The International Cessna^® 170 Association

I'm having a 170A inspected next week, and have been coordinating with the owner & mechanic, who are both on the east coast. The owner is [understandably] a bit concerned about leaving the airplane with a mechanic who he does not know, and was interested in having at least a very simple written agreement that the airplane would be returned to him in the same shape in which it was delivered in the case that we did not end up deciding to buy the airplane.

Does anyone have some sort of pre-buy inspection agreement that they have used and can share, or can anyone offer suggestions as to what exactly this would cover?

Thanks for your help

I would be very careful. How well do you know the mechanic? How much experience does he have with Cessna 170s? The best advice I can give is to get an IA you know and trust (preferablly one who is experienced with older a/c)and perform a thorough annual inspection prior to buying. If the annual brings discrepancies, make sure you are under no obligation to correct them or purchase the aircraft. I had a bad experience buying a 170A from a location over 1000 miles from where I live. I trusted the owner and a local mechanic who, it turned out, had totally diferent standards than me. I can tell you it is difficult if not impossible to resolve problems once you have signed on the dotted line and are in a different state. Anyway, hope you have a good experience. Even though I spent a few more $ than I should have, these airplanes are worth every bit of it.

The seller wants his plane back in the same condition as when it goes to the shop, for example if the mechanic breaks something while he's looking at it (like a mag harness, bracket etc) then you and/or the mechanic is responsible for making it right.

I just bought my first plane a couple years ago, and I paid for a prepurchase inspection. I wouldn't do that again, pay the money to have a full annual done, then you know what you are really getting, and you have 12 months to enjoy it before you have to take it apart again.

Enough has been said about an annual vs. a pre-purchase. Get the annual. I think that an agreement to protect the owner is a good thing. With all 3 airplanes I have bought or sold I had a written agreement that said something to protect both buyer and seller. I would just make sure that it says that you can back out at anytime if you find something you don’t like.

The IA performing the annual inspection has the obligation to "do no harm" to the aircraft. He's NOT repairing it. He's only looking at it.

NOTE: As the BUYER.... YOU do not want to guarantee the work product of any mechanic/shop/inspector. THEY are responsible for their own work product. As a Buyer I do not recommend that YOU guarantee anything other than to pay in full for the inspection up-front. If the Seller wants performance guarantees from the inspector/mechanic, the seller should make that agreement with the shop. Not with you. (Both buyer and seller have the option/privilege of selecting/approving the shop that performs the inspection. But if YOU as a BUYER were capable of guaranteeing mechanical work performed on an airplane...then you'd be a lot more likely to simply do the work yourself. (And if you WERE an A&P/IA, I'd still recommend you have someone ELSE perform the inspection, for liability reasons.)

Sorry I didnt clarify. The agreement will be between the owner and the mechanic.

The mechanic is a guy who has done work for a few friends of mine, and our mechanic (who is top notch) used to work with this guy when he lived out on the east coast. From everyone I've talked to (including a few people who have had him do pre-buys for them) he is very reputable, does top-notch work and is worth every penny (which isn't much, compared to the price of work out here!)

Thanks for all the input, I was just wondering if this was something anyone had dealt with before.

I will be having the mechanic do an extensive pre-buy on the airplane, and if I decide to buy it, I'll have him do whatever else is necessary as far as an annual inspection.

I'll let you guys know what happens... I should know if its "the one" by next Wednesday or so.

Have a great thanksgiving,

If your interested, I have a AP/IA I would recommend in MA. Don't know if that will help but if needed send me a PM

Kyle Takakjian

You can't hold the inspector to accountability for what he overlooked before it was yours unless you specify the inspection as an annual inspection. Not a "look". Not a "pre-buy". Not even an "extensive pre-buy". An annual inspection. Unnerstan? -gahorn, the self-appointed annual-in-lieu-of prebuy-inspections nazi.

Yes, I understand.

I have no doubt that the guy I'm dealing with is reputable and will make a good judgement regarding the condition of the airplane. I've seen the planes he has inspected for other people, and everyone who has dealt with him and his shop has been extremely satisfied.

Again, I appreciate the input.