[color:"blue"] "With parts and labor, he estimates that there will be about $4600 worth of work to be done on the plane. But with that work, he thinks it will be a good plane that I can get a lot of years out of." [/color]
Is this what's holding you back? The $4,600 estimate for repairs? You must consider this as an addition to the total asking price! If you can't negotiate a purchase price that brings your total cost to near market value (including the cost of repairs), maybe you should walk away (again?) and keep looking.
The only red flag I see (other than the possible too high total price) is the "pulled" rivets for the landing gear mounts. If indeed these have pulled through the skin, skin replacement (or at least a good patch) is likely needed, and may increase the cost of repair. If the rivets are merely "working" (black deposits around the heads), they may only need replacing with oversized rivets. If the high shear rivets that mount the gearbox to the bulkheads inside are also working, the repair will be more difficult and expensive. There is also the small possibility of a cracked gearbox needing replacement, or mounting bulkheads requiring repair/replacement. While I don't consider the rivet issue necessarily disqualifying, it certainly needs detailed inspection before a decision is made to purchase.
EDIT: Incidentally, this is the third 150 I have heard of in as many months with working rivets at the landing gear mounts! I think this should be an area of concern for every owner/operator of 150's/152's (and probably other single engine Cessna's with similar mountings, as well) with a few thousand hours or a history of possible hard landings. Working rivets are easy to spot on the outside, but you have to get down and look up underneath the gearbox attachment to see them. Some may be hidden by landing gear to fuselage fairings. This is definately an area needing inspection on any pre-buy/annual inspection. Early detection (pre-flight inspection?) would definately help lower repair costs!
