Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

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QuickOne
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Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by QuickOne »

Looking at purchasing my first aircraft after getting my license and have a pretty decent idea of what needs to be done, but after talking to some A&Ps, they seem to elaborate that their prebuy isn't as thorough as an Annual would be.
Can all you experienced Diamond buyers elaborate on your thoughts on this situation and how you would proceed?

Much appreciated.
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BkFlyer
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by BkFlyer »

There is plenty of discussion on the forum about purchasing process that you can review like this thread viewtopic.php?t=8849

Of course a prebuy inspection is not as thorough as an annual. It’s also a much cheaper informal process, whereas annual is an FAA process.

- Consider that if the aircraft has issues in the prebuy you may need to repeat the process and cost on subsequent candidate aircraft which can really add up.

- prebuy can take a day or two whereas annuals can take a week or two, which may be a consideration for the seller

- there are different required items for annuals at different points in the aircraft life, meaning certain items may not be uncovered.

- If the aircraft is not local, you may be rolling the dice with a foreign A&P either way… they are not robots and not all annuals are on the same level of thoroughness. Each time I have switched shops for annuals it’s been an ordeal.

10 annuals after have never came back with the squawks I recall from purchase which mostly haven’t been addressed, mainly cosmetic issues (windshield scratches, etc). They’re really different things and if you go the annual route, also tell the shop to cover pre-buy type items.

You need to audit the logbooks VERY closely. Post questions here for sure. Find an A&P that seems neutral and trustworthy. Decide on whether annual or prebuy is right for your personal situation. Inspect the aircraft personally. Accept you can’t fully de-risk the purchase.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by QuickOne »

Excellent answer, and thanks for the link.
So a plane coming out of a fresh annual inspection, followed by a pre-buy inspection by a different A&P, I would think I would be well covered. Thanks again.
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Colin
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by Colin »

When I bought our DA42 I sent the logbooks up to the factory. I think it was something like $400 to have them look through them. They discovered all sorts of interesting things.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by QuickOne »

That sounds great. Can you lead me in the direction on where to send them?
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Colin
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by Colin »

I would just call the factory. Ed Hoellestelle is who I dealt with (519) 457-4000 x 4016 but I bet there are better numbers out there which are more recently. That's almost a decade old, I think.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by Davestation »

If it's at a shop you trust, you can have the prebuy rolled into an Annual upon closing. If the Annual was just done by agents unknown, I would definitely still get a prebuy done by someone you trust because they will find out if the Annual was done correctly and completely. This goes especially for an Annual that was completed by the shop that has been doing it for the past several years and has a relationship with the seller.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by Mjwatlanta »

I think a major part of the calculus is the age of the plane. 100 hours probably not. 1000 hours almost certainly.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by ZAV »

Use the Savvy prebuy service if you’re new to this process. They will help find a neutral A&P and ultimately be someone working for you through the process that you can trust.
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Re: Prebuy fresh out of Annual?

Post by QuickOne »

So I ended up taking it to Takeflight in Orange county NY, which is one of the larger Diamond Authorized maintenance facilities in the North East. They are not the ones who have been doing the annuals so I feel confident the bird is in good hands. My P&S also included an exhibit of all the things we want checked at the prebuy, which was essentially an annual inspection.
Inspection is tomorrow. We also included up to a 3 hour test flight in the P&S that we are doing on Wednesday barring any issues from the inspection.
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