In my ever so humble opinion? We purchased both of our airplanes sight unseen. Unless you are doing the pre-buy / annual yourself. Or know personally the mechanic that is actually doing the pre-buy / annual. Doing a pre-buy / annual is an absolute waste of money! If you are unable to inspect the airplane yourself, then I believe your best option is to go with your gut instinct. Get a fellow Club member that resides in the area where the airplane is at to at least give it a cursory looking over. Have copies of the logs sent to you. Talk with the present owner. If any bells go off, back away. If all you get is all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings. Then purchase the airplane. But still have stashed an additional #3,000-$5,000 dollars to fix the discrepancies that you do find.
Oh! You may also want to consider hiring a willing fellow Club member to ferry the airplane home for you.
There is a some truth there. Just last night I spoke to a gentleman with an engine that so far I'd be comfortable buying from. He is removing the engine for a 150 hp upgrade, which is one of the few "good" reasons to be removing it. He seemed to be trustworthy when I was talking to him.
The flip side is that, at least for a first time buyer, we are somewhat clueless as to what to look for. I certainly was. Remember, just because the owner may believe that nothing is wrong with their plane, that doesn't mean it is true. Otherwise, engine failures would be unheard of, and there would never be surprises at annual inspection.
After owning a plane for a few years, we are far more qualified to give it a look see ourselves and go with our gut instinct. The typical first time buyer certainly is not, so I cannot agree that the inspection is a waste of money. The trick is to find a balance between the owner and their mechanics opinion which is that the airplane is perfect, and the mechanics hired to do the pre-buy who probably feels that they aren't doing their job if they don't come up with a long list of "problems".
I've said it before; the smart thing to do is to have a mechanic who has
never seen the plane before do a good pre-buy. Then take the list of discrepancies and talk to an owner or two to see if they are really something to worry about. Even better, post the list here and ask for experienced opinions. If you have the time, observe or participate in the inspection.
And while we are on the subject, one very important piece of advice for sellers:
Never, ever just drop your plane off for a pre-buy inspection!! You need to supervise the inspection to insure that you get the plane back in the same condition it was when you presented it.
