All of the following done with respect and if this is out of line I apologize in advance. Looking at Mooney's in the $160ish price range. Here are a couple I would look at ahead of yours just based on equipment vs. price:
http://www.controller.com/listingsd...-OVATION/1999-MOONEY-M20R-OVATION/1267667.htm
This statement in the ad raises red flags to me:
This airplane was marketed as a M20S Eagle. However, It was issued an M20R Airworthiness. This pristine Mooney is essentially an Ovation with an Eagle price.
It looks to me like it was an Eagle that was given "Screamin' Eagle" upgrade. (The Eagle is a long-body Mooney, same basic airframe as the Ovation, but only came with a 200hp engine. The Ovation, Bravo, and Acclaim are all 280hp.)
Also, the autopilot is only an STEC 30. (Altitude hold only, etc) The KFC 150 in the bird I'm selling is much more capable (preselect, fully coupled approaches, etc), and has a flight director.
It has no built-in oxygen system.
And it has higher time.
And it has at least one compression that's worrisomely low.
And it's due for annual next month.
And it says "See FAA 337 for History 8-9-2001". History - damage history, I think.
Recent paint job is a red to me, too. You don't just blow all the money to paint a plane and then sell it - Could be trying to cover something up. (I actually doubt this since they at least mention some of the other things, but it's worth being careful).
It says "430 WAAS" but there is no 430 in the panel picture - That's the same KLN 89B setup that's in the one I'm selling. That means that the pictures either aren't current or the airplane isn't as represented in the ad.
No engine monitor. No DME, no ADF.
It's a nice plane, no doubt, and appears to have some nice stuff. However, there's a much bigger difference between the two when you look beyond the model year, paint job and supposed 430W. I think that both airplanes, if the other one is as represented and the potential gotchas I noted above don't bite the new owner, are fairly priced.
That one is a lot closer in terms of equipment. In fact, the two are almost identical, with the following exceptions that I noted at first glance:
* It doesn't have the flight director. (This may not sound like much, but I didn't know what I was missing until I flew with it. SO nice!)
* It doesn't have prop de-ice.
* It appears to have the altitude-hold-only version of the autopilot - No preselect, vertical speed, or fully coupled approaches.
* It does have a KLN-94 instead of KLN-89B GPS.
* It does have air conditioning. I'm not too familiar with the system, but it says on a placard that the AC is for cruise flight only. What good is that? Taxi is when you need it the most, followed by climb/descent. Cruise up where the air is cool and you don't need it anyway, not to mention the impact on the useful load.
* It's slightly newer and has a few hundred less hours.
I think that plane is also fairly priced - The lower time and newness gives it an advantage, but the less-capable autopilot and a couple of other missing items are the downsides.
So again, I think all of the above are probably fairly priced airplanes. AC may be more important to some (though its limitation to cruise flight appears to severely limit its usefulness), while others may rather have the prop de-ice, engine preheater, flight director, etc.
Looks like you are close on price, but I wouldn't call it aggressively priced either. PLEASE no offense intended, it's just the lowly worthless internet opinion of one person. That said, I do know someone looking for this exact Mooney model I'll forward your link.
Please forward him to this thread too, so he doesn't dismiss it after a cursory glance.
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