Jimmy Garrison of GMax American Aircraft (formerly All American Aircraft)

[CMMPilot]

First thing: This is NOT a paid endorsement.  I am compelled to write this post based on my personal experience as a first time Mooney Buyer/Owner and want to share that with other potential buyers.

Second: The Back Story. I started flying late in life, in my early 50's, and have fallen in love with it. My first purchase was a Cessna 172G that was rotting on our field in the same tie-down spot it had occupied for over a decade. We finally convinced the old codger to let it go, so it could see blue skies again. After a lot of money and time, it was in great shape again and I flew it 300 hours in just over 2 years. I loved that plane, but when it was time to upgrade I was faced with the BIG Question...what next? I watched a lot of videos and took all kinds of advice from dozens of people. Ultimately, it came down to a Cessna 182RG or a Mooney. For me, I preferred the Mooney, but was cautioned by a number of hardline Cessna boys about the slippery Mooney and small interior space. I had never flown in a Mooney and desperately wanted to try one on. Looking at Controller weekly I noticed a lot of Mooney's for sale listed at one location in Texas. I thought, why travel around the country to see one plane here and one plane there, when I can go to San Antonio and see several models at once. No intention to purchase yet, just wanted to see a few up close and maybe get a ride in one. 

Late last year, I contacted the broker/seller, Jimmy Garrison and made arrangements to stop by while visiting San Antonio with my Girlfriend. He said to stop by anytime and take a look. Very casual and not pushy at all. When I arrived, I looked around the hangar and told him I was interested in a J model. He had several and offered to take me for a ride. Exactly what I was hoping for! Located at a tiny little airport north of San Antonio, Kestrel had a short strip with a steep elevation differential from end to end. I thought, If you can land a Mooney here, you can land it most other places. He let me take to yoke and I was amazed by the tight controls. The difference between rods and cables was obvious and I was further convinced. The next phase was impressive. Without feeling pushed at all, he asked me about my mission. Not in those words, but that was the question. I told him I was based in Florida and wanted something to get me up and down the east coast relatively fast, to visit my girlfriend in Washington D.C. That's when he introduced me to the 231. The J model was a great plane but he said I might want to consider the K model. The turbo has a reputation for being expensive, but he said if you treat it right, keep it cool and let it cool down properly, it will give me years of service. He had a 231 that was a trade in. It was beautiful! Relatively new paint job, brand new leather interior, onboard oxygen, good avionics and lots of extras... the previous owner obviously loved this plane too. Only problem was it had recently been converted to a glass panel and that scared the S#!* out of me. We are talking a big jump from my 172 on at least 3 different levels. Going from Steam Gauges to Dual Aspen's with an Avidyne GPS was overwhelming. I even asked if we could put some steam gauges back in it for backup and he looked at me strange and said Why? Jimmy said I would learn to love it and he even agreed to install a G5 for me as a backup. I left that day, still thinking I wanted a J model, because it was in my price range and the 231 about 30K more than I wanted to spend. 

After a long road trip to Guadalupe Peak and back, my girlfriend and I discussed the pros/cons. The 231 was a lot more money, but also a lot more plane. I called Jimmy and said we had decided on the 231 and we discussed a few final details before signing a contract. I didn't ask him to discount his asking price, rather I asked him to take care of a few things I intended to do anyway, like replace the nav lights with strobes. He was very accommodating and easy to talk to. He helped us arrange financing, since we were going above our budget. We agreed to split the annual/per-buy and he took care of the resulting squawk list. No more money out of pocket. I appreciated not getting in the weeds. A true benefit of paying asking price, especially when it's fair market.

He arranged a CFI to do my type ratings and 10 hours for the insurance company. I flew to SAT and after 3 days at 1T7, I was ready to take her home, solo. Unfortunately, on the way to DC I lost the #5 cylinder they had replaced at the annual and landed safely at CHA (a Huge benefit of the EDM-900 but that's another post). I called Jimmy when I landed and told him what happened, he said not to worry and he would take care of it. I grabbed a commercial flight home, disappointed, but glad I didn't nuke the whole engine. J&J made good on the cylinder and I eventually I made it home to Florida. Since that time I have flown over 200 hours in my Mooney. Several trips to KVKX in Maryland (inside the Freeze!) and even my first trip to Oshkosh last summer. I love the plane and just finished the first Annual since my purchase. During the first few months of ownership, I had a few issues that popped up and suffice to say, Jimmy Garrison made it right. He treated me fairly and was always willing to communicate. I never felt like he was "done" with me and had moved on to the next sale. So many brokers I hear about only care about you until you sign on the line, then they don't remember your name. I always trusted Jimmy to do the right thing, even though he could've said it's your plane now, not my problem, good luck! The point is, he didn't. He stayed in contact and followed through on his promise and that's hard to find these days, so if you are ever in the market for a Mooney, I encourage you to give Jimmy Garrison a call. I know I will the next time I'm ready to upgrade.

