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Prebuy Inspection Colorado


AlpenaMooney

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I am in the process of purchasing my first Mooney. A 1968 M20G that is based in Steamboat currently. I live in Michigan so I’m working on finding someone out there to do a prebuy inspection for me. I tried to do some searching in the forums for recommendations but I’m not finding much. Does anyone have any recommendations on who to use for the prebuy? The last annual was done by Brian Pickerell and that was his first time working on the plane so I’m tempted to contact him. Thoughts? 

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I've used Arapahoe Aero at KAPA (Denver, CO) - closest Mooney Service Center - for oil changes, and am scheduled for annual with them later this month.  I've also used Advanced Aerotech at KGXY (Greeley, CO) for avionics/oil change/fuel senders; one of the owners has a Mooney.  Another well known MSC is KNR / Kerry McIntyre at KEVW (Evanston, WY).  Not sure what the availability and time frame for any of these shops are.  I'd imagine all of these options are close enough to SBS that you could have them take aircraft there for prebuy.  Good luck!

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Use caution when accepting rides in a turbo’d Mooney….

It can make other Mooneys pale in comparison…. :)
 

Kerry M. Has an awesome website he has written quite a few articles on Mooney Maintenance…
 

The M20G is a fine aircraft…  

Go Turtle!  (Humor intended) :)

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

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Thanks for the info Arapahoe was a 6-8 week wait. I spoke to a guy with Mountain Aircraft Maintenance which is right at the airport in Steamboat and he said he could get to in a couple of weeks so I’m just going to go that route. Appreciate the help and hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be the newest Mooney owner. 

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9 minutes ago, AlpenaMooney said:

Why is that a bad idea?

Expect that was a mis-print…

Often Siri re-spells things without the writer being aware…

One sentence posts don’t leave enough context to know if there is an is, or an isn’t…. In there somewhere, changing the meaning…

 

Happens all the time…

Or… he could be joking about somebody else having a bad pre-buy experience recently…

Pre-purchase inspections are expensive and tough to execute at the same time…

It helps if you know what you are asking about…. More challenging if it’s your first plane purchase…

 

Hard to know what was meant there…  don’t put much weight on that, until the writer gets back to you…

Best regards,

-a-

 

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7 hours ago, philip_g said:

SBS is a very small community. There's zero chance the mechanic hasn't worked on the plane or knows the seller. Did you look at the logs and make sure he didn't do the last annual?

Hopefully you have some mountain experience. Even going east out of SBS requires you to go over rabbit ears and probably Rollins or Corona passes to get to the front range. You probably only have 180hp. It'll do it fine but does require planning ahead.

The plane has only been based at SBS for the last year and half and this shop hasn’t worked on it at all. The seller is one of those great aviation guys who wants to help in anyways he can and is actually willing to fly the plane back to Michigan with me if needed. We haven’t quite worked that plan out yet but he’s providing 10 hours of transition training. I’ve owned my cessna 150 for 4 years. It’s not a Mooney but I have experience with aircraft ownership. My A&P at my home field is also a Mooney owner so I’ve received some guidance there as well. 

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On 1/13/2022 at 9:48 AM, AlpenaMooney said:

I am in the process of purchasing my first Mooney. A 1968 M20G that is based in Steamboat currently. I live in Michigan so I’m working on finding someone out there to do a prebuy inspection for me. I tried to do some searching in the forums for recommendations but I’m not finding much. Does anyone have any recommendations on who to use for the prebuy? The last annual was done by Brian Pickerell and that was his first time working on the plane so I’m tempted to contact him. Thoughts? 

Greg at KBJC Mountain Air just did one for me last weekend.  He was great!

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Just a thought from a non-owner. Have you looked into Savvy Aviation? At least in some areas, they work with some local mechanics to use  their pre-buy techniques and checklists list of things to look for during both flight testing and inspection.

Edited by midlifeflyer
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Just a data point for the OP: I've known Brian Pickerell for about 20 years, and the seller of this aircraft for about 3 years (he's an enthusiastic aviationist, has gone from zero hours to CFII in that period, and has over 400 hours in this particular Mooney).  Both of them are personable, standup guys.  That doesn't mean either/both of them might not have missed something, and you should still get an intensive PPI on any airplane you buy.  But I promise you're not deliberately getting a lemon unloaded on you by shady characters.

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2 hours ago, Vance Harral said:

Just a data point for the OP: I've known Brian Pickerell for about 20 years, and the seller of this aircraft for about 3 years (he's an enthusiastic aviationist, has gone from zero hours to CFII in that period, and has over 400 hours in this particular Mooney).  Both of them are personable, standup guys.  That doesn't mean either/both of them might not have missed something, and you should still get an intensive PPI on any airplane you buy.  But I promise you're not deliberately getting a lemon unloaded on you by shady characters.

