First of all, your friend needs to ask himself several questions and answer them honestly. First what is he trying to accomplish? Second, what are the mission requirements? Things like range, minimum airport length he will use, type of airports, high/hot or low, number of average passengers, etc. Then he needs to ask what the gotha haves are, what the should haves are and the what the nice to haves are. The last two questions are the biggest and hardests. What is his acquistion budget and what is operating budget are. Then he needs to go from there.
As was previously mentioned, he will need to have a working knowledge of equipment to save himself from a costly decision. Paint and interior are extremely minor points. A good paint and interior shop can correct those issues. And you can almost always get a better deal that way.
First he needs to decide on what type aircraft will fit his needs and budget. Then research the aircraft and market. Pick out the two or three aircraft that seem to be prime aircraft and do a records inspection. A copy of Chapter 5 of the maintenance manual will help you there. DO NOT rely on the computer maintenance record for your information. Use it to provide the date and times to locate the written record in the aircraft logbooks. Do make sure the aircraft is current in inspections.
On the pre-buy, most shops will do the depth of inspection you request. Usually in most cases, it is an inspection of two or three levels deep. The shop usually will sign off those inspections if you request it.
There are many good brokers out there, but there are also many shady characters out there. Be careful. Many brokers specialize in a few types of aircraft. It would be better to find one that specializes in the type aircraft you are looking for.
Good luck.
