One thing about asking a bunch of pilots for an opinion is that you won't be lacking in opinions.
Here are mine ...
A pre-buy should just give you an idea whether you want to pursue further. I would have it annualed as a condition of the purchase. With an annual, you have recourse. From experience, I can tell you that the FAA will go after an IA who missed important items during an annual. The pre-buy has no official standing.
Pick an experienced mechanic (just one) and an experienced pilot to go over the logs and the airplane.
If the logs were properly filled out when the overhaul work was done a good mechanic can tell if a proper job was done or not. If the logs are sketchy, well, I'd walk.
Reg
