I want to buy a plane by year-end but they're not making it easy.

Ross Oliver wrote:
Why don't you just go rent one for an hour or two? Piper and
Cirrus rentals shouldn't be too hard to find. A Tiger might
take a little more leg work. Renting with a CFI has the added
advantage of counting the time toward "time in type" that your
insurer will inevitably require.

Old Pipers aren't hard to find. New Pipers probably can be done.
I can think of only one operation around here that has a Cirrus
for rent, and it's not really set up all that well for the casual
walk in.