Jim Carter wrote:
Another gentleman in this thread related he had negotiated a lower than
bid price after finding some issues during the pre-buy. I think that is a
very fair and equitable way of handling this type of sale and hope to be so
fortunate when it comes my turn.

That was me. We called him on the phone before placing the bid, and
discussed the possibility of things being found in the pre-buy. We
didn't put anything in writing, but had a verbal agreement that if
something came up, we'd work out something equitable. The only money we
sent at the time the auction closed was a $500 deposit. The rest was
contingent upon the pre-buy. We found a few squawks in the inspection,
and, based on that, renegotiated (ended up knocking $1500 off the
price). The only thing that didn't go particularly smoothly was MBNA
taking a couple of days longer than planned to get the money
transferred[0]. As a result of which, I was (involuntarily) reminded of
why I hate flying in Ohio so much in the winter (airplane was in Elyria,
OH, just west of Cleveland, and I live in Norman, OK, just south of
OKC). When the money came through, I bolted through the first hole in
the clouds that I saw.
I didn't feel uncomfortable about the process, even with just a verbal
agreement to make good on the inspection. In this case, I held the
upper hand: the money didn't get released until *I* said so, after the
inspection. The worst he can do is give me bad feedback on eBay, and I
can explain that with a mechanic's report and a comment about "item was
not as advertised." As it turned out, he was an honest, straightforward
guy, and the deal went smoothly. If not, eBay polices fraud pretty
well--their reputation depends on it. Things would have worked out.
The most we could have been out is $500, which, considering what we
saved on the airplane from bluebook value, is a hell of a good gamble
(we saved nearly $14K. Yes, you read that right.).
Jay: why eBay? Because that's where the airplane was. We found what
we wanted, at a good price. Honestly, if fewer people look there, it's
fine by me; fewer people to bid against!
As far "the other side of the country" goes, yes, I was a little bit
apprehensive about that. Not so much about being able to get it
inspected, but finding a mechanic I trust. Fortunately, I used to live
near Dayton (I flew from Waynesville, 40I), and know the people there.
They didn't want to do the pre-buy (not having any experience with
Socatas), but were able to recommend another guy. Having a network of
friends helps a lot (if they ever need anything down here, I'll be able
to recommend a shop to them. Or to anybody else, for that matter).
But, again, everything worked out well; it just took a little more work
than buying one on-field might have. Would I do it again? You
betcha--just as soon as I come up with another sixty big ones! If
anybody wants to contribute, the can is thataway ---.
--Dave

[0] MBNA: don't get me started on those clowns. The seller had the same
experience with them, only worse: he bought the airplane from New
Jersey, and flew it home. Got home, found out the money hadn't gone
through after all, so he had to fly *back* to New Jersey, wait for the
(electronic) transfer to clear, and fly home. Others have commented on
them recently, so I'll just quite here. Dolts.