Prebuy RV-3 In Houston, TX?

[Derek343]

I'm looking at buying an RV-3 in NW Houston, TX. Do you know someone that could do a pre-buy?

[MS1095]

Reach out to Arlie. His username on here is acam37

[jbDC9]

Man, there's a ton of RVs in the Houston area, but for a commercial shop or A&P that knows RVs to do a prebuy? Dang, I'm stumped.

Unless Greg Y at Hooks wants to chime in that is...

[acam37]

I could do it but I’m currently in West Texas working. I won’t be back for a few weeks.

[Derek343]

The seller is an A&P and has been another RV before. He seems trustworthy, but I really don't know how to recognize the difference between a high quality and low quality RV. I think someone who has built a few would be able to assess the build quality. I imagine the other thing to be careful with an RV in Houston is possible corrosion issues. I think it was built in 1994.

I was hoping to get it looked at this week/weekend so I could pick it up Sunday or Monday.

Do you think a pre-buy inspection is required or would you trust an A&P seller?

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by Derek343

The seller is an A&P and has been another RV before. He seems trustworthy, but I really don't know how to recognize the difference between a high quality and low quality RV. I think someone who has built a few would be able to assess the build quality. I imagine the other thing to be careful with an RV in Houston is possible corrosion issues. I think it was built in 1994.

I was hoping to get it looked at this week/weekend so I could pick it up Sunday or Monday.

Do you think a pre-buy inspection is required or would you trust an A&P seller?

It sounds a little to me like you’re in a rush and willing to take some short cuts to get this airplane. That’s OK if the amount of money you’re talking about is something that is not a big deal to you...if its “toy money” that you can afford to lose.

But... History shows that getting an independent review of any airplane before purchase is the way to be comfortable about what you are getting. I know many outstanding A&P’s who are great builders, and many A&P’s who have no more building skills than the average person off the street - building and maintaining are two different skill sets, and having one doesn’t mean mean you have the other. But many do!

Take your time, take a deep breath, and find someone to do a pre-buy.

Paul

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by Derek343

Do you think a pre-buy inspection is required or would you trust an A&P seller?

Quick story on my RV8. Built by an A&P and had 10 Condition Inspections before I bought it. I paid someone to do a pre-buy inspection on it when I bought it. A year went by and when we did the next Condition Inspection we discovered that the main spar was missing 12 bolts. When just one person is looking at that plane every year and specially if he was who built it, things that got missed the first time will get missed 10 more times. He's a great person but we're all human.

Not all builders are the same, not all Condition Inspections are the same, and not all A&Ps either. Get someone like Arlie who's an A&P, but more importantly has built a few RVs and is currently building another.

Don't rely on the person who tells you how awesome he is and how much he knows about them. Let others tell you about his experience.

I also recommend Arlie even if you have to wait for him, and I trust him with my RV8.