As you know by now, the Aeroprice website is devoted to helping you find the RIGHT plane at the RIGHT price™. Often, however, we are contacted by first-time buyers who have made (or are about to make) some of the classic purchasing errors. We thought we'd spell out just a few of them in hopes of saving you some big problems- and some big expenditures.

#1- Bad advice. Let it be known at the airport that you're in the market, and you'll suddenly have a whole host of "advisors" eager to help. These range from your flight instructor (who has most likely NEVER owned a plane) to the FBO (who's got just the plane for you!) to your airport buddies. While each may have a piece of wisdom that may help, consider the source(s). If you were going to build a house, for example, would you seek advice form someone who's built just one? (or none?). The same principle applies. Seek your counsel from a source that's bought/sold/owned many aircraft, has no hidden agenda, and is interested in making your ownership experience enjoyable for many years to come.

Strange as it may seem, one of the best sources of purchasing advice is your local full-time aircraft dealer. Not only has he bought/sold perhaps hundreds of planes, but if he's been around for a while he'll want to secure your business for years to come. If you can find one near you, he'll be a great resource.

Obviously the internet is also a good source, but rely more on posted articles from recognized experts than the usenet groups- we've seen some REALLY bad/incorrect advice and opinions posted on some of them by people with absolutely NO experience in the field.

#2. Skipping the Pre-Purchase. Appearances can be deceiving. We all know that. Yet there are still buyers who skip doing the pre-purchase because they're impressed by the paint/interior, short of time, or some other excuse. Sometimes it's because they're buying the plane from a friend, or they know the mechanic who's been maintaining it.

None of these reasons are valid. Obvious defects aside, one of the reasons for a thorough pre-purchase inspection is to get a second opinion. A fresh set of trained eyes going over your plane will often find items missed for years by someone who is too familiar with the aircraft.

#3. Skipping the Title Search. BAD idea. Even if the current owner is your best friend, paid cash 20 years ago and has never had a loan, it's possible for a lien to be attached to the plane. And if so, it's very possible that the owner is unaware of it. Always get a title search!

Recently the FAA has begun to offer copies of the aircraft records file on CD ROM, and a few buyers have purchased these in lieu of a professional title lien search. This is a very bad idea for a couple of reasons. First, the CD that the FAA will provide you is often NOT COMPLETE. Many times a registration form, 337 or lien assignment has arrived at the FAA registry a few months ago, and has NOT yet been placed on the CD ROM. These items are known in the industry as "loose docs", and will NOT show up on the CD you receive from the feds. The only way to be sure that you're looking at ALL the documents relevant to the aircraft is have the entire file professionally examined by a title expert.

Also, unless you're a title examiner, tracking ownership from the raw documents (which is all you get on the CD) can be very confusing and intimidating. If you know how to determine that a lien was properly released, how to track bank name changes through the FDIC bank consolidations of the late 80's, and how to determine true chain of title, by all means order the CD from the FAA. If not, we recommend a professional, certified title search performed by title experts.

Choose your advisors carefully, always do a pre-purchase and title search,
and you'll be at least on the right path to successful, happy aircraft ownership.

(Be sure to also read the "Plights of Planes"-
Terrible Tales of Aircraft Purchasing!)