South Florida Pre-buy

[flyboy0681]

I'm looking for a recommendation of an A&P familiar with the M20J who is in the Fort Lauderdale area that can do a pre-buy inspection for me at the airport where the plane is hangared.

 

With any bit of luck, I'll be joining the Mooney ownership family shortly.

 

[Parker_Woodruff]

I don't know of the name of the entity, but there is one in Florida that everyone here says to avoid...

There is a good shop up in Georgia though...forget the name again...

[MooneyMitch]

DLK Aviation near Atlanta is first rate and honest.  You will not be disappointed by Dan.  Highly recommended!

[flyboy0681]

I appreciate the quick responses here but I'm looking for somebody local.

[flhelo]

There is a guy over in Labelle. Veron Conly. A few people here on the forum have recomended him. I haven't used him yet but probably will at next annual. His number is 239-872-9687.

Not sure what he charges for a pre-buy.

[fantom]

Be very careful down here, flyboy, and make sure whoever you use doesn't have a relationship or business tie with the plane owner. Their is a fair amount of liability exposure with a PPI, and too many out of work lawyers.

What airport is the plane at?

[flyboy0681]

Gary, I sent you an email message seeking your advice. Please reply to it.

[roundout]

Try Premier at FXE. 

[flyboy0681]

Thanks for the reply Roundout. Premier would be my first choice but that's the outfit that has been taking care of the plane for years, so I think it's best that I get the PPI done elsewhere.

[Piloto]

Premier at FXE does a very good job on Mooney maintenance but are not cheap. You can be assured the plane is in good shape, I know the crew there.

José

 

[Earl]

I had a pre-buy done in West Palm but will need to find the invoice at home with the guy who did it.  No surprises after the fact and he did a good job.  I'll look and send you the information tonight.

One suggestion for you to consider is to spend the extra money have a new annual inspection done.  That way any of the issues that are identified can be repaired and you can work out who pays for what with the owner.  The cost of the annual is not going to be that much more than a pre-buy (not including the repairs).

[flyboy0681]

EHSCOTT, when you had the PPI done in Palm Beach, was it by a Mooney expert?

[Earl]

He wasn't a Mooney MSC but he used to work for one and had several Mooneys under his care.  He seemed to know the plane very well and pointed out all the usual Mooney-specific issues like the fuel tank leaks (all minor and within tolerance), etc.

[roundout]

Premier does an excellent job. I used to work for them. I wouldn't feel uncomfortable having them do a prebuy or an annual even if they've been maintaining the plane to date.