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South Texas Pre-Purchase Inspectors...


Firebird2xc

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1 hour ago, Mcstealth said:

If you are at KSAT, then Kerrville is a no brgainier. 

If you mean Dugosh, they've been maintaining the airplane and politely declined due to conflict of interest.

Is there another place you recommend?

 

 

 

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37 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

If you're looking for a Bravo, Ovation, or Acclaim, call Brian Kendrick at San Marcos (KHYI).  Eight Three Zero-370-One One Niner Zero.

Without a doubt...the best for an unvarnished, honest assessment.

 Nothing fancier than a J model, please...  anything else is unwarranted by my mission and my budget.

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Just now, gsxrpilot said:

You didn't like the shops already recommended?

I think they're all pretty great from the phone calls I made today.  The problem is availability.  SWTA is booked up and then unavailable until after 9/15, Dugosh has been maintaining this specific airplane and politely declined due to conflict of interest, and Don Maxwell hasn't returned my call yet.  

That only leaves Don up in KGGG, so I want to keep looking until I hear back.

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1 minute ago, Firebird2xc said:

I think they're all pretty great from the phone calls I made today.  The problem is availability.  SWTA is booked up and then unavailable until after 9/15, Dugosh has been maintaining this specific airplane and politely declined due to conflict of interest, and Don Maxwell hasn't returned my call yet.  

That only leaves Don up in KGGG, so I want to keep looking until I hear back.

Got it. Keep calling Don, he's not the best at calling back. But if you get a Maxwell pre-buy, it's worth at least twice whatever it took to get it done. 

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Just now, gsxrpilot said:

Got it. Keep calling Don, he's not the best at calling back. But if you get a Maxwell pre-buy, it's worth at least twice whatever it took to get it done. 

Good to know.  If that's the case, I'll hit him up again tomorrow.  Thank you.

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1 hour ago, LANCECASPER said:

If Dugosh is maintaining it you're probably looking at a good airplane!

+1.  I've not had dealings with Dugosh but they have a sterling reputation in this area. If they're on the same level of SWTA or Maxwell, I'd call them and ask about the plane.

If I'm ever buying a Mooney that Maxwell or SWTA has maintained, I'd probably save the money on the pre-buy and just ask them about the airplane. They are both straight shooters and wouldn't think of steering you wrong no matter what their relationship is with the owner. 

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3 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

If Dugosh is maintaining it you're probably looking at a good airplane!

I'm inclined to agree based on what I've seen and the conversation I had with them regarding the airplane.

2 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

+1.  I've not had dealings with Dugosh but they have a sterling reputation in this area. If they're on the same level of SWTA or Maxwell, I'd call them and ask about the plane.

If I'm ever buying a Mooney that Maxwell or SWTA has maintained, I'd probably save the money on the pre-buy and just ask them about the airplane. They are both straight shooters and wouldn't think of steering you wrong no matter what their relationship is with the owner. 

I already called Dugosh to ask about the airplane.  They were more than forthcoming and very helpful.  I understand that they're quite commendable.   I see your point on saving the money on the pre-buy, but it's something I'm going to understand.  It will help me as a first time owner to understand the aircraft and as a maintainer to know the upkeep it needs.  The annual is also nearly due so if possible I'm going to try to get that taken care of in the process.  I'm going to tack on a Corrosion X treatment, too.

 

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9 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

If Dugosh is maintaining it you're probably looking at a good airplane!

Roger that!  Joyce had been hangared at Kerrville and maintained/inspected by Dugosh for the last thirty years before I became the caretaker.  The PPI was done by a long time Mooney guy who told me before he did the inspection that he didn't reccommend the purchase of very many fifty year old airplanes.  Then after going through airplane gave it very high praises.

OP, since you have talked to the guys at Dugosh, did they tell you anything about the plane?

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8 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

+1.  I've not had dealings with Dugosh but they have a sterling reputation in this area. If they're on the same level of SWTA or Maxwell, I'd call them and ask about the plane.

If I'm ever buying a Mooney that Maxwell or SWTA has maintained, I'd probably save the money on the pre-buy and just ask them about the airplane. They are both straight shooters and wouldn't think of steering you wrong no matter what their relationship is with the owner. 

On the one hand I wish I had taken Dugosh telephone evaluation to heart and saved the PPI expense.  On the other hand, having a fresh pair of experienced eyes on the airplane was comforting.  David at Dugosh even recommended having a fresh set of eyes on it before purchase.

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So much can change in a year...

