Perry Daneshgari · a month ago
If there was a negative star I would have used it. I rarely leave negative reviews, but my experience was significant enough that I believe future aircraft buyers should be aware of it. I hired Elliott Aviation to perform a pre-buy inspection on a 2004 King Air 200B that I was considering purchasing. The purpose of the inspection was to identify airworthiness issues and significant maintenance concerns before closing on the transaction. Based on the findings from that inspection, approximately $86,000 of discrepancies were identified and the seller agreed to reduce the purchase price accordingly. After the purchase closed, Elliott Aviation began a Garmin G1000 NXi upgrade along with autothrottle and emergency autoland installation. During that process, additional airworthiness and maintenance issues continued to be discovered. Ultimately, the additional costs exceeded $440,000 and resulted in approximately four months of unexpected downtime. One of the most troubling aspects of this experience was that a major inspection issue was not identified during the pre-buy review, despite being documented in the aircraft records. Had this issue been discovered before closing, I would not have proceeded with the purchase under the terms that I did. As a result, I have incurred substantial unexpected repair expenses, significant downtime, and ongoing ownership costs while the aircraft was unavailable for use. My purpose in writing this review is not to criticize individuals but to encourage prospective buyers to clearly define the scope of any pre-buy inspection, verify exactly what records and logbooks are being reviewed, and obtain written confirmation regarding what is and is not being evaluated. In my experience, the pre-buy process did not identify issues that ultimately had a major financial impact on the transaction. Others may have had different experiences, but based on my own, I would exercise considerable caution and conduct extensive due diligence before relying solely on a pre-buy inspection to make a purchasing decision.
