Mooney Pre Buy Recommendation in the San Antonio area

[rydeencarl@gmail.com]

Looking for a pre-buy recommendation in the San Antonio area other than Don Maxwell.  Maxwell has done the previous annuals on this aircraft.  Thanks.

[mike_elliott]

5 minutes ago, rydeencarl@gmail.com said:

Looking for a pre-buy recommendation in the San Antonio area other than Don Maxwell.  Maxwell has done the previous annuals on this aircraft.  Thanks.

SWTA

 

 

[Mcstealth]

All American just north of SA

Dugosh (what is their new name?) Kerrville 

SWTA San Marcos 

Edited July 18, 2018 by Mcstealth

[StevenL757]

2 hours ago, rydeencarl@gmail.com said:

Looking for a pre-buy recommendation in the San Antonio area other than Don Maxwell.  Maxwell has done the previous annuals on this aircraft.  Thanks.

What model(s) are you looking to purchase?  Depending on the answer, I can recommend someone close by.

Steve

[Vno]

Sam Bean at Gate One aviation did my prebuy. I was pleased with the job that was done.

Brian

[Jeev]

I had Lone Star Aero do my Pre buy / annual when I purchased my J.  It was 8 years ago but I was very happy with the service I received. 

[dlmorris]

I would suggest DuGosh in Kerrville across fro the factory. Dave Behrens owns it now. 

[rydeencarl@gmail.com]

M20M 

[jaylw314]

9 hours ago, rydeencarl@gmail.com said:

Looking for a pre-buy recommendation in the San Antonio area other than Don Maxwell.  Maxwell has done the previous annuals on this aircraft.  Thanks.

Hah!  When I saw the title, I thought, "well duh, how about Don Maxwell?"

+1 on Dugosh.  I did mine there, and Dave Behrens spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me afterwards going through the squawk list.  They are somewhat pricier than others, but danged if I can remember off the top of my head.

Of course, then I went through the logs again and found out that Dave had installed the remanufactured engine 6 years previously, although he hadn't been doing the regular maintenance.  That was okay with me, but if you are intending on having a completely person looking at the plane out of principle, do double check the logs, since a Mooney in that area has probably been touched by either Don and Dave (or both) at some point in its life.

 

[gsxrpilot]

SWTA is now in Smithville... still about the best option for a pre-buy in central Texas.

Have you been on the phone to Don Maxwell to ask him about the plane. I'll wager a tank of gas that he'll be able to tell you more about that plane over the phone than another shop will discover in a pre-buy... and Don won't charge you for the phone call.

I'm not saying you don't need a pre-buy, but if you haven't had the conversation with Don, you'd be a fool not to call him.

[MBDiagMan]

Agreed!

[mike_elliott]

Don might be a bit out of pocket right now, but if you can wait until after OSH, he might be more accessible.

 

[nfonville]

Brian Kendrick was referred to me as a second set of eyes on my Bravo. He only works on long body Mooneys. Based at KHYI 830-370-1190. He was referred to me from two long term mooney instructors which I have known for 20+ years.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Southwest Texas Aviation at 84R

[LANCECASPER]

12 hours ago, Jeev said:

I had Lone Star Aero do my Pre buy / annual when I purchased my J.  It was 8 years ago but I was very happy with the service I received. 

The owner of Lone Star, Dennis, passed away a few years ago and they are no longer in business.

[LANCECASPER]

On 7/18/2018 at 6:27 AM, Mcstealth said:

All American just north of SA

Dugosh (what is their new name?) Kerrville 

SWTA San Marcos 

All American sells aircraft but doesn't have maintenance. Ron Fisher is good with Mooneys and he is on the same field as All American.

Ron's number is 210-240-3987.

 

Dugosh is back to being named as Dugosh again - another good choice.

[StevenL757]

1 hour ago, nfonville said:

Brian Kendrick was referred to me as a second set of eyes on my Bravo. He only works on long body Mooneys. Based at KHYI 830-370-1190. He was referred to me from two long term mooney instructors which I have known for 20+ years.

Agree absolutely.  He will offer an unbiased, honest assessment.  Not to impune the work of others mentioned here, I think your goal should get someone who can give a fresh perspective.  Brian was a former factory test pilot, FAA liaison, maintenance director, and wore several other hats while at the factory.  Over 7,000 hours in all models, but as nfonville said, he will only work on the TLS/Bravo, Ovation, and Acclaim platforms.

You won’t regret the decision.  Good luck.

Steve

[Txbyker]

37 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Agree absolutely.  He will offer an unbiased, honest assessment.  Not to impune the work of others mentioned here, I think your goal should get someone who can give a fresh perspective.  Brian was a former factory test pilot, FAA liaison, maintenance director, and wore several other hats while at the factory.  Over 7,000 hours in all models, but as nfonville said, he will only work on the TLS/Bravo, Ovation, and Acclaim platforms.

You won’t regret the decision.  Good luck.

Steve

I agree.  But he is busy for a couple of weeks ( my annual).

Russ

[Jeev]

1 hour ago, LANCECASPER said:

The owner of Lone Star, Dennis, passed away a few years ago and they are no longer in business.

Oh man, sorry to hear that I liked those guys.

[pwnel]

7 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

Southwest Texas Aviation at 84R

+1  

Had my 231 inspected by JD at SWTA in April. Very happy.

[MBDiagMan]

16 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

Don might be a bit out of pocket right now, but if you can wait until after OSH, he might be more accessible.

 

Wait a minute now!  Don’t put too much new work in Dons shop until he finishes transferring avionics from my C to the F I am buying from him!  I am anxious to take delivery.

Just joking, Don has a large shop with a crew of competent people.  I am sure that there is a lot of work getting done while He and Jan are at OSH.

If the OP can manage to get the plane to Don, he will get a really good prebuy.  That said, if I were in San Antonio looking for a prebuy, I would go to Dugosh on the field at Kerrville with all confidence.  It may not be called Dugosh any more, but Dave Barrons(sp?) is the main guy there and is extremely competent.  I bought my C from a guy who hangared in Kerrville for decades and Dave is in the logbook entries for the last several decades.  When other highly Mooney experienced guys put their eyes on her they give accolades.  That says a lot about Dave’s work.

Edited July 19, 2018 by MBDiagMan

[DakotaFlyer]

On 7/18/2018 at 9:49 PM, Txbyker said:

I agree.  But he is busy for a couple of weeks ( my annual).

Russ

And my pre-buy.  After speaking with a lot of different folks, for my first Mooney/airplane purchase, I’m confident in Brian’s capabilities and attention to detail.  That said, it’s not the cheapest pre-buy I was quoted, but I think that says something positive about his service.  I’ll report back with my experience once the deal is completed.

[MBDiagMan]

I tried Brian when I bought my C, but he was backed up for months.  If he can get you in, that’s great,  but if there is much of a delay Dugosh in Kerrville is very highly thought of.

BTW, my wife and I came to Dripping Springs for our granddaughters first birthday party.  The whole family is here for a four day blow out.  We all went to SeaWorld yesterday and I am sitting at my son in laws Moms house in Wimberly having coffee.  Enjoying life.