Pre Buy Inspection - Who generally pays for moving the plane?

[AvNavCom]

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.

 

[MackMooney]

when i go to sell my plane, you can bring your A&P or get it inspected by any mechanic on field, after experiencing maintenance/ownership there's no way i'm gonna risk birdy being stuck somewhere.

this is exactly what i did when i purchased it, i paid a shop on the other side of the sellers field to annual the plane.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

when i go to sell my plane, you can bring your A&P or get it inspected by any mechanic on field, after experiencing maintenance/ownership there's no way i'm gonna risk birdy being stuck somewhere.

this is exactly what i did when i purchased it, i paid a shop on the other side of the sellers field to annual the plane.

That’s a little tough when there is only one mechanic on the field. Or worse, no mechanic at all.

 

[midlifeflyer]

That’s a little tough when there is only one mechanic on the field. Or worse, no mechanic at all.

We're kind of back to how much the airplane costs and how much risk one is willing to take in exchange for a perceived benefit. I know people who have had the mechanic whom they will use to service the airplane once they buy it travel to perform a prebuy at a mutually acceptable location. No mechanic on the field where the seller hangars or ties down? I'm sure they got the work done somewhere.

These things don't have to be cookie cutter. I often got questions like, "what can we do?' The staring point for my answers (plural) was usually, "what do you want to do?"

 

[Bell206]

These things don't have to be cookie cutter. I often got questions like, "what can we do?' The staring point for my answers (plural) was usually, "what do you want to do?"

Agree. My 1st question to a buyer who requested my services was, “What do you want to achieve from this pre-buy?” However, after a few years of A though Z answers, I elected to offer 2 types of pre-buys: one conformity based, the other regulatory based. This route also seemed to help the protentional buyer get a better understanding of aircraft ownership and their responsibilities especially if they were a 1st time buyer.

My logic was that if an airworthiness issue existed, better to find it and fix it anyway.

Provided you agree with that particular airworthiness determination. Thankfully, a majority of sales are between people who think reasonably when selling used aircraft. Unfortunately, even the best preparations are not 100% foolproof simply due to the individual subjectiveness of a pre-buy and what is airworthy itself.

IMO, having a contract/agreement in place only helps to keep things reasonable especially when things hit a snag. Unless that is one chooses to buy at an aircraft condition level or price level where a pre-buy isn’t even a “requirement.”

 

[Salty]

That’s a little tough when there is only one mechanic on the field. Or worse, no mechanic at all.

you can bring your A&P

How is that tough. I wouldn't want a pre-buy done by a stranger anyway. My IA is going to do it.

I had people asking if my IA could do the pre buy for them on my Lance. I refused. I also questioned the IQ of anyone that asked that question. I told them they could read the logs to see what my IA thought of the aircraft, or call and see if he remembered enough to be helpful. He works on a lot of planes.

 

[AlphaMike]

It’s all negotiable. I bought my plane from a guy in Seattle Washington. We agreed on the price then we agreed on a delivery and inspection. We agreed he would deliver the plane to the Detroit area and my IA would do the inspection. If everything was good, I would pay for the plane , his fuel and his ticket home. If anything didn’t match his description or something was found effecting the flight worthiness. He would pay for the repair or he would fly it back and I would pay nothing more than the cost of the inspection. The plane was freshly out of annual and had a new engine and prop. He was very confident that everything was perfect! Well, it was, almost! My IA found the plane was missing an STC for the new prop. The seller was not aware of the STC so he contacted his guy back home and sure enough they were missing it. The seller paid for it and the deal proceeded. Everything is negotiable! Ask for what you want and go from there.