Marco Rispoli wrote:
: I just got my license
snip

: One of the questions that has been mulling in my mind is this: suppose that
: I find a plane. It's the model that I am looking for, good times, good
: conditions (so the seller says) and good price. The plane is halfway across
: the country though.

When I bought my Cherokee, I was in a similar position. I had looked at a few
airplanes, and then one of my friends mentioned that he had seen a "nice
Cherokee 180" on the AOPA classifieds. I took a look, and it looked good.
(I wasn't crazy about the paint scheme, though.) I am in Massachusetts, and
the plane was in Los Angeles. I called the owner less than an hour later,
we talked a little, and he said that he had scanned all the logbooks, and
would email them to me. I got a Purchase & Sale agreement, and sent him
a 3% deposit that day (nice Cherokee 180s sell in a day). I reviewed the
logs, discussed them with a couple A&P mechanic friends, and made an
appointment to see the plane.

I flew out to California. The plane was based at Van Nuys which is a huge
GA field. There are 10+ repair shops on the field, as well as numerous
places to rent aircraft. I asked the place that rented Piper airplanes
where they were serviced, visited that mechanic, and arranged for a
pre-purchase inspection. The next day, I met the owner. We went for a
short flight so that I could check out the avionics, etc., then I had the
pre-purchase inspection done. The mechanic found a few things, but nothing
serious. I flew another test flight (to Camarillo, good barbecue!).

When I got home, I arranged the financing (Dorr Aviation, just down the
street, good people). Dorr took care of a title search, and arranged escrow.
I "wired" my money to the escrow house, they "wired" it to the now ex-owner,
and faxed me a temporary registration. I went back to California to pick the
plane up.

I have to say that my experience was completely trouble free. The airplane
was exactly as advertised (the ad is still online, www.panicairlines.com/
n9376j/index.html). The seller was motivated (he had another airplane
already). The airplane had the equipment that I wanted. And, the paint
scheme looks far better in person that I could have ever thought.

--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)