Sacramento/Norcal pre-purchase inspection

[rbmaze]

Greetings! I am working through the purchase of an M20E and I am looking for a shop within about an hour flight of Sacramento to do PPI and possibly an annual as well.

I have done a lot of reading and it seems LASAR would have been the place to go if they were still in California. Top Gun also seems like an obvious choice for an annual, but it sounds like they do not do PPIs and that wait times can be long. Is this still true in 2024?

Any recommendations are appreciated!

 

[shawnd]

You may want to give these guys a try: https://absolute-aero.com. Ask for Brandon and tell him Shawn from Arlington, WA says hi :-) Brandon is on Savvy and regularly answers my Mooney questions to my satisfaction. My brother, in the Bay Area, also works with him for his aircraft. All-round straight shooter.

[rbmaze]

Thanks for the referral! The airplane will be based in the Bay Area if all checks out, so it would be helpful to start working with a local mechanic. This could be a great option.

How do you like working with Savvy? This is my first experience with ownership so the proposition sounds interesting. I did use their free log review but I felt it did not reveal much beyond what I learned myself.

[shawnd]

I used the Savvy MX plan for the first two years after my initial purchase, but I realized that I typically don't have issues talking to shops and coordinating repairs and annuals myself. I got lucky with good shops within a stone's football throw of KTTD. So, I switched down to Savvy Q&A and have been a happy customer since. The breakdown assistance program is like having a good friend you can call on when the need arises. For those who do not want to or don't have the time to tackle MX themselves, Savvy MX is a great option, though there are limitations, so check with them on what's not covered or what costs extra.

Having said that, I think this forum is a great platform, and I can't begin to count the innumerable ways it has helped me in the past four years. I plan on attending MooneyMax two weeks from now and buying them a beer or two!

[shawnd]

Also, welcome aboard! 

[201Mooniac]

I would definitely recommend calling Mark Rouch at Top Gun (209-983-8082) and see if he can do it.  Top Gun is the best choice for any Mooney maintenance in the NorCal area. 

Regarding Savvy, I use them as well and recently worked with Brandon to resolve an issue when I was AOG at KUKI.  He was very helpful and followed up to make sure everything was resolved properly.  Great service.

[M Terry]

Airframe company at Watts-Woodland Airport. They do my annuals and repairs. Andy is a Mooney expert and enthusiast.

https://www.airframe.company/services

 

[rbmaze]

5 hours ago, 201Mooniac said:

I would definitely recommend calling Mark Rouch at Top Gun (209-983-8082) and see if he can do it.  Top Gun is the best choice for any Mooney maintenance in the NorCal area. 

Regarding Savvy, I use them as well and recently worked with Brandon to resolve an issue when I was AOG at KUKI.  He was very helpful and followed up to make sure everything was resolved properly.  Great service.

I will give Mark a call and see what their availability is.

Does Top Gun agree to work with Savvy’s process and do you find Savvy still adds value in this case?

[rbmaze]

5 hours ago, M Terry said:

Airframe company at Watts-Woodland Airport. They do my annuals and repairs. Andy is a Mooney expert and enthusiast.

https://www.airframe.company/services

 

Andy has performed the last few annuals on this plane actually. Good to see his name pop up and may be a good resource in the future. For now, I will seek an impartial party for my prebuy.

Thanks for sharing!

[rbmaze]

7 hours ago, shawnd said:

I used the Savvy MX plan for the first two years after my initial purchase, but I realized that I typically don't have issues talking to shops and coordinating repairs and annuals myself. I got lucky with good shops within a stone's football throw of KTTD. So, I switched down to Savvy Q&A and have been a happy customer since. The breakdown assistance program is like having a good friend you can call on when the need arises. For those who do not want to or don't have the time to tackle MX themselves, Savvy MX is a great option, though there are limitations, so check with them on what's not covered or what costs extra.

Having said that, I think this forum is a great platform, and I can't begin to count the innumerable ways it has helped me in the past four years. I plan on attending MooneyMax two weeks from now and buying them a beer or two!

Thanks for the overview of your experience. I think with time I will be able manage the coordination of maintenance myself.

At this point I am very interested in getting an additional opinion from Savvy on any analysis or data that comes up in the PPI. E.g. boroscope images.

Also, thanks for the welcome! Very excited to be here with something to post and questions to ask. I have been interested in Mooneys for years and casually reading this forum for a while. Seems to be a treasure trove of information.

 

[201Mooniac]

9 hours ago, rbmaze said:

Does Top Gun agree to work with Savvy’s process and do you find Savvy still adds value in this case?

I use Savvy when I'm away from home.  With Mark I don't feel they add any real value.  I don't believe he works with them.