Mooney Price Ranges

[PTK]

An airplane broker does not have your best interest in mind. They're much like used car salesmen. You don't need a middleman to find an excellent airplane.

Speaking with very knowledgeable MSC's around the country is much more valuable and useful IMO. Honest Mooney experts such as Ronnie Kramer at Dugosh for example can be of great assistance and a learning experience. Folks like these often know of Mooney's they service that may be for sale and can put you in contact with seller directly. Also utilize AOPA's services. They're an excellent resource.

[Donmoss]

An airplane broker does not have your best interest in mind. They're much like used car salesmen. You don't need a middleman to find an excellent airplane.

Speaking with very knowledgeable MSC's around the country is much more valuable and useful IMO. Honest Mooney experts such as Ronnie Kramer at Dugosh for example can be of great assistance and a learning experience. Folks like these often know of Mooney's they service that may be for sale and can put you in contact with seller directly. Also utilize AOPA's services. They're an excellent resource.

You are painting with a pretty broad brush. I assume you are talking about the guys who just look for a plane for you for a fee. Even then, I suspect there are some good ones and some bad ones.

When you say they don't have your best interest in mind, I assume you mean they only want to make money with no regard for what they are locating for you. Could we say the same about dentists; they only want to sell you dental work for money.

I would suggest a potential buyer go with the people recommended on this site as being honest and knowledgeable. Like All American Aircraft.

[PTK]

Brokers don't work for and don't represent the buyer. As such their priority is not the buyer's interests. Much like the used car salesmen example. This doesn't mean that all used car salesmen or brokers are dishonest. It's just best and simpler to deal directly with the seller. That's my opinion and the point I was making.

I agree a potential buyer go with the people recommended on this site as being honest and knowledgeable. I'm simply suggesting that the expertise an honest MSC has to offer is, imo, invaluable and their opinion objective. A lot more objective and therefore, valuable to a buyer, than a broker's opinion. From personal experience I recommend Dugosh. Mr. Kramer and his team are the epitome of honesty and expertise in a MSC. Up here we are blessed to have Dorn at Weber and Dave at AirMods. Equally excellent and honest Mooney experts.There are others around the country. MSCs see a lot of Mooneys and know the owners' (sellers') philosophy and habits towards maintenance. This is extremely valuable info regarding a plane that may be coming up for sale.

[Bennett]

Over the decades I have bought aircraft from dealers and individuals, and as talked about above, I chose to retain my own representative to aid me for my most recent purchase. In this case Craig, a very successful aviation broker on his own right, also acts on behalf of aircraft seekers- for domestic and overseas buyers. His work is not just looking through ads; he networks with dealers all over the country, as well as chasing individual ads. We spoke almost every day for more than three months culling through available aircraft, and his no bullshit approach and questioning eliminated most potential candidates. There is nothing like a selling broker to see through the exaggeration and misrepresentations that are out there. Like all things, let the buyer beware. Now there are some very good Mooney specialist selling brokers, and certainly AA comes to the top of the list as they only sell top of the line aircraft. I think that if you roll the dice and act for yourself (as I have for more than a few airplanes) understand that you are assuming a considerable capital risk, and that an impartial inspection or examination of the aircraft and logs by a truly knowledgable shop is imperative to your financial well being. There are really good shops (MSCs) in CA and TX that can guide you. There is a saying in the boating world: The best money you will ever spend in your life is for a purchase survey for a boat you decide not to buy. Been there and done that, and it is just as true for aircraft.

[Bill_Carter]

I think I am hearing some good advice here. In reading all of this, it occured to me: I don't know how to buy an airplane. I understand two things: I need money to do it, and I need a really good pre-inspection. Other than that, I must claim ignorance. I have learned more in the last few days scouring this sight than I have in all my experience in being around aircraft.

I was always on the student pilot side of things and not the ownership side. My father owned a couple planes when I was a teenager, but I was never involved in the processes of owning a plane. Renting is easy. Get some insurance, get checked out, go fly, pay money, rinse and repeat!

Bill

[PapaPapa]

Good post Scott. Obviously I have more homework to do. And as far as the ride offer is concerned, home is in Indiana, but work has taken me to Europe for a few years, hence my out of tolerance condition. I can get an FAA physical, but I haven't found an "N" tailed airplane to fly here and getting a JAR CAA is not worth the expense to me, let alone the ridiculous prices to rent. A Piper Tomahawk is 117 Euros and hour and the instructor is another 60. That is about $230.00 US currency!

However, I can stay as current as possible with books and videos along with online resources. Once I get back to the good 'ol USA then I can begin a serious quest for a nice Mooney. Until then, I will continue to keep all the book type stuff fresh in my mind and learn more about the airframe I wish to own.

For those who are not familiar with the JAR CAA, there are 7 written tests to pass vs. our one for a PPL. I have studied some for it, but they are several hundred Euro each to sit the test.

Bill

Hi Bill,

 

a little off topic but wanted to revise a few things you said regarding JAA/EASA.

 

- regarding prices to fly, unfortunately prices will be arounf what you mentioned. A good deal of it comes from very high prices for AVGAS (2 EUR/liter that is about 9.8 USD/US gal)

- regarding staying current, you should be able to find an N-reg aircraft and instructor wihtout too much trouble. A number of schools across europe are specialized in providing traingin to get FAA licenses on N-reg aircrafts for european pilots (mainly due to the complexity or IR in europe's licensing)

- regarding converting to a JAA/EASA license : PPL has one theoretical exam, CPL has 13 theoretical exams, IR has 7 and ATPL has 14.

So a PPL VFR conversion should be fairly easy. IR or CPL are another matter, at least for now (EASA rules are being heavily lobbied by europes AOPAs to hopefully achieve something closer to FAA exams.)

 

Pierre

[rbridges]

+1 on a call to All American Aircraft. They can give you good current info on the Mooney market.

Ray

 

I think he also publishes a mooney price guide, too.  It's a good measuring stick and shows all the modifications to the base price of the plane.  

[Bill_Carter]

Hi Bill,

 

a little off topic but wanted to revise a few things you said regarding JAA/EASA.

 

- regarding prices to fly, unfortunately prices will be arounf what you mentioned. A good deal of it comes from very high prices for AVGAS (2 EUR/liter that is about 9.8 USD/US gal)

- regarding staying current, you should be able to find an N-reg aircraft and instructor wihtout too much trouble. A number of schools across europe are specialized in providing traingin to get FAA licenses on N-reg aircrafts for european pilots (mainly due to the complexity or IR in europe's licensing)

- regarding converting to a JAA/EASA license : PPL has one theoretical exam, CPL has 13 theoretical exams, IR has 7 and ATPL has 14.

So a PPL VFR conversion should be fairly easy. IR or CPL are another matter, at least for now (EASA rules are being heavily lobbied by europes AOPAs to hopefully achieve something closer to FAA exams.)

 

Pierre

Pierre - Bonjour! merci beaucoup for the reply to this. I tried to lookup the new conversion rules to EASA, but I must admit they are confusing at best. From what I have read I cannot, frankly, figure out exactly what the requirements are to convert a FAA to EASA. IACO what a bit more clear on this. I am your neighbor in Belgique so perhaps where I am could be a little different than Lux?? I don't know, but I would be curious to find out.

au revoir!

Bill