Chris

N231JY

[carusoam]

Chris,

Nice pirep for Jimmy!

Thanks for sharing it…

Just one inaccuracy… early 50s is NOT late in life…

You are only at the halfway mark….

Life is short, fly fast… (just not that short)

 

Best regards,

-a-

[jaylw314]

33 minutes ago, CMMPilot said:

For me, I preferred the Mooney, but was cautioned by a number of hardline Cessna boys about the slippery Mooney and small interior space. I had never flown in a Mooney and desperately wanted to try one on.

LOL, that reminded me of landing a couple weeks ago, I had a 172 landing in front of me with a student, and I wasn't in a hurry so I extended downwind for a 2 mile final.  When I turned final, I made a point of calling out a 2 mile final and added "you've got plenty of time".  When I looked up, I realized they were already off the runway at the first exit.  When I landed, I called them to thank them and said "I was trying not to rush you," the instructor responded that they were worried about getting in the way of faster traffic  

Anyways, yes, Jimmy and crew were my 3rd attempt at buying and it was amazing how much less of a headache it was!  I still keep an eye out for his e-mails to convince myself to move up to a M20K, but the J has been a solid performer.  Thanks @jgarrison!

[WaynePierce]

You and I are a lot alike, CMM. I started when I was in my early 50's after the first grand child was born and we were driving 12 hours back from that I said, "There's a faster way to do this..." I got my PPL and bought in to a 4 way partnership on a PA28C and put about 250 hours on it when I decided I needed to get my forever plane. My forever plane has, since I was a teenager, been a Mooney. I got on Jimmy's early list and saw a J I was interested in. I drove out to Kestrel and spent a miserable weather week there getting the plane annualed/prebuy with Jimmy's on airport A&P. Never did I feel pressured, I did have preapporval from a bank through AOPA so I new ahead of time there would be no issues with the purchase and escrow was through AOPA but the same company that Jimmy recommends.

Jimmy had some beautiful planes at the time as well, there were a couple of K's I was very interested in but I had already made up my mind that my mission would be just fine in a J.  Nice write up. I hope more people learn this lesson in Mooney purchasing in the future.

[CMMPilot]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

Chris,

Nice pirep for Jimmy!

Thanks for sharing it…

Just one inaccuracy… early 50s is NOT late in life…

You are only at the halfway mark….

Life is short, fly fast… (just not that short)

 

Best regards,

-a-

Not late in my life, but way too late to get started. Wish I had taken it up in my 20's. I probably would've ended up on a different career path.

[kris_adams]

Long story short...Jimmy is awesome!

[201Mooniac]

Never bought or sold a plane with Jimmy but I've had several interactions with him over the years and I would definitely go to him with anything Mooney purchase/sale related.  He is definitely a first class act.

[CMMPilot]

1 hour ago, Kris_Adams said:

Long story short...Jimmy is awesome!

True, but I thought the long version might be more interesting...

[DonMuncy]

My experience has many similarities to yours. I bought my 231 from Jimmy (and David at that time.) Now years later, I consider Jimmy a friend, as well as the most knowledgeable Mooney value person anywhere.

[ziggysanchez]

@CMMPilot, great post! I purchased N231JY from Don Maxwell in 2016. It was my first Mooney as well. I came out of a Cirrus SR22. The Mooney was going to be a temporary airplane for me. I was going to fly it for a year and then purchase another Cirrus. After flying 231JY for a couple months I didn't think I could bring myself to ever purchase another Cirrus. I totally fell in love with the Mooney. I have flown that plane from Oklahoma to Washington State to Maine and many places in between. By the time I traded it in 2020 for the Eagle that I now own I believe I had put approximately 1000 hours on it. It was nice reading that you are enjoying owning and flying 231JY as much as I did. I really did love that airplane.

[elimansour]

I bought my Mooney from Jimmy and it was a great experience.  Jimmy is very knowledgeable and a great resource.  I would strongly recommend him to anyone thinking about buying or selling a Mooney.

[CMMPilot]

15 hours ago, ziggysanchez said:

@CMMPilot, great post! I purchased N231JY from Don Maxwell in 2016.

