Great reading all the posts and info available on this site!! After looking at the Piper Saratoga, I have switched my search to the NA A36. Love the looks (as does the wife) and the performance. I like the club seating also. I am looking in the price range of 120k-135k. An IO-550 would be nice, but is not a deal killer. I'd like to have it all (engine, interior, paint, avionics) but the airframe and engine are the biggies. I understand that this probably limits me to an older model which is fine. I have read about Paul McCracken as the Beech maintenance guru but need his contact info. Any other information would be appreciated. Thanks!!

John,
Welcome. Sounds exactly what I looked for (and purchased two years ago)
71 A36
I0550 low time
530W
430
kfc 200
good paint and leather interior....
NDH
127,000.

Good advice on Paul McCracken...... use him. absolutely the best for prebuys etc. . Wish I would have used him but lucked out anyway.
Just use the member search and enter his name. I think his is with waypoint aviation in Southern Cal.
Mike

John, go to the "members" tab on the red menu bar above, type in Paul's name and you will get his info; just send him a PM.

Paul's a great guy, but be prepared, he wants you to have a plane as bad or worse than you want to have a plane and he will work non-stop until you get one.

John,

Welcome to BT! Here's how to get in touch with "The McCracken."
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=359

Just send him a PM (Private Message).

Thanks for the help!! I will be in contact with Paul shortly. One of the first questions I have is valuations. I have found a few prospects on the various sites (contoller, trade-a-plane, aerotrader, etc) and have been using the Vref tool on AOPA and the NAAA evaluator on Trade-a-plane. What I have found is sometimes it is in the ballpark and sometimes it isn't even close. I do realize that some owners are emotionally attached to their bird and don't want to face the realities of this great (sarcasm boys and girls) economy. We'll just have to see.

John,
I found that after shopping for several months and looking at the various sites daily, you can get pretty good about recognizing the good values from the non motivated sellers who are price fishing. Generally, you need to jump on a target plane pretty quickly. Thats why Paul is a good resource.

+1. I hired Paul as well (2+ years ago) when my partner and I were looking for a plane similar to your desires. He was great in all respects and helped us with valuations as well as doing a great prebuy. You will get pretty good at the valuation game in fairly short time. Max Grogan from BT watches the market closely and is a good person to bounce ideas off as well.

Good luck!

John,

And make yourself a spreadsheet of what you want, with:
Must haves
Nice to have
Don't care

Then put an educated value on what these features are worth. So, when you locate a plane, you can add up the "must haves" that you will have to purchase afterward. And you can evaluate the worth of the "nice to haves".

And you can get a pretty good idea of where you are.

Also, there's an argument to not worry too much about stealing a plane. Prices are low enough that it isn't worth killing a good plane if you're 5 or 10% apart.

Grommet's example is a very good start, and if buying, I'd look for exactly what he has. A good lightweight early 70s plane.

Some "must" that you might consider:
A good engine analyzer and digital fuel flow.
GAMIs
For "me", I pay a big premium to get into a 550..... especially for hot and heavy loads. However, a bit harder to find.
A good, servicable autopilot with altitude hold.
Some sort of large GPS map.
And, after have the extended baggages, and being without, that would be a must, but almost impossible to find an early 70s with that mod, so, I'd plan on just buying it.

Food for thought, and welcome aboard.

Amen Larry... good add ons......

Wish I had the baggage mod... .my only real wish here. would make carrying our bikes much easier.

Definitely not a deal killer though.