Thanks for the info Vance. I talked to Brian on the phone and he was helpful in talking about what he remembered from the last annual. The current owner has been extremely helpful and reasonable throughout the process and I am trying to make sure things are done in a timely manner. I just want a fresh set of eyes on it from a neutral party just for my own peace of mind. I have a feeling that I’m getting a very well maintained plane that I’m really going to enjoy. 

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8 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Just a thought from a non-owner. Have you looked into Savvy Aviation? At least in some areas, they work with some local mechanics to use  their pre-buy techniques and checklists list of things to look for during both flight testing and inspection.

I did send the logs over to Savvy for there initial overview, they said that with most shops being busy and understaffed it would likely be a 4-6 week wait. I thought pretty heavily about using them and decided to go forward using a shop I found on my own. Appreciate the suggestion though. 

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9 hours ago, robert38606 said:

Multiple people on here recommend him, plus I disagree completely, but whatever man.  I guess he can wait 6-8 weeks on Arapaho air while the plane he likes is sold out from under him.

Appreciate the input. It appears some people are going to be negative no matter what is said or suggested. I’m trying to keep a good positive attitude about this and focus on the positive responses on here from people like you. Can’t wait around forever for a prebuy or just like you said, the seller will go elsewhere. We’re not talking about $100,000 plane here, gotta be reasonable or the seller will find someone willing to forgo the prebuy completely. 

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49 minutes ago, philip_g said:

Last guy that "kept a positive attitude" and thought how bad could be was dream2fly. You can follow his adventures here.... Most people have good intentions. That only gets you so far.

So far your advice has been there’s only one shop worth going too, but if I use that shop I’ll lose the plane. I get they are the Mooney experts in the area, but I can’t wait 2 months. Any other suggestions of mechanics is appreciated but if that’s all you got, then any other input is kind of a waste. 

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4 minutes ago, AlpenaMooney said:

So far your advice has been there’s only one shop worth going too, but if I use that shop I’ll lose the plane. I get they are the Mooney experts in the area, but I can’t wait 2 months. Any other suggestions of mechanics is appreciated but if that’s all you got, then any other input is kind of a waste. 

Very true.  And, even if you go to "THE SHOP" better pray nothing comes up after you buy it...cause the experts here will blame you for not telling the shop what to look for:o

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22 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

Very true.  And, even if you go to "THE SHOP" better pray nothing comes up after you buy it...cause the experts here will blame you for not telling the shop what to look for:o

I did go read about dream to fly and that’s obviously was an awful scenario. But I agree completely. It’s very difficult to get a shop to take responsibility. Purchasing a plane is a risk no matter how intensive of a prebuy is done by any shop. For every awful experience like dream to fly had, there are many many good experiences. Also dream to fly appears to be fed up with entire system. He wants to be able to replace parts with non certified parts for his plane. I get his points but that’s just not how it works. 

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3 hours ago, AlpenaMooney said:

I did go read about dream to fly and that’s obviously was an awful scenario. But I agree completely. It’s very difficult to get a shop to take responsibility. Purchasing a plane is a risk no matter how intensive of a prebuy is done by any shop. For every awful experience like dream to fly had, there are many many good experiences. Also dream to fly appears to be fed up with entire system. He wants to be able to replace parts with non certified parts for his plane. I get his points but that’s just not how it works. 

At the end of the day, you will go with who is available in the timeline you have. I know people that swear by one shop or another, or swear at one shop or another. I lost a sale because one shop did such a thorough pre-buy (down to oil on a hose that was right below the oil filter - with no context) that it scared them off. If you worry less about the scary stories and get your hands dirty on your own plane, you can't help but be surprised how much better you will feel about whoever you choose. That being said Greg or Warren at KBJC will do a great job, they are small but very busy shops. They don't charge MSC prices and I know for a fact that one of them had four Mooney's in the shop when I went to ask about my brakes. Still, if you wait a week to decide it will take that much longer to get a pre-buy done but I would say NEVER do a pre-buy when you are no there to watch and get to know the plane.

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On 1/16/2022 at 12:07 PM, AlpenaMooney said:

Thanks Matt, if you’re able to reach out and get me a timeline on a prebuy that would be awesome.

I called on a Monday I think it was, and we did the prebuy with Greg on Friday.

Edit: and yeah, multiple Mooneys were in the shop

Edited by robert38606
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