Trip Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Over the last year I’ve asked many sellers for their scanned log books. It’s probably been 5 or 6. I have yet to get a complete log book. Asked again yesterday about one that is several years old and the seller replied that he’d send me the last inspection page. I said I’d like to see the entire book and didn’t get a reply. I’ve gotten partial books with pages missing, partial books with pages mixed up, And partial books with aircraft, engine, and prop log book pages shuffled. What gives? Am I asking for too much? When I sold my plane I scanned the whole book before I put it on the market. Sold it in one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyjr Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Trip, before I bought mine last year I had the same thing happen. Not sure what gives, maybe it's the lack of time to scan, who knows. I was frustrated and was only getting good info from a couple brokers. I ended up purchasing a CTSW from my local airport and was able to sit down and flip the logs in person. I feel your frustration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted September 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 1 hour ago, johnnyjr said: Trip, before I bought mine last year I had the same thing happen. Not sure what gives, maybe it's the lack of time to scan, who knows. I was frustrated and was only getting good info from a couple brokers. I ended up purchasing a CTSW from my local airport and was able to sit down and flip the logs in person. I feel your frustration! And I’ve had Brokers tell me NDH and get the partial logs and showed damage. One even showed one landing gear had been replaced. You have to be careful on book entries that say the details are with the A&P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Having all the records from new creates a nice history, but I would rather have the airplane looked over by someone who knows what they are looking at. I looked at one last year that had a reasonable log entry, but had a 25+ item discrepancy list from a short look over of the airplane. When ask about some items the seller flat out lied. Later when correcting the list and doing a condition inspection I found even more items. So having complete logbooks to look over is just a small part of what you need to be looking at. Just an opinion, but replacing a damaged gear leg does not constitute damage to the aircraft. If you don't have to do anything but replace the part, the damage goes away with the part that is removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 2 hours ago, Tom Baker said: Having all the records from new creates a nice history, but I would rather have the airplane looked over by someone who knows what they are looking at. I looked at one last year that had a reasonable log entry, but had a 25+ item discrepancy list from a short look over of the airplane. When ask about some items the seller flat out lied. Later when correcting the list and doing a condition inspection I found even more items. So having complete logbooks to look over is just a small part of what you need to be looking at. Just an opinion, but replacing a damaged gear leg does not constitute damage to the aircraft. If you don't have to do anything but replace the part, the damage goes away with the part that is removed. Thanks Tom. There were other things like belly repairs. Those plus being lied to turns me off. I won’t even consider it at that point. I see looking at log books as the first step. Next would be a pre-buy or discussion with the shop(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandpiper Posted October 1, 2020 Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 When I bought my last used plane in 2003, a 1975 C-182, I was flat lied to by three owners, maybe four. I hate using the words "lied to" but that's what it was. All of them had been damaged , some had no record of being repaired in the log books and no 337 on record at the FAA. In addition to no damage history, one owner also said no corrosion. Most older spam cans will have some corrosion but this was significant. When confronted the owner said "well, that's normal for this part of the country". Buyer beware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennM Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 On 10/1/2020 at 1:06 PM, sandpiper said: When I bought my last used plane in 2003, a 1975 C-182, I was flat lied to by three owners, maybe four. I hate using the words "lied to" but that's what it was. They recently sold a Stearman on Bring A Trailer and the guy lied repeatedly. I was interested in it, but the lies put me off. I still bid up to a "safe" point and they agreed to allow a PPI or we could walk away. I finally had to call him out because he kept insisting the plabe was flown regularly. Smarmy used-car salesman type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted October 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2020 Text messages from 5-6 weeks ago. I asked about log books. Seems this Broker, yes Broker, doesn’t want to take the time to scan the books. I never got a reply. I should look up the Owner and let them know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted October 5, 2020 Report Share Posted October 5, 2020 If you are dealing with a broker they may not have immediate access to the logbooks. I have heard of cases where the aircraft owner didn't even know the broker had the airplane listed. Unless the broker has full access to the airplane at their location I don't think you can expect much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.