The reason this one caught my eye is the budget won't alarm the missus too much, I can justify maintenance later!
Mission profile is a lot of 2-3hr legs touring and equal amounts of locals etc. The plane will be based in France at an airfield that charges zero € for parking or landing and fuel is avaiable for €1.50/ltr. So it will be used often for trips to the UK for business and visiting family. I have a frequent flyer account with Eurotunnel and it still costs over £150 return to visit my mum in an old peoples home in Kent, not to mention the time spent travelling with all the delays which often occur. So an 80nm flight which is enjoyable to boot, is much more preferable and I have flexibility in my work to allow for weather.
This plane wasn't the one I went looking for. I was thinking C150/PA38 etc and the PA38 was sold and the dealer had this one coming on line and we discussed needs etc.
I know a good engineer, not seen him for years but I believe he is still at his base which is on the way to this planes base, so will see if he has a spare day with the promise of good beer and food thrown in :-) He steered me clear of an AA5a a few years back due to delamination in the wings, a problem I was completely ignorant of! So I have some faith in his work.