DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

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DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by jjcaine »

Howdy fellow DAs! I'm in the process of purchasing a new-to-me 2008 DA40 XLS and am in need of a recommendation for a pre-buy inspection. Has anyone worked with someone they would recommend in that area? Looking forward to joining the ranks with the rest of y'all very soon!
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Rick
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by Rick »

Congratulations John, and welcome to the forum! The best place for a prebuy in my opinion would be SouthTec at KRUQ, just northeast of Charlotte. Glen Lawler is the premier Diamond expert on this side of the country, and the go-to guy for other shops that need Diamond expertise. He did the pre-buy on my DA40 some 10 years ago now.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by TAILspin38 »

I agree with Rick, South Tec did my pre buy last year and Glenn is the best when it comes to Diamonds. And if ANY repairs are needed they can do it all.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by blsewardjr »

There is also Stuart Dillion at Dillion's Aviation in Greenville, NC. He runs a Diamond Service Center and has a number of flight school Diamonds. I've used him for my Diamond specific inspections and he's done a good job.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by Pbwears1 »

SouthTec is the place !!!!
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by JanSq »

I'll second the recommendation for Stuart Dillon at Dillons Aviation in Greenville NC (PGV). He's "really picky" as I have been told by sales people. That's a good thing in my opinion. He separates the airworthiness items (must do these) from the "do these and it will save you money in the long run" from ones that he sees to make the airplane really nice.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by Rick »

From all the other comments in other threads about both Dillons and South Tec I don't think you can go wrong with either place. Dillons is a bit closer to Wilmington if that matters.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by dant »

One thing to keep in mind is that since you're not that far from SouthTec, it's a good chance they do the maintenance on the plane, and _generally_ you want fresh eyes on it for a prebuy.
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Re: DA40 Pre-buy Recommendations near Wilmington, NC

Post by JanSq »

dant wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 3:32 am One thing to keep in mind is that since you're not that far from SouthTec, it's a good chance they do the maintenance on the plane, and _generally_ you want fresh eyes on it for a prebuy.
This is absolutely true. You want to use a mechanic that is in YOUR employ and not the seller's! Do NOT EVER use the mechanic suggested by the seller unless you already have a good relationship with that mechanic. You might think it would cost less, but, trust me, it costs far more in the long run. It's best to know what you're getting into.

I once took an airplane to Stuart Dillon for a prebuy inspection and Stuart's comment was "If you buy this airplane, don't bring it to me for maintenance". The prebuy report was MANY pages long with lots of expensive stuff on it.
Whew, dodged that bullet....
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