Selling prices? how to find a realistic price guide.
 

has anyone got a source to find the actual selling price for complete aircraft listed here or elsewhere?
Understandably, not everyone want to share this, but hey, if it's sold, it's a valuable piece of data.
Obviously a zillion factors apply, from geography to times to panels and sexy paint jobs. ( yes, I've thought...." oooooooooh shiiiiiiny! and ignored everything else.)
Just looking for info before pulling the trigger. I hate when something doesn't sell for a year, or sells the next day! :rolleyes:

no accurate data
 

You won't find accurate data. One of the main reasons is the one you state, "a zillion factors apply". Any item is worth what you are willing to spend on it. If you wait for the right time to buy, you will never get what you want.

I've personally seen several instances in which an aircraft sold sub $10,000 (lowest I've seen was $6,000) and three days later the aircraft sold again for $45,000.

No matter how much I thought I knew after watching ads for several years, and listening to hearsay about actual selling prices, I was still wrong. This is where the services of my buyer's broker came in very handy, as he had personal knowledge of actual transactions that I could never hope to obtain. He flat out told me I was being cheap, that I should spend the extra few thousand. He was absolutely right, it was money well spent (and spent, and spent, and spent . . . :rolleyes:).

One thing I will point out is the price to purchase the aircraft is only one piece of the overall cost puzzle. The difference in having a note on the aircraft for 10,000 more then another option will not be much at the end of the year percentage wise when you add in all the ownership costs. It may in fact reduce your yearly costs if you get a better basic airframe.
G

If it sits a year its over priced, if it sells in a day its under priced.

Find a nice airplane and buy it, don't give the farm away doing it, but if it feels right do it.

Haggling over the last nickel isn't worth it.

If you can get an accurate spec sheet from the seller, you can add up all the equipment and kit prices and get an idea of the value. You can then decline the value by a $/hr. factor similar to how Vref (aopa.org) estimates work. You can use the same approach to set a price to sell your own plane, by adding a subjective "quality premium"... or subtracting, as case may be for damage, hard use, cosmetic imperfections.

That will tell you if the airplane is in the ballpark, but you will never know for sure until you see it. As someone else said, "too many variables" in workmanship and other areas.

One of the hardest parts of buying an RV already built is deciding what type of flying you will be doing, and determining what the minimum specification for that type of flying is-- that will eliminate a lot of airplanes right off the bat. Ex: CS vs FP, IFR vs VFR etc.

RV-4 as an Example
 

RV-4 ads usually ask between 30 and 60k.

For 30k you are hoping to make it home safely.
For 45k you should get a nice plane.
For 60k you should get a show winner.
The problem is, some people ask way more than the plane is worth.
It's up to you to know when the asking price is way high. And to recognize a deal you need to jump on.

Show me one?

60k for a show winner. Really? My 9A parts $60k+ Investment will soon be a very nice well equipped VFR aircraft but not a show winner. I never expect to be paid for my work (fun) building but, down the road I would like to somewhat recoup my out of pocket and if $60k for a best in show is the standard my return on investment looks poor.

My guess is $60k will get a 20 yr old certified aircraft with steam gauges, a beat up interior and a very well run engine burning 15+ GPH. In the RV world you can get what you pay for!