Ziggy,

 

Was hoping you might see this. All I can say is thanks for doing such a nice job on the interior and panel. I found the panel upgrade detail that you posted and it was awesome to be able to see.  Rest assured that she will receive the same love under my watch. 

Chris

[Maxx]

Jimmy Garrison at Kestrel Airport was courteous, honest (to a fault) and went far beyond expectations on my purchase.  He made sure the transactions were fair (would not accept above asking price and got most of my pre-buy items taken care of by Seller, set up the Escrow, closing and most everything else).  Also set us up with one of the best flight instructors Bob Cabe, who works for him, for transition training. Both are good, down to earth, Mooney-lovin' Texans to a fault.

[carusoam]

Speaking of great pireps…

+1 for Bob Cabe…

It’s been 12 years since Bob did my TT in the O….

David (retired now) did the selling… (I spoke with David 22years ago… he brought me up to speed on M20Cs… said he would see me again for the next plane… he was right.)

Don did the PPI…

Bob did the TT…

Jimmy managed a tight team to perfection… 

 

David gave me all the insight I needed… explained how his customers had a tendency to drop the ball on one particular task… and nicely put the ball back in my hands when I saw him again a couple of weeks later…. 

A good lesson in aviation distraction… there is an important pink piece of paper that you get from the FAA… put it in your travel kit the moment you receive it…

For some reason… people forget to bring this thing along…

Best regards,

-a-

[CMMPilot]

On 4/16/2022 at 5:56 PM, carusoam said:

Speaking of great pireps…

+1 for Bob Cabe…

It’s been 12 years since Bob did my TT in the O….

David (retired now) did the selling… (I spoke with David 22years ago… he brought me up to speed on M20Cs… said he would see me again for the next plane… he was right.)

Don did the PPI…

Bob did the TT…

Jimmy managed a tight team to perfection… 

 

David gave me all the insight I needed… explained how his customers had a tendency to drop the ball on one particular task… and nicely put the ball back in my hands when I saw him again a couple of weeks later…. 

A good lesson in aviation distraction… there is an important pink piece of paper that you get from the FAA… put it in your travel kit the moment you receive it…

For some reason… people forget to bring this thing along…

Best regards,

-a-

I was lucky enough to have Bob Cabe give me my training in my new Mooney. 10 hours abound San Antonio and the best BBQ I've ever had! Great CFI and Wonderful Human Being!

 

Bob Cabe & Chris

[N9170R]

I have known Jimmy for years, and bought and sold several aircraft through All American and GMAX.   He is one of the most honest and reasonable people I know - not just a great broker but a great person and friend.

[M20F]

Jimmy carried through on a hand shake deal that cost him money.  I always put in a plug for him. 

[gabez]

On 4/12/2022 at 12:32 PM, CMMPilot said:

First thing: This is NOT a paid endorsement.  I am compelled to write this post based on my personal experience as a first time Mooney Buyer/Owner and want to share that with other potential buyers.

Second: The Back Story. I started flying late in life, in my early 50's, and have fallen in love with it. My first purchase was a Cessna 172G that was rotting on our field in the same tie-down spot it had occupied for over a decade. We finally convinced the old codger to let it go, so it could see blue skies again. After a lot of money and time, it was in great shape again and I flew it 300 hours in just over 2 years. I loved that plane, but when it was time to upgrade I was faced with the BIG Question...what next? I watched a lot of videos and took all kinds of advice from dozens of people. Ultimately, it came down to a Cessna 182RG or a Mooney. For me, I preferred the Mooney, but was cautioned by a number of hardline Cessna boys about the slippery Mooney and small interior space. I had never flown in a Mooney and desperately wanted to try one on. Looking at Controller weekly I noticed a lot of Mooney's for sale listed at one location in Texas. I thought, why travel around the country to see one plane here and one plane there, when I can go to San Antonio and see several models at once. No intention to purchase yet, just wanted to see a few up close and maybe get a ride in one. 

