I heard a story today regarding a pre-buy inspection fee structure that was somewhat disturbing. This involved a pre-buy on an RV where the inspector charged a fee for the inspection (all well and good) and then added that he also would charge 40% of any savings off the purchase price where the reduction was due to his findings during the pre-buy inspection.
The question is: Is this common practice for pre-buy inspections??
I know I would not accept such an arrangement as a buyer contracting for a pre-buy inspection, nor would I allow an inspection on my airplane from an inspector known to participate in this practice.
I think the reasons are obvious, but here are my concerns:
As the seller: The inspector is significantly incented to find problems with my airplane, be they valid or not, and would be inclined to produce a negative report if I refused to negotiate a reduced price.
As the buyer: I could very well pass up a good aircraft based on the inspector's report. The inspector would be tempted to encourage me to buy an aircraft that needed work, where he was able to negotiate a reduced price.
I believe the inspector should be compensated in a way that would produce an independent unbiased report, and the above fee structure doesn't smell like that would be the result. However perhaps I am naive about how these things work - I would be interested in others opinions.
The question is: Is this common practice for pre-buy inspections??
I know I would not accept such an arrangement as a buyer contracting for a pre-buy inspection, nor would I allow an inspection on my airplane from an inspector known to participate in this practice.
I think the reasons are obvious, but here are my concerns:
As the seller: The inspector is significantly incented to find problems with my airplane, be they valid or not, and would be inclined to produce a negative report if I refused to negotiate a reduced price.
As the buyer: I could very well pass up a good aircraft based on the inspector's report. The inspector would be tempted to encourage me to buy an aircraft that needed work, where he was able to negotiate a reduced price.
I believe the inspector should be compensated in a way that would produce an independent unbiased report, and the above fee structure doesn't smell like that would be the result. However perhaps I am naive about how these things work - I would be interested in others opinions.
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