While I read the boards, I'm not much of a contributor, but the latest post compels me to come forward. After flying for a while, I decided to take the plunge and buy my own aircraft. After deciding on a mooney, my next step was to understand all the gotcha's about each model, year, effects based upon TT, etc. I'm an engineer, so doing it on my own based upon my own analysis is going to be better than anyone can do for me, that's only natural for people like me. The more research I did, the longer and longer my gotcha list became. And the more research I did, the more I realized, what I didn't know. Looking at my family across the table at dinner and thinking, I've got to make a decision that doesn't add any additional risks for them, not to mention my bank account for a un-informed decision, I decided the best thing to do was rely on experience. For an engineer, that's like admitting defeat. Never-the-less, my new path was to now research people, I'm going to find the right person to get me the right plane. In the end, I decided to use Richard Zephro of Mooneyland. Even other brokers and dealers in the industry thought highly of Richard and his experience, yes I even asked various brokers what they thought about other brokers. I was very close to buying an aircraft before making this decision to use a buyer's broker and even showed Richard what I'd had found and my research. When I told Richard the tail number of my top pick, he had already done the research on that aircraft and told me why it was not a good decision. He had found a corrsion issue with the landing gear that I had not uncovered. After bringing my second choice to him, I soon realized, this guy know every Mooney that's on the market right now and in detail. Well why not, this is his core business and he's being doing for a long time. I didn't use Richard for the after-the-sell service, but more for the insurance of the purchase. I've got to tell you, I use him now than I thought I would. He's always there to answer any questions I have. He did fly with me and did show me things others had not. He's also showed me many items to watch out for in the maintenance process. Based upon my dealings with Richard and Mooneyland, he's not a guy looking to get rich, he's not out to screw people, he's a guy who truly loves the craftsmanship of a Mooney and wants show people the value of a Mooney. Based upon my discussions with other, I know some people may be turned off by his personality. Yes, he's a sales person, that's his nature. But if you are turned off by that and don't look past it, you're going to miss the real value here, his experience. He only wants to deal in Mooney and has been doing it for a long time. And even with my knowledge now, would I use Richard/Mooneyland again, without a doubt, YES !