AvNavCom
Pre-Flight
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2022
- Messages
- 39
- Display Name
Display name:
GroundLoopArtiste
I have bought two aircraft and sold one of them. In all instances, the pre-purchase contract specified an inspection at a shop not more than one hour flight time away. Both times I bought, the owner flew it to get the inspection done. When I sold my plane, I flew it over (about 25 minutes) to another local airport for the pre-buy. All contracts had a $2500 earnest money deposit (we're not exactly talking about a Gulfstream sale) with a provision that if the buyer walked away for anything other than an airworthiness issue for which no agreement could be reached, the seller kept the deposit. My logic was that if an airworthiness issue existed, better to find it and fix it anyway. If people got flaky for any other reason, that money would cover my time, fuel, and probably a bit of work on the plane. In all cases, the full inspection cost was borne by the buyer. I did have one guy expect me to pay for the pre-purchase inspection when I was selling. I burst out laughing when I read that email and politely told him that there was no way that was happening since I had literally ten other people lined up to buy the plane right now. He wanted to argue contract basics, so now someone else is enjoying flying it.
Ultimately, I guess it just comes down to most people in our community being fairly reasonable, in my experience. Polite negotiation and making it obvious that you respect the other person's time goes a long way in a smooth aircraft sale. Most folks are willing to discuss reasonable options to make a sale happen.
Ultimately, I guess it just comes down to most people in our community being fairly reasonable, in my experience. Polite negotiation and making it obvious that you respect the other person's time goes a long way in a smooth aircraft sale. Most folks are willing to discuss reasonable options to make a sale happen.