I bought my first Mooney when I was flying a Cherokee 235 in a flying club back in upstae NY. I still remember the thrill of transitioning to the Mooney from the 235.
I'm moving from the "vintage" to "modern" forum this month.
I traded my 67 F for an 80 K, and am really happy with the plane. The F was a beautiful plane but thee high DAs here in AZ justifed trying a turbo
To answer your question about where to find a plane I bought both the F and the K from All American. When I get ready to buy another plane I'll go back to them again. Both Jimmy and Dave were absolutely honest and went way beyond what any reasonable person could have expected. If erverything goes well as it did when I bought my 62 C from a private seller it can be a good experience. For both my F and K I paid a very fair price at All American and had two of the top experts in the Mooney community helping me.
In any case it sure can't hurt to call to Dave or Jimmy, talk to them about what your typical flyign entails, your proposed budget, and see what advice tehy can offer. For both planes I bought from them I called them up, told them what I was thinking about, and got some really helpful advice about condition, model year differences, equipment, and pricing.
My personal opinion is that a Mooney expert can significantly reduce the potential for expensive surprises. Aircraft almost always have SOME surprises, but having an expert on your side seems to reduce the probability of falling into the more common holes.
My opinion. Others may have their own thoughts.
Best of luck.
