Considering a Malibu/M350. May need a “consultant” knowledgeable in these models.
Any contacts appreciated

Neal handled the sale of my friend's M350 a few years ago, and did a fine job. If you haven't already, I would speak to him.

Nice to know

Might want to join MMOPA. Lot of knowledge there. As far as knowledgeable people. Chad Menne, Joe Casey, Kevin Meade, but there are a good many knowledgeable people over there.

Call these guys: https://www.malibuaerospace.com/

Hi Ken,

As Steve kindly stated above, I have in the recent past assisted both buyers and sellers on Malibu's, Mirage's, Meridian's, etc (and I will continue to do so going forward). However, my model-specific knowledge, while reasonably good in my opinion, pales in comparison to long time experts like Chad Menne at Malibu Aerospace and Kevin Meade at Mead Aircraft Services. Both have an incredibly deep knowledge base on the Piper products.

Chad Menne and his team did the pre-purchase evaluation on a Meridian I recently sold and did a fantastic job.

And because Kevin Meade has traditionally worked in the maintenance/pre-purchase evaluation side of aviation, he recently teamed up with Amy Heaven to form a separate venture, Mead Aircraft Sales, LLC. Amy previously worked at Kansas Aircraft for decades and then JetAviva once they acquired Kansas Aircraft. I have worked directly with both Kevin and Amy and they are each consummate professionals as well.

I have a high degree of respect for all of these individuals and while they aren't the only Piper experts out there (Joe Casey, Mike Borden, and Tony Beauchamp also come to mind), they are the ones I have had actual direct and actual experience with on transactions that I have worked on and completed/closed. Hope this helps!

-Neal

You’ve received a fantastic list of names above. They are all more than capable of providing expert consultation. This thread is accurate and succinct.

I used Joe Casey and his team as a buyer's broker on our M600. He knows the PA46 market inside and out. Worked with Amy H on a Meridian transaction prior to that which didn't work out, but she also seems knowledgeable. Chad Menne and Kevin Mead also great on the pre-buy/service side.

But if you are serious about buying a PA46, spend the $200 and join MMOPA. Its a nice and active board with very knowledgeable members, including both Piper and Garmin reps (for example) who will often answer questions. Well worth the $$$ if you're serious about a PA46. I joined several months before our M600 purchase and learned a ton.

Good luck! Those are great airplanes!

I second all of the above.
Made my transition from a G36TN to a Meridian 1 year ago. The membership of MMOPA is worth every cent and each of the mentioned persons are experts in the P46 family.

Good luck with your decision!

Join MMOPA. You'll get back everything you ever wanted to know about buying a PA46 and how to be properly trained once you own it.

I'd call Neal. That's what I did when I bought my TBM and my Piaggio. What he doesn't know he'll find out regardless of the airframe in question. But the knowledge, experience and JUDGEMENT he'll bring will be invaluable.

I'd second that recommendation. Neal negotiated an industry-beating contract at one of our previous employers. During that timeframe, I had an opportunity to observe hundreds of his interactions with our union members regarding the details. He was level-headed, honest to a fault and most importantly, ALWAYS right.

Always.

Easily one of the smartest people in the room, without the attendant ego to mess things up, and a genuinely nice guy to boot.

That his response above is him praising his competition tells you everything you need to know about his character. Call him today.

I would highly recommend Chad Menna and team at Malibu Aerospace.

I worked with them and had great experience. The PA-46 airframe is complex and not something I would trust to just any aircraft expert.

Plus if I were buying a PA-46 I would went to buy one that Malibu Areospace maintained. Then you know it's right or at least Chad can tell you whats wrong with it.

Not saying others like Kevin, Joe, and Todd are not great. I am sure they are. But given my experience with Chad I would go back to him for sure


Mike

A good friend of mine has sold a significant number of the fleet, many more than once and knows them well...

http://www.codywelch.com/

+1 for Mead Aircraft. Kevin Mead has been working on PA-46’s since they came out in 1984, he is the go-to guy for all things Malibu. They have the expertise to take someone through finding a plane, pre-buy, acquisition, and maintenance.