Purchase Question

[warrenehc]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has made a plane purchase with Jimmy Garrison down at Gmax. 
 

Please PM with thoughts and comment.

[DonMuncy]

I have. Jimmy is a straight shooter. If he says it, you can take it to the bank.

[spistora]

I purchased from Jimmy a little over a year ago.  It was my first aircraft purchase and I was very happy with his service.

[PT20J]

Yep, me too. Jimmy buys some of his inventory, but a lot is on consignment. Either way, it’s tricky because he gets paid by the seller, not the buyer. But Jimmy plays it straight for both parties because he understands that the aviation world is small and he wants the repeat business. That’s how he’s stayed in business for nearly thirty years. I would always do my homework, and realize that Jimmy will put the best face on everything he sells, but in my experience, he will honestly answer questions, provide you every opportunity to learn what you need to know, and not misrepresent.

Skip

[PaulM]

I bought my Bravo through Jimmy 7 years ago... Zero issues with the service. 

I was in San Antonio and looked over his current inventory, Nothing matched at the time, but he told me to check back in a week, there was a new plane coming in.    The bravo I was looking at in NY was withdrawn by the seller and the new plane matched what I needed. 

Edited January 1, 2021 by PaulM

[KLRDMD]

Yep, Jimmy's a great guy. I bought a 231 from him a few years ago and am currently looking at his M20K inventory.

Edited January 1, 2021 by KLRDMD

[milotron]

1 hour ago, KLRDMD said:

Yep, Jimmy's a great guy. I bought a 231 from him a few years ago and am currently looking at his M20K inventory.

Respectfully, didn't you just acquire the P337? Is this an addition or a replacement for it?  I am curious as to what drives your aircraft choices as you seem to go through them frequently.

 

iain

[MATTS875]

He sold my 201 about a month ago and was very pleased. Top notch service. I would highly recommend him. 

[carusoam]

I checked in with Jimmy’s partner, David, in the 90s... learned all about buying an M20C...

A decade later, I was looking for another Mooney... Back to visit with Jimmy again...

Bought an M20R...

Another decade has gone by...

It takes a certain quality of individual to keep being the best in the business for decades... 

Time flys at Mooney speeds...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[KLRDMD]

43 minutes ago, milotron said:

Respectfully, didn't you just acquire the P337? Is this an addition or a replacement for it?  I am curious as to what drives your aircraft choices as you seem to go through them frequently.

Yep, just got the P337 a few months ago. I never planned to keep it long term and a friend wants it so I'm selling it to him.

[Tx_Aggie]

9 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

Yep, just got the P337 a few months ago. I never planned to keep it long term and a friend wants it so I'm selling it to him.

Ha I followed some of your older posts a few years ago on your 231. I thought you sold your 231 for a bonanza recently? Nice idea to trying out several different models - why not?

[MooneyPoor]

I just bought my J through Jimmy. Only thing I've ever bought that I didn't actually touch it before I bought it. Yes, I did a prebuy and Jimmy got to fly it and report back any shakedown items he noticed and we were able to make the deal. Picked up the plane and flew it straight from San Antonio to NE Florida. 

[warrenehc]

Thank you all. So does Jimmy complete the pre-buys and reports back, or did you al have your own pre-buy machanic come in?

[ArtVandelay]

Thank you all. So does Jimmy complete the pre-buys and reports back, or did you al have your own pre-buy machanic come in?

Pick your own, and not someone who has been maintaining the plane.

[KLRDMD]

14 hours ago, Tx_Aggie said:

Ha I followed some of your older posts a few years ago on your 231. I thought you sold your 231 for a bonanza recently? Nice idea to trying out several different models - why not?

When I sold my 231 I bought my second Baron. The Bonanza was after the Baron.

[KLRDMD]

5 hours ago, warrenehc said:

Thank you all. So does Jimmy complete the pre-buys and reports back, or did you al have your own pre-buy machanic come in?

Not that I would necessarily recommend it for others but if Jimmy has the airplane listed and Maxwell has been maintaining it, I just write the check.

[Parker_Woodruff]

6 hours ago, warrenehc said:

Thank you all. So does Jimmy complete the pre-buys and reports back, or did you al have your own pre-buy machanic come in?

Southwest Texas Aviation or Don Maxwell only.

[ArtVandelay]

Not that I would necessarily recommend it for others but if Jimmy has the airplane listed and Maxwell has been maintaining it, I just write the check.

I wouldn’t, the owner may choose not to bring maintenance issues to his attention or choose to fix them.

[KLRDMD]

10 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

I wouldn’t, the owner may choose not to bring maintenance issues to his attention or choose to fix them.