1) If you go with the PPI, you can tell yourself... 'I did what I could to protect my investment prior to purchase...'

2) If you skip the PPI, you can tell yourself... 'I saved X AMUs...'

3) Either way, you know the risks going in...

4) If the plane costs as much as your house... that is a lot of risk.

5) If the plane costs less than your daily driver... that is not a lot of risk.

6) If the plan goes south in the first year... what is Plan B...?

7) Plan B: Fix It, up to Y amus to make it right...

8) Plan C: Call Grimmy, the repo aviator

9) There is no right and wrong to this age old question.  There is only what's best for the individual that has to make these decisions for himself...

10) starting with a high quality plane, continuously used, and stored indoors has a better chance of being successful than a plane that is un-used, has a lesser known maintenance history, and has sat outside....

11) If the PPI goes as well as expected, you can turn it into an annual, and say 'I took the least risky approach and saved a bunch on my first annual...'  :)

This describes the approach I took for both plane purchases... 1) for a ratty old C, and 2) for a really nice, well kept O...

Lower cost, high risk and higher cost, low risk...

In the end, the PPI is there to defend your wallet from accidently picking up a financial beating.  If you spend 2amu on a PPI and it finds a 10amu problem, you are in luck... (sort of)  if you save 2amu, and find the 10 amu problem a year from now.... how does saving that 2amu sound?

How do you define your situation?

Best regards,

-a-

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12 hours ago, Firebird2xc said:

If you mean Dugosh, they've been maintaining the airplane and politely declined due to conflict of interest.

Is there another place you recommend?

 

 

 

Okay. got it.

Take it to San Marcos. They have turned that shop around and have had great reviews.

Okay, booked up I just read. Good luck. Wing it! No pre-buy! Buy and fly! have at it! :):):)

Just kidding. D-Max then. Get a hold of him.

DF

Edited by Mcstealth
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2 hours ago, MBDiagMan said:

Roger that!  Joyce had been hangared at Kerrville and maintained/inspected by Dugosh for the last thirty years before I became the caretaker.  The PPI was done by a long time Mooney guy who told me before he did the inspection that he didn't reccommend the purchase of very many fifty year old airplanes.  Then after going through airplane gave it very high praises.

OP, since you have talked to the guys at Dugosh, did they tell you anything about the plane?

They did tell me about the plane, yes.  Minus a thing or two that will be dealt with it's a solid bird.

I still want to see it with the panels off.  I'm not really open to negotiation on this one.

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40 minutes ago, Mcstealth said:

Okay. got it.

Take it to San Marcos. They have turned that shop around and have had great reviews.

Okay, booked up I just read. Good luck. Wing it! No pre-buy! Buy and fly! have at it! :):):)

Just kidding. D-Max then. Get a hold of him.

DF

By San Marcos I assume you mean Blue Sky?  Their reviews are too mixed-bag for me.  I'm not going there.

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1 hour ago, carusoam said:

So much can change in a year...

1) If you go with the PPI, you can tell yourself... 'I did what I could to protect my investment prior to purchase...'

2) If you skip the PPI, you can tell yourself... 'I saved X AMUs...'

3) Either way, you know the risks going in...

4) If the plane costs as much as your house... that is a lot of risk.

5) If the plane costs less than your daily driver... that is not a lot of risk.

6) If the plan goes south in the first year... what is Plan B...?

7) Plan B: Fix It, up to Y amus to make it right...

8) Plan C: Call Grimmy, the repo aviator

9) There is no right and wrong to this age old question.  There is only what's best for the individual that has to make these decisions for himself...

10) starting with a high quality plane, continuously used, and stored indoors has a better chance of being successful than a plane that is un-used, has a lesser known maintenance history, and has sat outside....

11) If the PPI goes as well as expected, you can turn it into an annual, and say 'I took the least risky approach and saved a bunch on my first annual...'  :)

This describes the approach I took for both plane purchases... 1) for a ratty old C, and 2) for a really nice, well kept O...

Lower cost, high risk and higher cost, low risk...

In the end, the PPI is there to defend your wallet from accidently picking up a financial beating.  If you spend 2amu on a PPI and it finds a 10amu problem, you are in luck... (sort of)  if you save 2amu, and find the 10 amu problem a year from now.... how does saving that 2amu sound?

How do you define your situation?

Best regards,

-a-

I agree with your logic.  I'm not skipping a PPI.  This airplane will be more than my daily but less than my house.  Either way, I'm not screwing around with it.

There are too many airplanes that die young because people neglect them.  Mine won't be one of them.

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