Understanding Pre-Buy Inspections

A pre-buy inspection is not an annual. It is a focused, buyer-driven investigation of the specific risks in this airframe, this engine, and this avionics stack — performed by a shop that works for you and only you.

What a proper pre-buy covers

• Complete logbook review for continuity, damage history, and missing entries.
• Airworthiness directive and service bulletin compliance audit.
• Compression test and borescope of every cylinder, plus oil filter cut and analysis.
• Corrosion survey of spar carry-through, belly, control surfaces, and coastal-exposure areas.
• Avionics and autopilot functional checks, including database currency and IFR certification dates.
• Paperwork audit: 337 forms, weight and balance, equipment list, and the FAA registry record.

Who should perform it

Choose an independent shop with type experience, located away from the seller's home field when possible. The seller's mechanic knows the airplane — that is exactly the conflict of interest you are trying to avoid. A good pre-buy costs roughly $1,500 to $5,000 for a piston single and far more for turbine equipment, and it routinely uncovers five- and six-figure issues.

Common findings that change the price

Cylinder problems, camshaft spalling, corroded spar caps, undocumented damage history, out-of-compliance ADs, and inoperative autopilots are the usual suspects. None of these automatically kill a deal — they reset the negotiation. Ask for a written estimate for the airworthiness items, then negotiate those as a credit or a price reduction.

Airworthy versus acceptable

Understand the distinction. The mechanic will tell you what makes the aircraft airworthy; only you can decide what is acceptable for your mission and budget. A tired interior is cosmetic. A questionable spar is not.

Why skipping it can cost six figures

Every year buyers waive the pre-buy to win a competitive deal, then discover corrosion or an engine on the edge of overhaul within months. An engine overhaul alone can exceed $40,000 on a piston single and several hundred thousand on a turbine. The inspection is cheap insurance.

How we handle it

On every transaction we help select the shop, define the scope in writing, attend or review the findings, and translate the report into a concrete negotiating position. If the airplane is wrong, we tell you to walk.