This comes from the Bonanza email list. It involves a gent that is looking to buy a Bonanza, and at the urging of everyone, takes his mechanic along to do a prebuy. The result is the same and this thread is just an extension of the ongoing conversations about an airplane he recently looked at. The owner's reaction, as seen in the last paragraph, is abominable. This kind of scumbag is plentiful and this message should be yet another reason to justify a prebuy, ALWAYS! Buyer Beware!
All names have been changed. ----- Original Message ----- From: <> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 8:34 AM Subject: Re: B: Buying the right Bonanza > Larry, > > Actually, better than using his mechanic, I took my own - in the person of > Jim, the shop foreman from XXX Aviation out of XXXX, FL. Those who have > been there know it's a world class Beechcraft shop specializing in T34 and > WWII warbirds. It's a charge to wander in an see a Hellcat, incredible > T34s, tube and fabric airplanes, and others undergoing restoration. In > fact, in my opinion, they turn out aircraft indistinguishable from brand > spanking new ones (remember, I'm into old cars Ferarris despite a meager > lack of knowledge vis-a-vis airplanes), which are good enough to win > prizes! Hence, while they dabble in Bonanzas and Barons for the well > connected, the restoration work is their forté. He's in my neck of the > woods and i count myself blessed to be able to call upon him. > > Moreover, when I see surface corrosion and Jim says, "Uh-uh, that's into > the spar cap Joe." I figure he knows what he's talking about based on > experience and thus, I do what he says . . . especialy since that's the > very reason I am paying him (i.e. keep my fat behhind out of a sling). > Anyway, he said pass on this one, so I did.. By the way, our own Brian > said the same thing - sight unseen, which I figure is a pretty astute call > because, as we all know, he obviously has a great deal of experience with > these kinds of offerings. > > Ultimately, the corrosion turned out to be far more extensive than we > thought on first blush. Finally, I misunderstood from our conversation > the issue of logs and thought it was only the first engine log missing. > Consequently, I wasn't overly worried since I figured, "What the heck it > already has another engine, and it's run out to boot, so it doesn't > matter!" However, when it turned out to be "all" the logs prior to 1992, > i.e. "everything" was missing from 1965-1992, well that put a whole > different light on things! > > Off list - I've forwarded Jim's report for your perusal my friend. > Meanwhile, I've spoken to the seller (he contacted me). I explained I had > decided to pass on his aircraft. He asked why so I did him the favor of > forwarding Jim's report to him (a favor because I paid 300 bucks for the > report plus time and gas to get there - cheap at the rpice as it turned > out since I arrived checkbook in hand). Anyway, he plans to put a quickie > paint job on it, move NXXW to another state and change registration from > FL, and offer it again. Says a lot don't you think? > >
