What do I need to do, to arrange for a pre-purchase inspection or pre-buy inspection) at KLUX, in Laurens, SC (the maintenance, inspection, and servicing operation for BAC members, operated by Chad Moser, Monty Spencer, and Mike Rellihan)?
We personally believe that a Pre-buy on a 30-40 year old plane should be one of the most thorough Annual Inspections a plane ever receives (and should take two or three days of owner-assisted work). Few people, buyers or sellers, are willing to pay, in time and money, for an inspection of this scope.
While we enjoy helping out fellow BAC members, we are typically unwilling to put our names on the typical superficial pre-buy inspection, and have the buyer later discover frame or spar corrosion under the floor from old air ducts; or severe skin and frame corrosion under ancient yellow insulation in the sidewalls, due to leaking windows. Or cracked main gear attach brackets or wing attach brackets, the result of hard landings or original old hockey pucks for shock cushions (donuts). These things are seldom checked during Pre-buy inspections (or even most Annual Inspections by inexperienced shops), due to the level of disassembly required. And if the inspection does go that far, it needs to get signed off as a current Annual Inspection (to get the most bang for the buck), which only an A&P-IA can sign off.
If buyer and seller are willing to take the thorough route, you can contact Chad Moser (contact info is on BAC, under the A&P listing). If Chad can fit it in on one of the available ‘time slots’ for KLUX (viewable under ‘Technical’ as the KLUX Work Schedule), and you can ferry the plane to my big maintenance hangar at KLUX (Laurens County, Laurens, SC) where I have tools, parts, and supplies, the inspection can be done there.
Having said all of the above, Chad has occasionally performed the more typical pre-buy inspection, when someone has become desperate, when his travel and time expense will be paid. Chad certainly knows what to look for; but he won’t be able to check everything if the plane isn’t up on jacks at KLUX, with the interior fully opened up.
Buyers are sometimes able to convince sellers to split the cost of the inspection and any required (non-optional) repairs. This should be especially true if the seller is representing the aircraft as a pristine example, with no flaws. The buyer can elect whether to complete or defer any optional repairs, at the buyer’s expense. It is typically the best (least expensive) time to make such repairs, without any added R&R overhead, as the plane will already be ‘opened up’. This process also assumes that the buyer is willing to participate in the process; removing screws for inspection panel removal, doing airframe cleaning, etc. In the process the impending owner learns a great deal about the plane, and how to best care for it.
Another benefit of this approach is that Monty Spencer can apply complete Corrosion X treatment, using professional fogging equipment, for only $75. This price only applies if we already have the plane completely opened up for a thorough inspection. Someone is already paying for our time, and/or has done much of the opening-up by themselves, so we only charge for the material plus a small portion of the equipment depreciation. This is a good example of an elective expense that the buyer would pay for, assuming that the purchase is going through. Typical full treatments at most shops are quoted at $250 to $350. Our price is for BAC members only, for treatments made only at KLUX during inspections.