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Ultimately, since the buyer has the money, it's the buyer's call, subject to the seller's comfort level.

As a buyer, I feel I'm obligated to have a look-see at the plane and paperwork first. Then, if I want to have a mechanic look at it, that's at my expense and at the seller's convenience.

If I wanted to fly it home, I'd buy the ticket out there and go get it myself. If I'm not able, don't have the time off from work, or just ain't comfortable in the plane (as was the case when I bought my taildragger), then either the seller can deliver it, or you can hire a ferry pilot.

Who pays what can be as complicated as you'd like to make it.

I ferried a 152 taildragger from St. Louis to Corpus Christi. The seller paid for my airline flight from Dallas to St. Louis, all of the money I spent on fuel, and my flight from CC back to Dallas. I didn't ask for any extra money. He tipped me a couple of those nice crispy hundred dollar bills. If I would have asked for 5 of them, he would have been okay with that, but I did it as a favor for a friend. I also did it because I love to fly.

I had the chance to deliver a nice 150/150 from West Houston, TX to Oregon. Talk about a long haul..it truly was. Nothing broke enroute, the weather was great all the way to the Medford valley, which required an extra night in a hotel. But, there was no doubt...the plane was insured by the buyer, the buyer was now the owner (pink registration papers in the plane), and I knew that my expenses would be covered by the buyer, as well as the understanding that I would be given a plane ticket back home. Turned out to be one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" trips for me. I was tipped on that one, too, although I didn't charge a dime. What I got in return was memories that will last a lifetime, as well as some awesome, lifetime friends.

I've rambled on too much...but my point is that you can't buy a plane and focus strictly on the dollars and cents. If you buy a plane without having the love of aviation and the burning desire to own your own plane, then you'll be very disheartened when your annual inspection shows discrepancies that push the price up over 1000 bucks...or that you need a new cylinder, or when the alternator craps out and your mechnic improperly diagnoses is as the voltage regulator.

Pony up for the plane you want, and don't settle for the closer ones. If you do, you'll always know you settled. It doesn't work in marriages, and it certainly doesn't work owning an airplane. (No points made herein are in any way intended to imply any subversive messages indicative of certain life situations, either real or imagined.)