Get a Cardinal Prepurchase Inspection
From someone who really knows them
No matter how you find the Cardinal you hope to purchase, how to you know whether the airplane you have selected is a good one? Are there surprises in store in the airplane you've found? Is this really the airplane you hope it will be?
Keith offers an in-depth inspection of your potential purchase, resulting in a list of Cardinal specific items that you should be considering (and negotiating) before you buy. This inspection requires 5-7 hours with the airplane, usually at the seller's location, and results in a list of 30-200 issues or items, even on airplanes deemed "excellent with no issues" by an A&P inspection.
This inspection provides a Cardinal-specific expert analysis of how this Cardinal stacks up on the usual failure points. In addition you'll learn much more than the usual mechanic's airworthiness test. You'll learn what is unique about this airplane, what's new or worn and generally what it will be like to own this airplane for the next several years.
During the virus of 2020 a process was developed for remote inspections by video. This approach has been very successful and allows inspections without travel expenses, as well as making international inspections more approachable.
Keith is a mechanical engineer, has owned his Cardinal since 1987, founded CFO in 1999 and wrote most of the CFO web site. He has performed hundreds of pre-purchase Cardinal inspections in the last few years. His inspection frequently identifies airworthiness issues missed by mechanics and virtually always documents dozens of issues you'll want to know about.
Many people shopping for a Cardinal have never owned an airplane, or at least an airplane of this type. After spending this time with Keith and the airplane you'll know a great deal more about Cardinals and this airplane in particular. You will be much more comfortable with the care and feeding of this particular Cardinal and have a very good idea whether you should buy it.
While the outcome can never be foreseen, usually the items found in inspection are substantial enough to result in a price adjustment which more than covers the inspection costs.
An optional web page report is available which captures images, findings and observations for your later reference. An example of this report can be seen here.
Please visit this page for details on what to expect at the inspection.
Testimonials:
- Keith was easy to work with, found issues that surprised me (and even the A&P who had recently completed the annual) and took the time to explain each in terms of the risks, options and likely costs. His involvement was well worth the cost, and gave me comfort/saved me money/helped me learn/pick your benefit. Ken, New York.
- I came in thinking like a pilot, left thinking like an owner. Remote inspection client in Alabama.
- I have recently had the pleasure of purchasing a pre-buy inspection report done by Keith on a Cardinal I am purchasing. I have to say it was so educational and thorough that I would not buy a Cardinal that did not have the inspection. The detail of the inspection is fantastic. I encourage any Cardinal transaction to include an inspection. If selling a Cardinal it would surely add value to your plane to have had one done.
- Your remote inspection report was extremely helpful and we ended up splitting the cost for replacement/repairs on the significant items you called out. I also went forward with some additional updates per your report. I appreciate your attention to detail and guidance in the process. Everyone who has seen the report commented that it was money well spent! Billy
- Thanks so much for the great work yesterday's remote inspection. The owners / sellers were amazed at your knowledge about the Cardinal. Also Joe, the A&P, was commenting on how he as not seen some of the places you had him look. Howard
- I had never purchased a plane before so I thought it would be prudent to spend some money up front on some sound consulting. I considered Keith to be one of just a handful of experts available for this kind of work. After helping me narrow down my search, Keith went to the seller's home airport to go over the plane for a very reasonable price. Keith took 157 pictures and posted them online with notes on each picture. It was a staggering amount of information and it took several days for my mechanic and me to process. We have been delighted with our Cardinal and while it is not perfect it is perfect for us and more importantly there were no big $ surprises. This would have been a much more difficult and frightening process without Keith's help. Rex from Idaho.
- Keith flew to CA (of course I paid him a reasonable fee and covered his travel expenses), rented a car and drove a couple of hours, spent the night where the airplane was and gave her a full look-over. He was able to give me a good overall sense of the quality and solidness of the airplane and what kind of overall shape she was in. He looked her over very well and it made me very comfortable in negotiating a price and buying my first airplane, which has been great. If you're considering buying a Cardinal, you'd do yourself a great service to talk with Keith Peterson. Pete from Texas.
Remote Inspection Testimonials:
- I learned a lot from you on what to look for on inspections, it was a real eye opener. The mechanic that did the prebuy when I purchased this Cardinal 2 years ago didn't find any of the items you found in your prebuy. It's easy to see that you are well experienced in Cardinal inspections! Larry (Seller)
- Who is this guy, some sort of Master IA ninja? Remote inspection supporting A&P in Alabama. (details).
- What a very thorough and interesting process! I am so very glad to have all of the photos too! And I am, of course, impressed not only with the detailed knowledge you possess, but also your methods used for assessing the likelihood of some of the things that could present themselves in the future. Many thanks for your thorough work and guidance. Worth every penny! Cheers, Bill (Remote inspection in South Africa)
- Emily and I benefited immensely from Keith's wealth of experience, highly recommend engaging his services. (details) Trevor and Emily.
- The supporting mechanic was initually sceptical, but that changed in minutes once we started. Afterward he said "That guy really knew his stuff, I wish there were people like that for the other types we work on." - Bill
- Keith was an invaluable resource for us in acquiring our Cardinal! We used him for the pre-purchase inspection & buyer assistance & couldn't be happier with the services recieved! You won't regret soliciting his services! - Mike
- I don't think any important pieces of information were lost in communication because the pre-buy was conducted over video chat vs in person. - Emily
- Earlier this month Keith Peterson provided to me pre-purchase inspection services on a 1976 Cardinal RG II. Despite the complications imposed by Covid 19 restrictions, Keith was able to accomplish an incredibly thorough and effective inspection. Through the use of an on-line meetings application and with the outstanding cooperation of the owner and his A&P, we were able to address more than three dozen items, many of which I would not have knowledge of otherwise. Keith left no stone unturned.
Working with Keith was easy (well, Keith was easy to work with. Getting your arm and iPad into incredibly small spaces - not so much), efficient, and extremely informative. I'm pleased to have acquired so much knowledge about my new aircraft that I would not have obtained otherwise. Thank you Keith, for helping to make this happen. Respectfully, Nick, Chief/GM
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