Pre-Buy recommendations for my first plane

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mike444

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mike444
Hey guys! I'm new here and I've been lingering around forums for weeks. As the title states I'm looking for recommendations along with any tips for hiring an A&P/IA/shop for a pre-buy. This is my first plane purchase so I am open to any tips even if it does't refer to my original question.

Here are some details.

- I'm in S.Florida, plane (Archer)is in Houston (Will find out the airport soon)
- PA-28-181 Archer
- Plane has fresh "annual" done 6/15
- Fresh IFR 5/15
- Owner states all AD's are have been dealt with.
- Little under 500 hrs SMOH done in 2008
- Oil samples are good
- Compressions are all over 70/80
- Prop has 100 hrs TSOH.

My concern like anyone is if some of this has been pencil Whipped. I have read and there is even a thread just below this one saying the Pre-buy missed some things that were obvious. If anyone has any referrals that you know do some good work in that area please let me know. I plan to be there when the Pre-buy is being done.

Also

1. What would I be looking at in terms of cost?

2. How long does this service typically take?

Thanks!
 
Ive used savvy for three pre buys. Well worth it.
 
Don't use the owners shop,post the airport,so the pilots on this forum may be of help. Cost is related to how thorough you want it to be.
 
EminiTrader said:
I've used savvy for three pre buys. Well worth it.
Click to expand...

Note taken thanks! I will give them a call monday to get some more information, if you don't mind once I know a little more about savvy can I send you a message ? Thanks

frfly172 said:
Don't use the owners shop,post the airport,so the pilots on this forum may be of help. Cost is related to how thorough you want it to be.
Click to expand...

Well just spoke to the owner right now, he's got someone already deposited $10k through an escrow, Promising $45k. He says if it falls through I'll be next on the list. The owner said he expects any buyer to do a pre-buy.

And as for the location within the disappointment that the airplane might be gone it slipped my mind to ask the specific airport. He told me to fly into Hobby Houston, KHOU, the plane is a short drive from there.

- What do you fellas think of the price, considering the above facts? The interior was probably an 8/10 the exterior not to far behind. (this is only through pictures).
 
Mike - yes feel free to message me.

I walked away from a Cirrus in February because the guy said the plane had to stay within a 50 NM range of his airport for a pre-buy. Savvy didn't have anyone they trusted in that area and we already knew who we wanted to do the pre-buy.

We walked... 6 months or so later and the plane is still for sale.
 
Being new to ownership too, I had Savvy help arrange the prebuy on my Grumman Tiger....recommended a shop that was a former Grumman dealer...they'll also give you a discount on first year of maintenance management when you pay them for the prebuy assist. Good experience overall...my service advisor was a Grumman owner A&P IA....had an avionics guy advise on my ADSB, etc upgrade.....also some peace of mind while out and about - someone to contact should problems arise. Not really cheap but seemingly helpful especially early in the ownership experience.
 
Based on my limited experience as an owner (one airplane) I'd say the older an airplane is, the more thorough the pre-buy needs to be.

If it's old enough that some original parts may no longer be available, I'd make sure I hired someone that could identify every modified (non factory) piece of equipment on the aircraft and ensure the seller has the modification records to support each modification.

The FAA records CD is well worth the $10. purchase price, it will tell you if there are any properly filed records of Major Repairs and Alterations on the aircraft.

I had about 4 undocumented STC modifications that were on the airplane, the FAA had no record of them and I didn't get records for them from the seller when I purchased. It took a lot of time to chase down all the paperwork.

Nothing should be taken for granted.

I also found circuit breakers not connected to anything. Circuit breakers mislabeled. Holes in the fire wall. Collapsing exhaust muffler. Mystery wiring and switches with no explanation, incorrectly wired systems, incorrectly accomplished mods and a rats nest of wires.
 
mike444 said:
Note taken thanks! I will give them a call monday to get some more information, if you don't mind once I know a little more about savvy can I send you a message ? Thanks



Well just spoke to the owner right now, he's got someone already deposited $10k through an escrow, Promising $45k. He says if it falls through I'll be next on the list. The owner said he expects any buyer to do a pre-buy.

And as for the location within the disappointment that the airplane might be gone it slipped my mind to ask the specific airport. He told me to fly into Hobby Houston, KHOU, the plane is a short drive from there.

- What do you fellas think of the price, considering the above facts? The interior was probably an 8/10 the exterior not to far behind. (this is only through pictures).
Click to expand...

That describes many of the airports in Houston. Fortunately, there are a whole lot of reputable shops around here.
 
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