Why the deal fell apart. . . .

[Lindberg]

Contracts are not used to make sure the agreement is in writing - contracts should exist to solve future disagreements and to spell out the deal. A good contract that's simple - actually prevents problems.

As a fellow litigator, I find that this is how litigators view contracts. But in my experience, it is not how transactional lawyers view them. They'll put together a sixty-page purchase agreement where every dot and tittle is negotiated and agreed to, and when the deal goes south, the remedies are inscrutable.

As a former colleague used to tell clients when they accused him of overlawyering a settlement agreement, "I drive the ambulance."

 

[Lindberg]

I suppose the litigators here wouldn't know how to do a handshake deal?

I'd tell the guy to get lost as soon as the ten page contract reared it's ugly head.....I don't see anything nefarious or wrong with it.

I'm a litigator and my plane partner is a litigator. We bought our plane with a handshake and a certified check and flew away. But that was after seeing the plane, flying the plane, and watching a pre-buy inspection by a trusted mechanic. And then we didn't base our decision on anything the seller told us and we assumed if anything went wrong we'd never see him again. So we did an appropriate amount of diligence and paid an appropriate price.

In this case, it sounds like the seller wanted an as-is, where-is, sight-unseen deal for an as-represented and current-annual price. I'd hope that anyone, not just a lawyer, would run from a deal with someone who's already made misrepresentations and won't put the remaining representations in writing.

 

[Checkout_my_Six]

Meh.... I flew from the east to Oregon an bought my Bo without a contract. The seller picked us up in the plane from Bend. Looked at a few things and flew it home the next day. It was an as is sale. None of these things come with a guarantee. They all have risk.

we don’t do ten page contracts and that was six years ago.

 

[Chip Sylverne]

Otoh,

During my Comanche search I flew SWA from BWI to HOU on the assurance that this airplane candidate was a former "best of fleet" airplane owned by a now deceased tribe chief. Looked good, flew well, all logs, fresh annual. Made a handshake deal contingent on an acceptable pre-buy. Hired a knowledgeable Comanche mechanic, checked into a hotel. Almost as an afterthought, I asked him to pull the seats and look under the floor panels, where he found improperly repaired damage from an unlogged belly in.

Of course, the seller "knew nothing about it". Even though it cost more than a few bucks, it was well worth walking away. There are scumbags out there.

 

[charheep]

I bought mine with a sales contract, but it was sight unseen besides pictures.The initial verification that the seller actually was selling the Bo as advertised and the pre-buy was all done via email and texts. I didnt lay eyes on it until I showed up with a ferry pilot to grab the keys and leave.
The things that made me move forward was the same impression from various un-related people about the plane and the seller answering any stupid question I had quickly and openly. He even returned my rental when he heard that we were trying to beat the setting sun to Sedona to meet up with the buyers agent I used. He offered to pick me up from the commercial airport, but I wanted a rental in case we couldnt leave that day so I could sightsee Cali.
Had the seller not been so open and accessible and willing to be an adult, I dont think I would have been that trusting.

To the OP, it was me was, it would have been a few too many red flags. Especially the removing of parts.