What questions should I ask a seller before traveling across the country to check out a plane in person?

[Jetpilot86]

Total thread creep, but where do you get the US maps for states you've landed in at?  The Google was not my friend...

[Pinecone]

5 hours ago, Jetpilot86 said:

Total thread creep, but where do you get the US maps for states you've landed in at?  The Google was not my friend...

https://visitedstatesmap.com/

 

[Jetpilot86]

4 hours ago, Pinecone said:

https://visitedstatesmap.com/

 

Thanks.  Unfortunately, it seems to be broken when I try to create the map.

 

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function exec() in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php:143 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php on line 143

[Fly Boomer]

34 minutes ago, Jetpilot86 said:

Thanks.  Unfortunately, it seems to be broken when I try to create the map.

 

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function exec() in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php:143 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php on line 143

Just tried it.  Blows up first time using default map size.  I used the browser "back" button, changed the map size, and tried it again -- worked fine.  Definitely has a problem, but you can still use it.

[Mac80]

On 10/25/2023 at 7:21 AM, LANCECASPER said:

I'm going to take a contrary view to what's been said. There are brokers that don't do much other than just shuffle papers and spend time on the phone. They have become good at making money selling something that someone else owns and have adapted to what most people expect. There are a few out there that haven't adapted but are still doing things the way they were expected 15-20 years ago. That doesn't mean that the airplane they are selling isn't worth looking at. It can actually work in your favor since most people aren't used to doing business that way and may disregard the airplane being sold.

Example: in the Fall of 2021 when I was looking, the one-owner airplane I ended up buying was being sold buy a young broker in NJ who has not sold many airplanes and still had a lot to learn, but was a nice guy. He was not fast in getting back to me with answers to questions that I had (although he did get me the logs). He actually talked his client into taking the airplane off of the market for the Fall and Winter and putting it back on in the Spring (Broker 101 - if you want to sell airplanes never talk your client who wants their airplane sold into taking their airplane off the market).

Since I didn't see it being advertised anymore I assumed it was sold since things were selling fast. I was in FL looking at an airplane that wasn't nearly as nice as it sounded, so just out of curiosity I checked FlightAware and saw that the NJ airplane hadn't left its home base so probably hadn't sold. I called the NJ broker and he said it wasn't on the market anymore, so I asked if the owner was still interested in selling it. He said yes it was but they weren't going to advertise it again for a few more months. I asked if I could come and look at it the next day. He said sure. I got out way ticket from FL to NJ rather than coming back to TX. Long story even longer . . . two days later after a buyer-directed pre-buy evaluation with a local mechanic there I flew the airplane home. 

What I learned from that one is that no one was in a hurry to sell that airplane - they knew it would sell and weren't losing any sleep over it. I had to take the initiative to buy it since they weren't taking the initiative to sell it. Even once I was there I wanted to present a fair offer to the owner and ask a few questions and, if satisfied, get the process moving. The young man with whom I was dealing said that he hated to bother the owner and wasn't even sure that he had his cell number, just his home number for the evenings, which would mean that I couldn't get everything done on this trip and would have to make another trip. I went to the waiting area, and in a few minutes found the owner's number called him and worked things out and politely let the young man know that the owner would be calling him in a few minutes. We got the pre-buy started and later the next day the airplane was back in Texas.

If this one is really calling out to you, and you have all your ducks in a row, go see it in person. I have no idea where you are in CA but a one-way ticket from LAX with a couple days notice to Akron is $289. Go in on a Sunday giving you the whole week to get things done and fly it back if you like it. It may be worth it. Worst case scenario, if you don't like it, jump back on the airlines and go home. It will still be education in your airplane-buying process. It may not be all about what he is willing to do, but what you are willing to do outside of the norm.

Great advice. No substitutes for looking plane over scouring the logs yourself or have someone help you and flying it.

[Pinecone]

It works for me.

[Jetpilot86]

On 11/9/2023 at 7:50 AM, Jetpilot86 said:

Thanks.  Unfortunately, it seems to be broken when I try to create the map.

 

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function exec() in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php:143 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in /home/visited3/public_html/view-map.php on line 143

Lets see if it works now?

Yup, either they fixed it, or it likes me now....  

Edited November 13, 2023 by Jetpilot86

[Fly Boomer]

7 hours ago, Jetpilot86 said:

Lets see if it works now?

Yup, either they fixed it, or it likes me now....  

Second time (without clearing cache) is a charm.