I know the common theme is to have a mechanic (other than the seller's) conduct the pre-buy,
Very common.
but what if the seller's mechanic is HIGHLY reputable and owns a well-recognized aircraft maintenance facility?
Means nothing. He works for the seller and owes you no allegiance.
What if the aircraft is in annual or VERY recently out of an annual at that facility? Is the pre-buy still as highly recommended?
Yes, treat the recent pre-sale annual like it never even happened. The only upside to a current annual is that you can fly the plane to your pre-buy mechanic.
From the couple of Twinkie owners I've talked to, annuals should normally average 2-5k barring any surprises. Is it normal to have $10-15k annuals on back to back to back to back (yes 4) years (no engine work)?
Depends on the overall repair status of the plane. You can easily have one of those if something like a fuel bladder craps out or a fuel selector corrodes to unrestorable condition. The gearbox and the push-pull conduits can require overhaul or replacement ever so often (there is a 1000hr gear inspection AD). A full gear overhaul with gear-box push-pull conduits springs etc. can get you an expensive annual. There are also bushings in the gear that can wear out, once they are worn out, no amount of rigging will get the gear to work in a satisfactory manner.
I assume those annuals were at that 'highly reputable' shop. A series of expensive annuals can mean a couple of things:
- the plane is now in ship-shape and every part that can wear out has been replaced recently
- when the prior owner bought the plane it had been neglected and it took that long to do the catch-up maintenance
It can also mean that:
- the current owner is a klutz and bends the gear on every landing
- the shop is marginally competent and just replaces stuff until things work
- the shop uses the owner as a self service ATM and bills for all kinds of work that may or may not have been neccessary to pass the annuals
Become a member of the comanche society, root around on the discussion board. Ask for a recommendation for a PA24/PA30 expert in your area and have him inspect the plane for you. Most sellers will require the plane to be under contract with an earnest money deposit down before your mechanic can look at it. Still there is a risk to the seller as the plane may end up permanently grounded at the buyers mechanic if something really bad shows up (or if there is a serious disagreement between different IAs on the significance of some finding).
A typical agreement would be that:
- buyer pays labor for the basic inspection
- seller pays for any airworthiness issues that come up during pre-buy
- buyer pays for any 'while we are here', 'might as well' and 'would be nice to have' items.
A pre-buy inspection can be an annual but doesn't have to be an annual. The key feature of the pre-buy is that the inspector has a fiduciary relationship with YOU, not the seller. An ethical mechanic will do the inspection in a way that he can break it off the moment he finds something that makes the plane a bad buy for you so neither you nor the seller have to waste money on a deal that won't come together no matter what. Ideally, you want the same IA do your pre-buy who will do your annuals going forward. This reduces the odds of the IA at your next annual telling you that the prior guys have been doing it all wrong and that all the Fetzer valves and the reciprocating dinglearm have to be replaced.
(you can replace every instance of 'PA30' with 'Be55' and the meaning would not change one bit)
That is one thing about all the late model plastic planes, you look like you're flying a sperm.
You just have to go talk to them and decide how you want to proceed from there. The trick is if you don't have the knowledge to ask the right questions and what the answers should be, it's hard to gauge. This is why some people hire a rep to help them buy. With enough knowledge, you don't have to worry as much because you rely on your own eyes and knowledge to inspect, you are just hiring them to turn wrenches.
