Almost there, finally!!!!!

[Thunder669]

Well I have spent the last 6+ months selling off most of my toys, paying off all of my debt (except for my house) and saving for the down payment. It looks like all of the pieces may finally be coming together. I have been doing quite a bit of research (especially trolling on here) and was recommended to rick at NAFCO for my financing. Well yesterday I filled out the app to start my preapproval and hopefully before long I will be a true mooniac and not just a wannabe. My price range I have been searching is about $50-$60k so most of my efforts have been looking for a nicely equipped F model. However for a real nice plane I may be able to stretch the budget to $70k and still be able to put plenty of avgas in the tanks every month. Well what do I happen to find in my searches not 40 miles from home and about 5 miles from my work but a nice looking J model. The panel appears a bit dated, but it does have an stec30 autopilot and everything is said to be in good working order. I am going to actually put hands and eyes on it Friday morning so here's hoping that this is the right plane at the right time and soon I will be a true member of this board!!!

[Houman]

Good luck with this, one peice of advice for what it is worth, make sure you have enough on the side to pay for 1st year unexpected maintenance. It does come up. In my case, it has been an adventure partiallly owning a k model Rocket Modified, but it is alot of fun to se that ground speed at over 220 kts when getting somewhere.

As my co-owner said, speed = money = Mooney...

[Danb]

Great having you here and have a truly wonderful thanksgiving...good luck on you purchase safe flying and pull the trigger

[Marauder]

I've been following your story about selling off your Stang and other goodies to make this happen. Hope it works out for you. Before you sign on that line -- make sure you get the plane thoroughly checked out. Not that there are dishonest owners out there, but there are a lot of neglected Mooneys that will take a bit to bring back to their former glory.

Run what you find by us, we are never short of opinions.

[PTK]

Not sure but it sounds to me this may be the first you are going to see. Am I correct? You're going about it the right way and sounds that you've done your research, have set a budget and are securing financing prior to finding an airplane.

I'd only caution you on one thing: don't fall in love with the first airplane you see. That can prove to be a real dangerous mistake.

Approach it with the mindset of looking for reasons NOT to buy it and let IT speak to you as to why you should buy it.

It may very well be the right one, but don't be blinded by the love and excitment.

This starts to happen after you've seen a few airplanes.

Enjoy the excitment and good luck! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[Thunder669]

All good advice that I plan to use and greatly appreciate. I have looked at a few birds along the way and you are right, it is easy to fall in love with them all. This will be the first one since I have truely gotten into a position to make an offer And the first mooney. I will try to keep myself in check but I am sure it won't be easy as I have loved the looks and speed of mooneys since I can remember. I hope this works so here is the ad for the plane I am going to see tomorrow. Keep the good advice coming and most importantly HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL

http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/aircraft/Single+Engine+Piston/1977/Mooney/M20J+201/1747445.html

[TWinter]

Looks like a good looking Mooney. If that can be had within the budget you mentioned and it passes a PPI I would say you've done very well. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Marauder]

Looks like a nice J. My 1975 F had similar avionics. Make sure EVERYTHING is checked in the panel. You could easily drop thousands into getting it back working again.

The STEC 30 AP with altitude hold is a good AP and if you upgrade to GPS and a GPSS unit, it will fly it well.

[Wakeup]

Looks nice and the interior is an easy fix. All the plastic comes off pretty easy and new paint does wonders. Good luck and keep us posted. Troy

[moodychief]

The ad says no exterior damage however it was involved in an accident in 1989 where it collided with a runway sign during a loss of control during a botched touch and go. During PPI, make sure the logs are checked for proper repair of wing.

[Marauder]

When you are looking at planes, use this website to check the history:

http://www.aviationdb.com/Aviation/AircraftQuery.shtm

[Thunder669]

He did mention that incident when I talked to him on the phone. Said the logs said it was classified as minor damage and had been properly repaired and said there is a sign off and inspection from an FAA repair facility. It is something I will make sure is checked during a pre buy if everything else is good. Talking to him on phone sounded very forthcoming with info and I look forward to seeing the plane and meeting the owner. Thanks for the heads up on the info and keep it coming guys!!!

