Pre-buy advice

[wrench]

I flew a M20J yesterday and will probably make an offer. Is there anyone in West Michigan I can talk to about what I should look for in pre-buy or who maintains their Mooney for them that they are happy with? 

[Cruiser]

Welcome to MooneySpace.com. You will find many knowledgeable mooney pilots and owners here willing to help.

I use Willmar Air Service located in Willmar, Minnesota (BDH) for pre-buy inspections and Lapeer Aviation, Inc. the MSC @ Dupont Lapeer Airport (D95) for maintenance work.

[jmills]

I bought my '90 M20J out of Michigan. It being my first plane purchase, I wanted a certified Mooney Service Center to do the pre-buy then rolled into an annual.  Michigan has 2 MSC's. Lapeer Aviation and Northern Air. Other than Cruiser's post above, I did not read any positive reviews anywhere of Lapeer and actually found a couple negative ones. But he undoubtedly has more experience in the area than I so look into them.  In any event, the owner I was buying from had used Lapeer in the past. And I wanted a truly neutral MSC, so I used Northern Air. Chris Allchin at Northern Air was the shop manager and all around easy person to deal with and quite helpful on my pre-buy. If you use them, contact him to arrange your pre-buy.

Because they are a MSC they were not the cheapest option around. But I figured, owning an airplane isn't cheap and I wanted to be sure about what I was buying so spending a few extra bucks up front was probably a wise investment.  I can recommend Northern Air for such a job as the pre-buy and initial annual.  If I lived in the area, because of their higher cost I doubt I would continue to use them for routine maintenance or subsequent annuals, but for the pre-buy and first annual I am glad I went with them.

/2 cents

[wrench]

Thanks guys, Northern Air is much closer for the seller to travel to and I hadn't considered them but I'll make some calls Monday.

[randypugh]

Blue Sun Air in Zeeland (Z98) not a msc but they maintain several Mooneys, my Ovation being one of them. Very thorough and close to MKG

[wrench]

Another good possibility, thanks guys!

[wrench]

I officially became an M20J and first time Mooney owner yesterday after a good pre-buy. About a year of looking and the sale of my Cherokee 180, but it all came together in the last 28 days.

Just a make and model checkout and IPC comes next then I'm good to go.

Thanks for the help on pre-buy and maintenance recommendations. I'm sure I'll have some new owner questions in the future. This forum is great and a wealth of information and willing owner help.

Thanks all.

Bill

N7201V

[GeorgePerry]

Congrats...Based on the add in controller, it looks like a well bought airplane.  Welcome to the fold.

[DaV8or]

Quote: flyingwrench

I officially became an M20J and first time Mooney owner yesterday after a good pre-buy. About a year of looking and the sale of my Cherokee 180, but it all came together in the last 28 days.

Just a make and model checkout and IPC comes next then I'm good to go.

Thanks for the help on pre-buy and maintenance recommendations. I'm sure I'll have some new owner questions in the future. This forum is great and a wealth of information and willing owner help.

Thanks all.

Bill

N7201V

[wrench]

Haven't taken my own pictures yet but these are from the Contoller ad.

Bill

[MooneyMitch]

I've always admired that paint scheme and the colors are rich looking.  Congratulations and welcome to Mooney world!

[DaV8or]

Quote: flyingwrench

Haven't taken my own pictures yet but these are from the Contoller ad.

Bill