Hey guys. New to the forum, but a long time Mooney admirer who's just about ready to enter the world of Mooney ownership. Need some help thinking about which plane to buy. I have two broad questions:
1: Would you prefer a high TTAF plane (say 6000 hours) that has a low to mid time engine (say 500 to 1000 SMOH) and no current squawks and needs no avionics upgrades, or would you pick a lower TT plane (say 2000 or 3000 hours) that has a mid time engine but has no modern GPS and has ancient radios? I guess at the root of this question I'm wondering is a high TT a deal breaker for most of you?
2nd broad question: If you were just stepping into the Mooney world and have never owned a complex, would you suggest avoiding a turbocharged plane for the first purchase?
Background: I got my PPL a little over a year ago. I'm tired of flying rental and club planes and ready to buy my first plane. I've always loved Mooneys since seeing them around airports as a kid when flying with my dad. I feel a Mooney fits my mission (usually solo or +one, longer cross countries, sometimes in high elevation terrain). Most of my flying has been in 172's and 152's so far. I feel stepping up to a complex is an appropriate stretch of skills at this point. I've been looking at F's and J's primarily, but have entertained the idea of a K 231 since being turbocharged would help in the mountains and some K's come in under my target price of $100k for a first plane. A J is my current preference, with an F that's been taken care of and has the speed mods is a close second. But, should I be open to the K 231? Drawbacks with that are the K is it seems just a little more to master as far as needing more attention to cautious and effective engine management to keep from needing early engine work--maybe that's not much to an experienced Mooney pilot, but it's a little extra and I'm already going to be getting use to the "extra" of a complex. The Continental engine has the lower TBO of 1800 and from what I read doesn't usually surpass that number nearly as often as the Lycoming does. The overhaul on the Continental appears much more expensive as well. It's a more capable plane---faster, higher ceiling, better at high DA, but also more costly as far as more frequent overhauls and more expensive when it does need it, and more "sensitive" as far as potential for damaging the engine if I don't know what I'm doing with respect to power settings. Knowing that I've been flying non-turbo and non-complex planes so far, would you advise staying away from the K or am I overthinking this? Also, I'm not thinking this is my "forever plane" yet. I plan to get my IFR next, and want to do that in my own plane and not the local rental plane. In the future I might upgrade to a more capable plane. That's why I was thinking F or J now, then maybe a TLS Bravo or fancier shmancier later on. I think I'm developing "analysis paralysis" now... Help me sort it out? Am I looking at this the right way?
