How to handle service bullitens for corrosion on a new purchase?

Aaron H

Aaron H

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Dec 18, 2017
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Aaron
Hi all,
I'm looking at puting a down payment on a early Cherokee 160. I asked about service bulletins 1304, 1244, 1006, 977 and he didn't think they were done but would look.

The plane has been hangared but airport is on the coast by the water. Paint is 2 years old.

If not done, how would you suggest I handle it?

1244 is labeled a mandatory service bulletin, but if it's not an AD, doesn't have to get done?
This needs an accsess hole drilled and rivited on bottom side of both wings.

1006 needs to have the fuel tanks removed and the new paint cut, most likely will chip when removing tanks.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thx
 
If you already have a shop at home to maintain your plane I would get an estimate from them for the SB compliance. Factor the cost into your purchase decision. I would definitely comply with the SB prior to putting the ac into service.
 
Thx Tar,

Good thought and I will do that, but shouldn't I try to have this done before purchase?

Need to see if there is corrosion before purchase.
 
Would be surprised if they didn’t do the SBs before the paint job.
 
Aaron H said:
Thx Tar,

Good thought and I will do that, but shouldn't I try to have this done before purchase?

Need to see if there is corrosion before purchase.
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You know it really depends on how you negotiate with the seller.

If seller doesn’t think it’s an issue and has no plans on compliance then there may be an unwillingness there to open up the wings. If there is corrosion and you walk now they have an aircraft that’s grounded and needs expensive repairs. If no one looks until after it’s sold whatever may or may not be there is not his problem.

You may be in a spot where you have to make a SWAG on whether or not to buy without having the SB completed. Just depends on what you work out with the seller.

My brother was in the exact same spot on a 180 a few years ago. He negotiated the price down and took the risk by having the inspection completed after purchase. It worked out for him but there’s always some risk... at least in this case you know about it before hand.
 
Agreed, especially 1006.

But until he finds it and I see it, I have to assume it's not done and figure out how I can get it done before purchase.
 
Yes Tar,

That's my dilemma exactly.
Your brother rolled the dice and won. I'm glad it worked for him.
I was hoping to figure out a way to not have to roll the dice.
 
Negotiate it into the selling price, and be prepared to walk away.

If it is not done, have it done during the prebuy by your mechanic. You pay for the prebuy and the seller pays for that portion and any squawks that make it unairworthy. You pay or defer all other squawks that you find.
 
Aaron H said:
1244 is labeled a mandatory service bulletin, but if it's not an AD, doesn't have to get done?
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Correct. Standalone mandatory SBs not required.

Get a pre-buy done by a mechanic who knows the airframe and discuss options. Then negotiate as mentioned above.
 
jmp470 said:
Negotiate it into the selling price, and be prepared to walk away.

If it is not done, have it done during the prebuy by your mechanic. You pay for the prebuy and the seller pays for that portion and any squawks that make it unairworthy. You pay or defer all other squawks that you find.
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Are u saying seller pays for the sbs to be done?

I'll probably pay for a full annual instead of a prebuy
 
Depending on SBs are worded, I would negotiate it into the price or potentially walk away. But, I can only speak to how I do it. As for a prebuy vs annual. I also turned my prebuy into an annual.
 
Aaron H said:
Are u saying seller pays for the sbs to be done?

I'll probably pay for a full annual instead of a prebuy
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Mine was: pay for prebuy, seller pays for any airworthiness items, which presumably if the SB check fails or they find corrosion is an airworthiness item, then once I got title to the plane the mechanic upgraded the prebuy to an annual. I obviously didn't want to pay for an annual on someone elses plane, and this way there was no issue with there being anything official on record if something went wrong in the prebuy.
 
And keep in mind lots of airplanes are sold to the 2nd buyer, while the 1st one is negotiating for perfection. All depends how much you want this one, how much time you have to find a plane.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
And keep in mind lots of airplanes are sold to the 2nd buyer, while the 1st one is negotiating for perfection. All depends how much you want this one, how much time you have to find a plane.
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Very true! This happened to me, although all I was trying to do was set up was a pre-buy inspection...
 
Chartbundle,
The issue is you can not check the corrosion without taking wing tanks off or put in an inspection plate, which the seller has not done and from talking with him, doesn't sound like he would let me.
The prebuy rolled into an annual is what I was considering doing, thx

Anyone,
Is it unheard of to ask the owner to let the a&p doing the prebuy take the wings off and do a check?
Only other idea I had since he will not let me do the sb's.
 
If it’s that big a deal bail. Plenty of Cherokees in the world. I wouldn’t do it.
 
frfly172 said:
Would be surprised if they didn’t do the SBs before the paint job.
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I would be surprised if an owner did do the SBs, paint or no paint.

Aaron H said:
I was hoping to figure out a way to not have to roll the dice.
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You'll never get to that point. Any purchase is a risk, even if you have the world's greatest expert do an inspection. There will always be surprises with any purchase.

Aaron H said:
Is it unheard of to ask the owner to let the a&p doing the prebuy take the wings off and do a check?
Only other idea I had since he will not let me do the sb's.
Click to expand...

There is no way I would let a prospective buyer's mechanic, whom I likely don't know, take the wings off an airplane that I still own. I've seen far too many things get destroyed with invasive inspections, particularly by unqualified mechanics.

I can pretty much guarantee that if you can't convince the owner to allow you to do the SBs as part of a pre purchase inspection you aren't going to convince him to allow the wings to come off.
 
You know what the seller wants .You can find out what an Cherokee 160 with the SB's complied with costs. You should be able to find out what compliance costs, and add that to the worst case for fixing the corrosion. Subtract the sum from the cost of the SB compliant plane. That's your starting price for the negotiation. Good luck.
 
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