Jason,
Not quite pure luck as you say. I already was flying the same plane type although a different model version and had owned it for several years so knew what to look for. In addition it was relatively cheap so not really a risk to buy. I could probably have parted it out for nearly what I paid. I also knew who had been using the plane before and had checked on the maintenance history. It had been owned by the owner of the business which had gone bankrupt who used the CFI of the flying school, a very well known individual and highly respected, as his personal pilot so had been very well maintained previously and had very low hours for its year. I would guess, although not sure, that it was probably the lowest houred version of this type in Europe.
There is always an element of risk in anything and particularly in buying a used aircraft but I think I probably mitigated a lot of that. Could still have gone wrong of course. In this instance a prebuy wasn’t an option but to be honest I probably wouldn’t have bothered anyway. Having owned and operated the type for many years and been actively involved in maintenance I don’t think a prebuy would add much. Unless I can sue the firm doing the prebuy for anything that goes wrong later!
Something I forgot to mention in the previous post was that it was out of annual so needed a permit ferry flight to the maintenance organisation. I didnt touch the gear or flaps during the flight just in case 
When you are selling a ‘plane do check the bona fides out of a potential buyer, some tyre kickers take tyre kicking to an elevated form of art. Put another way unless you know the person don’t offer them a trial flight unless they have agreed a deal and are willing to cover the expense of the flight.
Timothy wrote:
The best husband isn’t the one who has had most wives.
The analogy doesn’t work.
He didn’t brag that he was a great OWNER, but rather, just a great BUYER, and I would say that having alot of transaction experience would indeed count for that !
BTW: The guy that’s had the most wives probably knows “women” better than the “best husband” …
PS: I’ve had skin in over 100 GA transactions spanning over 25 years, so feel entitled to say I know a thing or two about GA transactions .
As with the # of wives, the # of transactions is not necessarily equal to the number of satisfied customers!
The most important thing, for the prospective buyer, is to do suitable due diligence (on the aircraft, and the person doing the prebuy) and get involved in the prebuy inspection itself. I have heard a good number of disaster stories and a common factor was a prebuy done with the customer not present.
The problems that the index person has had have sometimes been things that a pre-buy should have picked up, but mostly it has just been the wrong aircraft for the mission. (Hence the wife analogy.)
Peter wrote:
As with the # of wives, the # of transactions is not necessarily equal to the number of satisfied customers!
Whilst that may be true, it’s the failed transactions where one learns the most ! Come to think of it, that analogy works with women too
The most important thing, for the prospective buyer, is to do suitable due diligence (on the aircraft, and the person doing the prebuy) and get involved in the prebuy inspection itself. I have heard a good number of disaster stories and a common factor was a pre-buy done with the customer not present.
Absolutly and one cannot stress this point enough !
Peter wrote:
Nobody seems to have mentioned buying a new plane, from a dealer
I guess that is because the prices for new planes have risen so ridiculously high. Barely anyone can afford them.
I have heard a good number of disaster stories and a common factor was a pre-buy done with the customer not present.
Absolutly and one cannot stress this point enough !
That however is also saying that the “engineer” is not capable of doing a proper prebuy, and generating a suitable written report, by himself. So this is a tricky one to argue because no matter which way one shakes it, it doesn’t look good.
I guess that is because the prices for new planes have risen so ridiculously high. Barely anyone can afford them.
You would be amazed Admittedly the guy who owned eight SR22s in a few years before becoming the launch customer for the Cirrus Jet (I can’t find the post with the details) was an unusual case, but a lot of people buy a new SR22 every 1 or 2 years. No, I don’t understand it either…
“That however is also saying that the “engineer” is not capable of doing a proper prebuy, and generating a suitable written report, by himself.”
I’d think your own engineer, traveling to inspect, can be trusted.
An engineer who you don’t know, and who doesn’t know you, and who is near the seller, may be under pressure to not be too suspicious.