Late last year, I contacted the broker/seller, Jimmy Garrison and made arrangements to stop by while visiting San Antonio with my Girlfriend. He said to stop by anytime and take a look. Very casual and not pushy at all. When I arrived, I looked around the hangar and told him I was interested in a J model. He had several and offered to take me for a ride. Exactly what I was hoping for! Located at a tiny little airport north of San Antonio, Kestrel had a short strip with a steep elevation differential from end to end. I thought, If you can land a Mooney here, you can land it most other places. He let me take to yoke and I was amazed by the tight controls. The difference between rods and cables was obvious and I was further convinced. The next phase was impressive. Without feeling pushed at all, he asked me about my mission. Not in those words, but that was the question. I told him I was based in Florida and wanted something to get me up and down the east coast relatively fast, to visit my girlfriend in Washington D.C. That's when he introduced me to the 231. The J model was a great plane but he said I might want to consider the K model. The turbo has a reputation for being expensive, but he said if you treat it right, keep it cool and let it cool down properly, it will give me years of service. He had a 231 that was a trade in. It was beautiful! Relatively new paint job, brand new leather interior, onboard oxygen, good avionics and lots of extras... the previous owner obviously loved this plane too. Only problem was it had recently been converted to a glass panel and that scared the S#!* out of me. We are talking a big jump from my 172 on at least 3 different levels. Going from Steam Gauges to Dual Aspen's with an Avidyne GPS was overwhelming. I even asked if we could put some steam gauges back in it for backup and he looked at me strange and said Why? Jimmy said I would learn to love it and he even agreed to install a G5 for me as a backup. I left that day, still thinking I wanted a J model, because it was in my price range and the 231 about 30K more than I wanted to spend. 

After a long road trip to Guadalupe Peak and back, my girlfriend and I discussed the pros/cons. The 231 was a lot more money, but also a lot more plane. I called Jimmy and said we had decided on the 231 and we discussed a few final details before signing a contract. I didn't ask him to discount his asking price, rather I asked him to take care of a few things I intended to do anyway, like replace the nav lights with strobes. He was very accommodating and easy to talk to. He helped us arrange financing, since we were going above our budget. We agreed to split the annual/per-buy and he took care of the resulting squawk list. No more money out of pocket. I appreciated not getting in the weeds. A true benefit of paying asking price, especially when it's fair market.

He arranged a CFI to do my type ratings and 10 hours for the insurance company. I flew to SAT and after 3 days at 1T7, I was ready to take her home, solo. Unfortunately, on the way to DC I lost the #5 cylinder they had replaced at the annual and landed safely at CHA (a Huge benefit of the EDM-900 but that's another post). I called Jimmy when I landed and told him what happened, he said not to worry and he would take care of it. I grabbed a commercial flight home, disappointed, but glad I didn't nuke the whole engine. J&J made good on the cylinder and I eventually I made it home to Florida. Since that time I have flown over 200 hours in my Mooney. Several trips to KVKX in Maryland (inside the Freeze!) and even my first trip to Oshkosh last summer. I love the plane and just finished the first Annual since my purchase. During the first few months of ownership, I had a few issues that popped up and suffice to say, Jimmy Garrison made it right. He treated me fairly and was always willing to communicate. I never felt like he was "done" with me and had moved on to the next sale. So many brokers I hear about only care about you until you sign on the line, then they don't remember your name. I always trusted Jimmy to do the right thing, even though he could've said it's your plane now, not my problem, good luck! The point is, he didn't. He stayed in contact and followed through on his promise and that's hard to find these days, so if you are ever in the market for a Mooney, I encourage you to give Jimmy Garrison a call. I know I will the next time I'm ready to upgrade.

Chris

N231JY

I too purchased my mooney through Jimmy. 1 year later I had a problem with a part that we replaced during the pre-buy and the shop made it right. Awesome guy, Awesome plane. 

[SuperSmash]

+1 to Jimmy. Just bought a Bravo through him and could not have been happier with his assistance through the process and prebuy.

[Danb]

Agree Jimmy is top rate, he sold my Bravo this year without a hitch. I purchased my Acclaim through Richard I also can’t say enough good things about him either. We’re lucky to have two great ambassadors buying/selling our planes for us. Very lucky.

[jlunseth]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:17 PM, CMMPilot said:

Not late in my life, but way too late to get started. Wish I had taken it up in my 20's. I probably would've ended up on a different career path.

Uh, yeah. I was 59. Last night I was at a gathering of the Minnesota Wing of Angel Flight Central and got to sit and talk with our all time record holder, Gordon Lewis, who flew 384 missions for AFC before retiring from flying. He got his license at 65. The other fella at the table got his license at 60 and has over 100 missions. Ain’t ever too late.

PS I should have finished the thought. Between the three of us old farts who learned late in life, we have flown 587 missions for AFC and counting, plus many for other organizations. We have each been recognized as Pilot of the Year for AFC and have one national award coming up. We are very proud to fly with all of the other pilots of Angel Flight Central, we try our best to set a good example.

Edited June 26, 2023 by jlunseth

[CMMPilot]

I’ve seen several posts recently about buying and selling. Jimmy produced a very comprehensive guide to buying Mooney Aircraft that I think anyone who is considering buying OR selling should read. I’ll try to find a link.