Hi all,
I recently came upon the opportunity to purchase a 1981 Mooney M20J, and went to test fly it last weekend. It is a California plane and has never been in an accident--no prop strikes or other major damage. Based on what I see, the plane is in fairly good shape and apparently has been well maintained. Speaking with the owner, he seems on top of it--he flies the plane personally but still does all 100 hour inspections and changes the oil every 50 hours. AD's are all complied with and there is paperwork for them. All of the paperwork since 1981 (maintenance, manuals, etc.) is there. Here is some additional information that he sent me:
1850 hours on the engine TBO, 3400 hours on airframe
Garmin 430 w/ recently updated software and service by Garmin
Backup electric attitude indicator
STech autopilot
MK170 radio replaced less than a year ago
Interior leather recently replaced (approx 4 years old w/ material certs)
LEF landing lights
Brand new dual magnetos, also replaced plugs and plug harnesses at the same time
Replaced fuel line a few years ago
CHT/EGT for all cylinders
Digital tachometer
Main gear tires new
Hangered mostly entire life
All paperwork and original manuals on hand
Before this I've had no experience with Mooneys, and was not seriously in the market for a plane. I have about 200 hours PIC, instrument rated, and have my complex/high performance endorsement. I fly around 150 hours per year at this point, and would be nice to have something fast like this to make cross-country flights make sense. With that being said, I wanted to get your guys' feedback on whether this is a good purchase, what other questions I need to be asking, and whether the price is right. He's asking $70k.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
