mouths than a underprepared buyer. Prepare yourself first by having a mechanic lined up that you will pay.

If the owner is selling it as a pristine ship with no squawks then ask him if he will pay for any airworthy issues the mechanic finds.
He should agree if not run!!

Your offer should include some agreed on parameters such as if the mechanic finds airworthiness problems the seller wont pay for then have the seller agree to pay the bill and you take a walk.

If on the other hand your trying to low ball the seller, and he is selling it as is then you pays your money and you take your chances.

Just be sure your not wasting the seller or the mechanics time. Tell the seller what information your basing your offer on in case the wheels start to fall of the wagon.

A 1999 will be a lot of money, so don't drive yourself nuts if it all feels uncomfortable. Be honest and realistic in the end you both win.

You shouldnt expect to pay over $250-$300 for a good pre-buy it is not an annual, and most likely the seller wont want your guy doing his annual if you dont buy it. The pre-buy/annual that people read about works on $20,000.00 airplanes not very often on $75K and up.
 
I thought it would be a good strategy to agree to a price, including a price point over which the seller can either pay for the repairs or get out of the deal.

Is that not a good plan?

I already know of a very ACA-wise A&P who will do the pre-buy and maintain the plane for me here in ATL.
 
Always have "your mechanic" do a pre-buy. You can probably get it done on a per hr bases, take the inspection checklist, decide what you want looked at with your mechanic and it want take long. The inspection checklist is comperhensive enough to know what your buying. Remember your not paying to repair the problems just to see if problems exist. These are really simple airplanes without a whole lot of special issues.


Woodie
N29763
 
With a name like Concrete Solutions, doesn't that mean you are a contractor? If so, I can't believe that you could talk bad about a lawyer! :lol: Oh ya, just to let you know, I'm a contractor as well and we don't have a great reputation!

I do agree though that there is a significant liability premium that has hurt general aviation more than we care to admit.
 
My take on who pays for the pre-buy inspection is this:

You absolutely want the inspector to be acting 100% on your behalf, with only your interests in mind. If he's being paid by the seller, even partially, he's not acting solely as your agent.

As far as whether an inspection happens before or after an offer, it can go either way. It's certainly logical to base your offer on the outcome of of an inspection, it can also be done the other way, You agree on a price which is understood by both parties to be dependent on being found airworthy by the inspector, and that airworthiness issues are obviously goint to be points for further negotiation. Example, if the inspector finds a frayed control cable, the seller would have the option of having the cable replaced or adjusting the purchase price to reflect your cost to replace it. Now if the inspector finds major corrosion issues, you can walk away from the deal, because remember you and the buyer ageeed that sale was contingent on the aircraft being found airworthy.

The key is making sure that both parties understand clearly what the deal is. On the other hand, if the seller tells you up front that it is not airworthy, for example it has 3 cracked cylinders, he's going to be understandably reluctant to reduce the agreed upon price when your inspector "finds" the 3 cracked cylinders
 
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