Pre-purchase Inspection in Florida

[Heybluez]

Finalizing financing and all that to make an offer on a M20J. It is in Florida. I will need to do a pre-purchase inspection on it if moves forward. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!
MJP

[anthonydesmet]

I did my pre-buy at gulf coast aviation (actually in Alabama on the Alabama/Florida boarder, John Wimpie, last summer when i got my M20K 262.  I was pleased, he has mooney experience, very conservative and cautious, will keep you informed step by step and if you decide to keep moving forward he will turn the pre-buy into an annual so you can start off fresh.  There is also an avionics shop next door to him that can look into any avionics issues if they come up or an IFR cert. Also, if you need your CFI sign off before you head home I know a former Navy guy, CFI with a lot of Mooney time in all models in Pensacola.  He drove over and did my post flight inspection as well before I closed. He also brought the airplane back to Pensacola where he and I logged 8 hours in a weekend before I flew home.

 

If you need something more central there is also Florida Flight Maintenance in Venice, don't know too much about them other than they have mooney experience, do a lot of tank reseals and mooney annuals. Maybe someone here has used them.

[fantom]

Where in FL? A quick SEARCH will give you many recent recommendations.

Venice has a good avionics shop and some fine restaurants, but no more.

Good luck.

[David Mazer]

If you are in the Orlando area or can get reasonably get to KSFB, I've used Chris for some time with very good results.  He is now very familiar with Mooneys and always does the extra work to research any outstanding issues. I highly recommend him.  His website is:

 

http://www.ksfbamc.com

[Jeff_S]

If you're in the middle of the state and can get to Bartow (KBOW) then Aircraft Engineering would be a good choice. They did all the maintenance on my Mooney prior to my purchase, and Bill Turley will work with you well. They aren't a Mooney specialist but they are well rounded in all planes.  They are the shop that Dick Karl (of Flying Magazine fame, the surgeon-turned-pilot writer) uses for his Cheyenne.

[gjensen]

I am in Fort Pierce most of the winter and Bradley aviation works on my J model frequently. Allen, one of the mechanics, owns a J model and is quite knowledgeable

with Mooneys. They are very fair with pricing and good folks to deal with.  

[FloridaMan]

Bill Turley at Aircraft Engineering at KBOW, Mike at Double-M Aviation at KLAL or Phil with PJ Aircraft at KAVO would all be excellent choices and I suspect that any one of them would know exactly how and where to look for the major items such as corrosion, AD Research and powerplant inspection. I would trust any of their opinions for a prepurchase inspection. 

 

Mike seemed to effortlessly diagnose and fix an oil leak on my engine that the previous owner and I had been chasing for years. Phil specializes in Mooneys and will probably be the cheapest of the bunch. 

[Bravoman]

I did my pre-buy at gulf coast aviation (actually in Alabama on the Alabama/Florida boarder, John Wimpie, last summer when i got my M20K 262.  I was pleased, he has mooney experience, very conservative and cautious, will keep you informed step by step and if you decide to keep moving forward he will turn the pre-buy into an annual so you can start off fresh.  There is also an avionics shop next door to him that can look into any avionics issues if they come up or an IFR cert. Also, if you need your CFI sign off before you head home I know a former Navy guy, CFI with a lot of Mooney time in all models in Pensacola.  He drove over and did my post flight inspection as well before I closed. He also brought the airplane back to Pensacola where he and I logged 8 hours in a weekend before I flew home.

 

If you need something more central there is also Florida Flight Maintenance in Venice, don't know too much about them other than they have mooney experience, do a lot of tank reseals and mooney annuals. Maybe someone here has used them.

I used Fla Flight maintenence for pre purchase and annual in late 13. Dave Green, who had been on the field for years and was very knowledgable on mooneys ran the shop at that time and I understand he left shortly after I got my plane back. I think the place was in flux at the time because communication was very poor and it took over two months to get my plane done. To be fair though, one of the things they did was a complete strip and reveal of the tanks. I used this shop because of proximity to seller who was in ft Myers but had never used the shop so I figured they would be objective in their assessment. No complaints regarding quality of the work though.

[csarles]

David Green is still in Venice however he now works at Sarasota Avionics. SA is looking towards becoming a MSC very soon with David doing the work. David recently did some troubleshooting on my Bravo and I am very pleased. David is very thorough. Be careful though, a trip to SA and you might end up spending a lot more on all the dreamy panels they can install for you.

Good folks.

Curt

[philiplane]

I do a handful of pre-buys every year in South Florida, for people who are looking for high quality.  It's a tough market because most of the shops don't know what they are doing, and really don't care. Quite different from my former home in Connecticut/Massachusetts. South Florida is heavily influenced by the Caribbean "no worries" attitude, which does not work well in aviation. If the plane has spent many years here, be very careful.

[Heybluez]

Hello All,

Looks like I will be putting together a purchase agreement today! We agreed to price and financing has been approved. So closer now..

philiplane, assume you are the "Phil" being referenced by everyone? If so, I will call you later this week to discuss.

Thanks all! More soon...

~MJP

[Heybluez]

Ok, it's official, just signed Purchase Agreement this morning on a 201. Fingers crossed all goes well with PPI. Will keep you all updated.

 

Thanks for the recommendations!
~MJP

[fantom]

philiplane, assume you are the "Phil" being referenced by everyone? If so, I will call you later this week to discuss.

 

Hi MJP,

 

I believe your assumption above is incorrect. The Phil you've seen recommended by many here is Phil Jimenez at Avon Park, 863-873-9999. He is first class, and has owned and worked on Mooneys for probably 30 years. His handle here is pmj341, but he doesn't monitor the forum very often.

 

I'm not sure who Philiplane is, although he has a interesting bio, or who your using for your PPI, but best of luck with your purchase.