As someone who went through this recently, I will try to provide a perspective. These shouldn't be considered answers, since all purchases/aircraft/sellers/pre-buys.... everything is different. So, the ol' YMMV really applies here. It may be easiest to just break down your post and comment inline.
Thanks to everyone that contributed to many aimless previous posts, now the stuff gets real! I've a signed contract to buy a C172, same year and model that I am training in. IFR Waas AP. 30+ hr student here. Seller already has an escrow account. I've sent $1,000 non refundable. Pre buy Monday from an unfamiliar mechanic. I tried to set up financing through AOPA, have not heard back. I tried to call the AOPA number, must have been busy yesterday. I guess I need insurance and title search. My questions:
-- Ok, the ship has sailed on the $1,000 non-refundable deposit. That is something I would not have done. We used a purchase agreement found on AOPA's site and modified to fit our needs. We put money in escrow, but the contract had language that allowed us to get our deposit back if the pre-buy fell through. For future readers of this post, I highly recommend such a contract. Check out AOPA's resources for aircraft purchases. They are pretty good and they helped us a lot in terms of steps and documents to use. Here is the link: https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/aircraft-and-ownership/buying-an-aircraft
1. Should I just wait for AOPA finance people to get back in touch with me or should I get the ball rolling otherwise?
-- If you need financing for this purchase and you already put down a $1,000 deposit and have a pre-buy scheduled, you should have already made sure you have all your financing buttoned up. They would have worked with you to set up an escrow account, by the way. Call them back ASAP. Are you approved for financing? Doesn't sound like it since you said you tired to set it up. You are going to need to plunk down the rest of the agreed upon purchase price into that escrow account upon successful completion of pre-buy (including agreeing on who pays for what, which should have been outlined in your purchase agreement). So, yeah... you need to get on this ASAP. Otherwise, how are you going to pay for the aircraft? Our purchase agreement had language around timing of payment - meaning the seller would expect to get paid within n number of days after pre-buy or the deal was off and, in that case, seller did get to keep the deposit.
2. Do the finance people help with all I need to know or are there things like title search I need to work on?
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- Yes, they will work on the title search for you. Another reason to get on the phone with them ASAP and get that buttoned up.
3. What should I do and when should I worry about insurance?
-- You should have already lined this up, too. But it isn't too too late - call a few brokers and get quotes. Do you know how much is the hull value? (that was bad grammar yikes). How much liability do you want to carry? I carry $1M/$100,000 meaning insurance will pay up to a million in liability for each incident and $100k per person for each incident. I terms of insurance brokers - I used Travers. I liked the conversation I had with John Travers and his staff and they came in with the lowest premium. This will probably spark debate on this forum - everybody has a different experience with insurance companies. They are like car insurance companies. Go with the one offering a low premium and one you feel will provide good customer service. I recommend getting a quote from three firms.
4. Are there tutorials on how to tie your plane down outside? I am on the list for a hanger.
-- This is the least of your concerns. Here, I googled it for you and this was the first hit:
5. Engine preheat, while we rarely get super cold, it is in 30s this am. I do not think I will be near an outlet. What should I do and be aware of?
-- Don't melt the paint off the cowl. If the FBO has a pre-heater, use that, but make sure the line guys don't get the heat source too close. They probably have done it a million times, but make sure you watch how they do it the first time. Or, take Mike Busch's advice - fly later in the day. Please also make sure you get all the frost off your wings if you do fly in the mornings.
6. 1900 hrs on engine, new cylinders. Seller said TRIAD said it could go for 2500 as is, bottom not needed yet. What say you? A local mechanic suggested taking cylinders off, sending the rest in to shops and call it a field overhaul. I wonder if best for value is fly it a couple hundred then get 0 time engine.
-- Oh man, where to start with this. That's great that the seller said you could go past TBO to 2,500. I have a bridge to sell you in NY if you are interested PM me... Seriously, of course the seller said that. Be prepared to overhaul that engine the first day you get it home. Yes, even after pre-buy. You may get to 2,500 or 3,000 hours on that engine. You may need a new one right away. They are all different. You don't know how the previous owners/operators treated that thing. Has it sat for extended periods of time? Where is it located (humid/dry climate)? They are all different. Our engine is mid-high time and I am prepared to replace it and have been since day 1. That was factored heavily into the sale price - we basically bought the plane at a price expecting to plunk down $30k right away. If we get a few years or more out of the current engine - bonus time!
In terms of taking cylinders out and doing a field overhaul.... why are you doing that? You don't know if there is anything wrong with the engine yet. So don't do that. If it is running good and doesn't show signs of needing an overhaul, don't mess with it. If the pre-buy shows an engine that is completely run out, then you need to make a tough decision. Either buy the plane as if it didn't have an engine (meaning factor this into the price), work with your mechanic to figure out best options (OH, new engine, top..) or, better yet, walk away.
7. I know people that would want to rent time or buy in. Do you ever do such things? I'm thinking no for now.
-- Options are - buy it yourself, go in with partners or do a leaseback. If you go with partners, then you will get to decide whether or not to go with an LLC or not... that's a different topic. Here is good info on leasebacks - https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/captain-jason’s-leaseback-advice.15708/
I plan to be present for the pre buy. I bought and am reading all the Michael Busch books. If I subscribe to what he preaches regarding engine time, how to I find a mechanic that will work me?
-- As around the field for names of other guys owners go with. Word of mouth is good. That's how I found our shop even though it's not on our home field.
Please answer the questions I do not know to ask/
-- Yeah, that's the trick isn't it? You don't know what you don't know. You will get lots of on-the-job-training your first year, for sure. Aircraft ownership is incredibly rewarding. But it is also frustrating, expensive, daunting, expensive, time-consuming, expensive and also expensive. But rewarding. Good luck.
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