Well Don, for every rule there's an exception. Recently (as in last
week) an acquaintance purchased a low time Baron and had the Raytheon
folks on the west coast do a "complete" pre-buy and annual on it, to the
tune of $55,000. During the flight home here to Connecticut, none of the
radios worked, the co-pilot's side rudder pedal was discovered to be
disconnected, and a persistently reported (by the previous owner) oil
leak turned out to be a 6 inch crack in one of the crankcases. Obscene.

I'll take a conscientious one-man shop over that scenario any day.

Rip

Don Hammer wrote:
A buddy of mine bought a used Cherokee. When he got home with it (2000-mile
trip), he discovered, among other jewels, that the alternator belt said "NAPA
AUTO PARTS," and the landing-light connector pair had been replaced with a bulb
socket and a bulb with the glass smashed away and wires soldered to the
connections. In addition to a bunch of corrosion, he found that all the wing
fuel tank vents had been cut off flush with wing, covered with screws, and
painted over.

The airplane not only had a current annual, but my friend had hired a different
A&P for a pre-buy.....



Some observations from an older A&P / IA -

It is a sad commentary on the condition of the field, but I think we
are getting what we have asked for. Over and over on this NG and
others I read owners complaints about the cost of maintenance on their
personal aircraft and the quality of work they get.

In general there is a direct corollary to what a person earns and the
quality of work they provide. As an example let's look at the pilot
side of things and the pecking order on wages and skill level -

Major corporation
Major airline
Smaller airline
Fractional's
Commuter airline
Charter

I can tell you without any hesitation that the best and brightest are
not flying charter Lear Jets for a living. There is no difference
with maintenance personnel. That does not mean there are not any
exceptions, but I have determined, in general, that small aircraft
maintainers are either near retirement, new in the industry, or
has-been's that can't find work elsewhere.

As part of my business, I hire personnel for corporate flight
departments. In order to get the best, I typically set the salaries
of a Gulfstream-type mechanic at $75K to 95K depending on the area of
the country. I recently placed a DOM at $105K. These are not the same
quality of technicians that are working out of the back of their truck
or for Bob's Cessna Shop in Grass Strip, Kansas.

My suggestion -

If I were to buy a light aircraft, I would find the most expensive
factory shop I could find and pay them for a complete Annual
Inspection and supervise them well. There is no FAA definition for a
pre-buy, but there is for an Annual. I would set the ground rules and
make sure they understand my expectations. At a minimum, ask to
review their checklist and make sure you are happy with it. If they
don't have a checklist, go elsewhere as an Annual requires one.

I don't think any of you would take your Lexus to the local gas
station for repairs, so why do owners of $75,000 airplanes insist on
going to Bob's? I don't have a clue, but it's something to think
about.