[Browncbr1]

This is my first post after months of trolling and learning before working a deal on an F model. I wanted to chime in on this one because I too called on this J. I recall them asking 65k, but he sounded weak when is told me the price and he confirmed they have wiggle room on the price. Not sure how much that is though. . I did not see this plane in person, because I finally decided that I wanted an only F with Johnson bar and hydro flaps after hearing of one guy paying over 9k to repair the gear transmission and another guy having problems with flap relays. I am a believer that simplicity = safety. ...., that and saving about $20k in purchase price together with resulting lower tax and insurance. For me, the J would have only provided about 15minutes shorter time enroute on my primary mission.

All that said, this one as on my short short list of J models. Keep in mind that congress COULD retroact 2014 bonus depreciation if you are able to put under your business. I wasn't banking on it though. Good luck! I hope you are happy with whatever you end up with!

[Hank]

One thing to remember about Mooneys: there us no gear transmission. There is an electric motor that moves the cut-off Johnson bar and pushes all three wheels up and down together. Pipers and Cessnas have gear transmissions . . .

[Browncbr1]

Thanks hank, then I must have misunderstood or he misspoke. I do know that it was the fast actuator motor that he had to replace and he claimed the cost was $9k. In any case, I trust my arm more than electrical components.

[TTaylor]

Not to hijack the subject. As an owner of an F and hoping to make it as close to a J someday as possible either ships would be a great plane in the long run. I just wanted to add that from a financial standpoint it is always helpful to ask if partnership might be helpful way to afford the plane and help with upgrades over time. A partnership is not for everyone but you can have up to five partners in a plane without being considered a club and therefore the insurance stays reasonable. I think a plane should fly at least 100 hours per year to keep all the systems functioning well. Having a partner or two can more fully utilize a plane and reduce the capital investment and operating costs.

[Thunder669]

Well he definitely made it hard to not fall in love taking for my first ever mooney flight. Wow compared to the cherokee 140/160 I fly this thing is a rocket ship. We did discuss price a bit and I feel he isn't to far off on price based on condition. I will be talking with the bank more next week. Then I will be getting a prebuy done and we will see where it goes from there. Once I see what the mechanics say I'll be able to make a better informed decision

[Thunder669]

What a kick in the balls!!!!! After selling off all my toys and putting everything I had into this NAFCO didn't even call but emailed me to tell me they were going to deny because of some past credit issues from several years ago. Last 2-3 years I have had perfect credit and bought a house, but apparently that isn't enough so it looks like my dream of mooney ownership is back to just being a dream for quite a while longer

[bonal]

Real sorry to read about your set back, I don't know what your space requirements are and what your financial issues might be but for my budget a C is a great airplane. I think I would be able to get financing on a J but truth be told I would never want to go into debt for an airplane (the damn things have a way of making there own debt) as for equally priced Pipers and Cessnas my C will fly circles around them I get an honest 145 plus knots TAS at close to gross. Don't give up on your dream sir.

[TWinter]

Hate to hear that..but remember, not all financial institutions are created equal. If you have a local banking relationship it never hurts to check around. Sometimes locals are easier to deal with than the specialty financial institutions. Good luck.

[Dave Marten]

Thunder,

Great points by others on the vintage models. Don't overlook 'em, economical machines and most have been upgraded with capable avionics. Many can be had for about half the cost of a J/K. Ideal starter airplane. You can always upgrade in the future!

[Hank]

Try your local credit union. Several banks wouldn't make an airplane loan to buy out my partner, but the credit union didn't bat an eye.

[carusoam]

The banks I spoke with about financing my plane really wanted to help me out...

They asked if it was going to be for a Lear, Gulfstream or Hawker...

They didn't have Mooney on their list.

The amount I wanted to borrow was less than their 1MM minimum...

Bank of America (introduced by AOPA) at least spoke the language, but their interest rate was 6% or so...

Try that route before moving on...

After a year work on getting better financing.

Refinancing the house gets better interest rates than financing a plane.

You probably don't want to finance your plane using your house if there is a risk of losing the house.

What interest rate did you get for financing your house...?

Best regards,

-a-

[scottfromiowa]

Really sorry to hear this. Hang in there. It is a hurdle, not a wall. Keep your dream alive. Prices are just going to get better over next decade. I hope you live your dream of MOONEY ownership. Good luck!

[M20F]

Wings Financial if you qualify does airplane loans no issue and last I looked were at 4%, haven't seen a better deal anywhere and the absolutely know and do GA.