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Hello everyone, I’m looking for help to better understand general costs and recommendations as I begin my search for a Mooney. I’ll try not to ask the repetitive question and debate about what airplane is better, however, hoping for a little help with budgeting and expectations. A little background information. Commercial instrument rated. Mission is primarily myself and maybe one other for business use. Average trip 300 - 400 NM with some closer to 600 NM. Based in the Seattle/Tacoma area heading east. Spokane, Boise, Salt Lake, Portland, etc. Desired budget of around $75,000. If that's not possible maybe more but this is the purpose of the thread. To learn and understand base and upgrade costs. For example, $45k airplane and $30k upgrades or $65k airplane and less upgrades. I’m looking for a solid aircraft. With my budget I’m estimating a C, E, or F. I know there are mountains going east from Seattle and icing but don’t think a turbo or FIKI is in the budget. I don’t mind manual gear, I don’t mind steam gauges. In general I care about functionality and value more than ego. Based on this here are the questions I can't figure out how to answer: Model Considerations - speed vs fuel flow; I assume C, E, and F are all going to be comparable and one is Engine Considerations What is an overhaul cost? Is it better to buy a run-out engine and overhaul or find a lower time engine? How recent should a low time engine have been overhauled (10 years, 20 years)? Avionics Considerations If I purchase an airplane without adequate avionics what is the upgrade cost? I know this is a loaded question but if I’m looking for capability, not fancy. For example, I’m okay with steam gauges (six pack, VOR, ILS or HSI not a glass panel. GPS that can work with GPS approaches and integrate with ILS or HSI but necessarily a big moving map GPS. So with that in mind what would the upgrade cost be? I guess the question is, what is the cost difference to replace with basic instruments again vs "modern" avionics? If most of the avionics are there but the layout is terrible what is the cost to rearrange the panel and update a few steam gauges? Replace just dual radios and dual nav? Add a basic autopilot? Add engine analyzer? Other General cost for a basic paint job? General cost of basic interior? Is this a rabbit hole? Should I be approaching this differently? What am I not thinking about? Thank you for your help and experience!!

Hello all - Looking to buy a Mooney and have been coast-to-coast after doing lots of online research. (Actually a little depressed as I didn't expect this to be this difficult). Just trying to find a good plane... My focus has been 201s primarily but have also looked at a 252 and a Rocket. I have some questions where I would appreciate some sage input. I want copilot brakes, an autopilot that can hold altitude. 1) A great looking airplane, low time engine and great avionics but I notice a long streak of oil residue on the undercarriage that ran from the front of the engine where it looks like some breather tubes are located toward the back of the plane. Is this normal? I looked into into the engine bay with the oil-check window and noticed some oil at the base of filler tube that might have been the cause but I am suspicious. 2) On take-off it seemed like the front wheel might have had some shimmy. I did check underneath and noticed that there was (lots of) excess grease in the well. The linkages seemed tight and the pucks looked like they they were newer but am wondering about this. 3) Just got home this evening after checking out a Rocket. Nice solid plane with low time engine, well maintained (Top Gun) but am wondering whether this is the best option or sticking to 252s. Thoughts? Can this really be anything near as economical as an unadulterated Mooney? 4) I have stayed away from anything that has had damage history but there are some otherwise good looking 252s. I spoke with someone at a Mooney shop in Robbinsville NJ who seemed to think a gear-up is no big deal but am still a little hesitant about this. Any thoughts? 5) An alternative is to buy an C or F model that is run out and redo the engine and avionics but this looks like it might not be a wise investment unless I plan this to be my last plane. Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers! Stan M.