After Prebuy problems

brien23

brien23

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Brien
How many problems did you encounter after purchasing that were not identified during the prebuy?
 
None. But I had really really good prebuys done. Ok - one vacumm pump started to fade after about 25 hours.
 
None, but I did my own pre-buy.
 
Electric fuel pump failed about two months after I bought the plane. They were working fine during pre-buy and the following two months, so can’t blame the mechanic for it.
 
I got to fly mine for 6 months and help with the annual inspection before I bought it from a friend. After the annual I realized the plane was in decent shape so I offered to buy it.
It sat around a lot for 10 years before I started flying it.
My first flight the vacuum pump went out, my friend paid for the pump and I installed it under supervision from his mechanic. Actually I did it twice and my friend had to buy 2 vacuum pumps. Because the oil seal was leaking and I pointed that out to my friend but he didn't want me to replace the oil seal. I took the pump off a week later and saw that oil leaked into the new vacuum pump. So then I got to put a new seal in and install another vacuum pump.
Then months later I removed the pump and plumbing after 2 G5s were installed.

Since 2018 when I bought it I have discovered that many items needed to be updated/replaced on a 40 year old aircraft.
 
Based upon posts here on POA and articles by SAAVY Maintenance, I'd say there is enough anecdotal evidence to state problems after a pre-buy are not uncommon. Seems to boil down to who did the prebuy and how thorough were they more than anything.
 
None. 2000 C182-S. However, We only considered aircraft that were 'newer' and with excellent maintenance records. By narrowing the field I increased the odds of a squawk free aircraft. I knew the prop was due for an overhaul and there was a small oil leak from the governor. This was factored into the offer.
 
I had the pre-buy rolled into an annual after purchase. Savvy managed both. When I picked the plane up, during pre-flight inspection I found:

1 - Both fuel gauges read full when the tanks were nearly empty.
2 - Electric trim didn’t work.
3 - Pitot heat was inop.

$2k and a month later I got my plane. Flew it home over Labor Day weekend.

By Dec I had to replace the vacuum pump and the carburetor.
 
brien23 said:
How many problems did you encounter after purchasing that were not identified during the prebuy?
Click to expand...
Lot’s. Fuel leak in the vent crossover lines. Cracks in the air frame that caused me to junk the plane. It wasn’t actually a pre buy. I had the plane annualed. I figured that would cover everything. I thought this is airplanes, not used cars. The mechanics are licensed and regulated by the FAA. What can go wrong. Yes, I was that stoopid.
 
While we're on the subject, who are these sellers that let you rip their plane apart for a pre-buy that's more intensive than an annual? They ain't me, that's for sure.
 
Short of items that simply break after the sale, I've found when there is a disconnect between a prebuy/last annual and discrepancies noted under new ownership usually revolves around the difference in how the new owner and their mechanic approach maintenance. Hence the reason I always recommend for a person to use their mechanic for all prebuys or at least have them involved in the process prior to purchase.
 
Prop seal
Alternator
Starter
Fuel pump
Landing light wiring
CB’s popping
I’m sure I’m forgetting something else too
 
mandm said:
Prop seal
Alternator
Starter
Fuel pump
Landing light wiring
CB’s popping
I’m sure I’m forgetting something else too
Click to expand...

Were any if those explicitly covered as something to assess as part of your pre-buy?
 
TCABM said:
Were any if those explicitly covered as something to assess as part of your pre-buy?
Click to expand...
Nope and the prebuy already had a number of items that needed to be addressed.

I forgot the mention that the beacon was broken, repaired and broke again. I replaced with an LED one.
 
Took a stepped approach at purcahse...I did a "pre buy" with the mechanic then told him if it passes with no obvious red flags to then proceeded with a full Annual...pre buy was good but during annual found about $2500 worth of squawks which seller covered.

No surprises after that.
 
My prebuy also turned into an annual.
 
Of my 5 planes, I inspected them myself with only one formal pre-buy. No surprises. That said, all my planes (minus the one) were projects. YMMV.
 
On my last plane there was an inop CDI that wasn't caught.

Worth noting first annual with a new mechanic tends to result in many little fixes adding up to a higher bill. Just because a different guy with different experience will notice different things.
 
I had to overhaul the prop four months after buying. It started slinging grease. Can't catch issues in the hub on pre-buy (that I know of). Had the power supply to the strobes start going out the minute I landed at home. The pre-buy did catch a cracked trunnion and I got the price reduced for that.
 
It was missing tip tanks so after I flew it home I put new ones on. I of course didn't realize that it needed tip tanks when I inspected it.

It was 2+ year before any real squawks popped up. Landing gear cable frayed a bit, needed a new prop seal maybe 4 years after buying, new cylinders put in about 5-6 years after purchase...


First plane I didn't have hardly anything done squawk wise the 4 years I owned it.
 
Have purchased a few airplanes and have been lucky with the pre buy inspections.most mechanics will check what you ask to be checked. You have to remember it is an airplane and parts can go bad at any time.
 
brien23 said:
How many problems did you encounter after purchasing that were not identified during the prebuy?
Click to expand...
How long after purchasing?
For the first year, none. The pre-buy and annual were both comprehensive and done by an independent shop that had never seen the airplane before, found a bunch of stuff we took care of then and there, with no big surprises a year later.

But several years later, a cylinder had low compression and when we removed it, the cam had corrosion & spalling. Since I owned it there was no metal in the oil filters and all UOAs were good, so that spalling & corrosion was probably already there when I bought it. It's virtually impossible to check the condition of the cams on a Lycoming O-320 without removing a jug, so it's a risk that is hard to assess. This was on my 172 and led to me doing the Superhawk upgrade to an O-360 engine.
 
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