Don will find any irregularities whether the owners tells him about them or not. He also provides a full list of discrepancies so any buyer can easily determine what was and was not addressed at the annual.

[kortopates]

1 hour ago, KLRDMD said:

Don will find any irregularities whether the owners tells him about them or not. He also provides a full list of discrepancies so any buyer can easily determine what was and was not addressed at the annual.

You can't be certain of that, his ability to find discrepancies will be dependent on how much time he spends looking at the aircraft and whether or not he flies it. As an example, an autopilot issue is likely not going to noticed without a test flight that exercises the autopilot. A leak in the O2 system would probably go unnoticed without filling the O2 system. Some areas of corrosion won't be found without removing every inspection plate and also looking under the rear seats, which isn't common on pre-buy. Many pre-buys will do the 208  SB for tubular corrosion but don't look every where else. And some areas just won't be caught by anyone, like corrosion in the fuel tank. Its very common for an owner to find things after purchasing no matter who did the pre-buy and how thorough, just hopefully they're not really big issues like some of the ones we've all read about here including spar corrosion.

Bottom line, a pre-purchase inspection is quite different from an annual inspection with very very different objectives and very likely to be looking at many things an annual would not. 

Edited January 1, 2021 by kortopates

[KLRDMD]

1 hour ago, kortopates said:

Bottom line, a pre-purchase inspection is quite different from an annual inspection with very very different objectives and very likely to be looking at many things an annual would not. 

No argument. But if Don did the last annual you can bet he found any airworthiness issues (all the seller is responsible for correcting in a sale anyway). I also believe Don flies every airplane so probably would have caught other discrepancies. There aren't a lot of shops that would find anything significant on a pre-buy if Don did the annual.

[gsxrpilot]

4 hours ago, kortopates said:

You can't be certain of that, his ability to find discrepancies will be dependent on how much time he spends looking at the aircraft and whether or not he flies it. As an example, an autopilot issue is likely not going to noticed without a test flight that exercises the autopilot. A leak in the O2 system would probably go unnoticed without filling the O2 system. Some areas of corrosion won't be found without removing every inspection plate and also looking under the rear seats, which isn't common on pre-buy. Many pre-buys will do the 208  SB for tubular corrosion but don't look every where else. And some areas just won't be caught by anyone, like corrosion in the fuel tank. Its very common for an owner to find things after purchasing no matter who did the pre-buy and how thorough, just hopefully they're not really big issues like some of the ones we've all read about here including spar corrosion.

Bottom line, a pre-purchase inspection is quite different from an annual inspection with very very different objectives and very likely to be looking at many things an annual would not. 

I'm in full agreement with the good Doctor, @KLRDMD. If Maxwell's name is in the last page or two of the log book or if he did the last annual or two, just call him on the phone. Don will talk to you for an hour or two and tell you everything he KNOWS about the plane and everything he DOESN'T know. He'll tell you if it was an annual or a pre-buy or just an oil change. He'll tell you if he flew the plane and tested the autopilot or not. In fact, he'll tell you a heap of stuff that you don't even know to ask about. He'll also tell you if his son Paul, or one of his guys did all the work and he, Don, didn't even look at it. 

The bottom line is that if Don tells you he checked it out thoroughly, flew it, (one of the few guys to still flies the Mooneys that come out of his shop) etc. and tells you it's a good Mooney, you can absolutely just write the check and move forward. Don is a straight arrow. If he knows, he'll tell you, and if he doesn't know, he'll tell you that as well. You don't even have to ask. Just get on the phone, say "Hi" and give him the N number. Then be ready to take good notes. You're gonna get an education!

And the same goes for JD at SWTA.

[carusoam]

12 hours ago, warrenehc said:

Thank you all. So does Jimmy complete the pre-buys and reports back, or did you al have your own pre-buy machanic come in?

general rule of buying machines...

1) You control the PPI...

2) The PPI is for the protection of your wallet...

3) The mechanic performing the PPI should be independent of its previous maintenance and ownership...

4) Jimmy and Don are in a class above all others... high ethics, high skill, high knowledge... trustworthy... with decades of proof...

5) Time  moves on... no matter how perfect the last annual was...

6) The PPI is your last chance to not accidentally buy an expensive problem...

7) Newer planes, stored indoors, with few owners, maintained by Don, and sold by Jimmy, have lower chances of problems than other planes...

8) If buying the perfect plane have the PPI focus on the expensive things that can go wrong... make sure they are in perfect condition...

9) If you short change the PPI in any way... anything that goes wrong, affects your wallet...

10) The PPI is like buying insurance... it isn’t perfect, it costs a lot, and takes time to get done...

PP thoughts about buying a machine without a warranty... 

Best regards,

-a-