How to Value a Used Airplane Yourself: Comps, Value Guides and Adjustments

This guide is for buyers who want to put their own number on a used piston airplane before making an offer, using the same comparable-sales method appraisers use.

Where do used airplane prices come from?

Four kinds of source feed a valuation, and each has a blind spot. Good valuations use at least two.

Vref and Aircraft Bluebook are the two guides you'll hear about most, including from lenders. We don't reproduce their values here; both are subscription products, and AOPA members and lenders often have access. AOPA's aviation finance team has described a Vref or Bluebook analysis as good for the large majority of aircraft transactions while missing some market nuance (AOPA, 2017). That nuance is exactly what your own comp work captures.

What is the used market doing in 2026?

Sandhills Global, which runs Controller.com, reported that in July 2026 used piston-single inventory was down 2.5% from the prior month and about 17% year over year, while asking values were up 0.09% for the month and down 0.37% year over year (Sandhills, Aug 2026). Put simply: inventory is tight and asking prices are roughly flat.

• Tight inventory means fewer comps and sellers who feel less pressure to cut. Expect to widen your comp search by region or model year.
• Flat asking values mean you shouldn't pay today's price on the theory that the airplane will be worth more next year.
• Model-specific shifts still happen. FLYING's 2026 SR22 buyer's guide reported that the G7+ with Safe Return autoland "has restructured the depreciation curve" and pushed down prices of older non-autoland SR22s (FLYING, Feb 2026). A new-model feature can reprice the used fleet of the same type.

For how economic conditions and the calendar move prices, see economic cycles and aircraft values and seasonal pricing trends.

Step by step: pricing an aircraft from comparables

1. Describe the subject aircraft precisely

Write down model and engine variant, year, total airframe time, engine time since major overhaul (and the overhaul date), prop time, avionics by model number, autopilot, paint and interior condition on a 1–10 scale, damage history and useful load. You can't compare what you haven't defined. If you need help pulling these from the records, see how to read aircraft logbooks.

2. Choose comps that are actually comparable

Same model and engine variant (a 160 hp and a 180 hp version of a type are different airplanes to buyers), similar year range, same gear type, and similar mission equipment. Prefer sales over listings, and recent over old. Three good comps beat ten loose ones.

3. Normalize engine time

Engine time is usually the biggest adjustment. Divide a current overhaul estimate by the engine's TBO to get a value per hour, then multiply by the difference in hours since overhaul. A comp with fewer hours than your aircraft gets adjusted down, because your aircraft's engine is worth less. Adjust further for calendar time since overhaul, a top overhaul versus a major, or a factory versus field overhaul. The details are in understanding SMOH and TBO.

4. Adjust for avionics and autopilot

Credit equipment at what it adds to sale prices for the type, which is typically well under installed cost and falls as the equipment ages. Equipment that has become standard, such as ADS-B Out, mainly avoids a deduction. A capable autopilot or a WAAS GPS navigator usually matters more to buyers than a second display.

5. Adjust for paint and interior

Rate each comp on the same 1–10 scale you used for the subject. The cost to redo paint or interior is a ceiling on the adjustment, not the adjustment itself, because buyers discount rough cosmetics less than a full refinish costs.

6. Adjust for airframe time and damage history

High airframe time matters most near life limits and on types with hour-based structural inspections. Damage history gets a deduction scaled to severity, repair quality and documentation; how that plays out when you sell is covered in damage history and aircraft value.

7. Weight the comps and reconcile

Give a confirmed sale more weight than an asking price, and a close comp more weight than one that needed large adjustments. If the adjusted comps are far apart, find out why before you average them.

Worked example: pricing a 1979 Archer II

The subject has 1,450 hours since overhaul, a WAAS GPS navigator with ADS-B Out, no autopilot, 6/10 paint and interior, and a documented prop strike with an engine teardown years ago. It is listed at $124,900. All figures below are assumptions for teaching the method: engine time is valued at $20 per hour ($40,000 overhaul estimate over a 2,000-hour TBO), and asking-price comps are reduced 3% to approximate a sale price.

• Weighted adjusted value: $115,630
• Damage-history deduction (5%, an assumption for a documented prop strike with teardown): −$5,781
• Indicated value, rounded: $110,000
• Asking price minus indicated value: $14,900

The comp with the confirmed sale got half the weight, and the two listings split the rest. The spread between adjusted comps is wide mainly because of the avionics and autopilot adjustment, which is the judgment call to check against a value guide. The result says this aircraft is priced about $14,900 above what the comps support, which is the starting point for the offer and for the questions to ask the seller (a fresh annual? recent cylinder work the listing doesn't mention?).

What overpaying does to the financing

Lenders don't finance your opinion of value; they size the loan on the lower of the price or the value they accept. If you paid the full $124,900 and the lender's value came in near $110,000, an 85% loan would be $93,500 and you would bring $31,400 to closing, instead of the $18,735 you'd expect from a 15% down payment on the price. For how lenders set that value, see aircraft appraisals for a loan.

How your number compares with what lenders use

For most piston singles, the lender's value won't come from your spreadsheet or a full appraisal. FLYING Finance notes that below roughly $1 million, many lenders size the loan against a desktop valuation from an industry-standard pricing guide instead of a full USPAP appraisal, while reserving the right to order one if the numbers don't line up or the aircraft is unusual (FLYING Finance, Aug 2026). So:

• If your indicated value and the guide value agree, and your offer is near them, financing should size to your price.
• If you're paying well above both, plan for extra cash at closing or a formal appraisal.
• If your comps say the aircraft is worth more than the guide (an exceptional example, a rare panel), expect to document it; a formal appraisal may be the only way to get credit.

Common valuation mistakes

• Treating asking prices as sales. Especially listings that have sat for months.
• Ignoring calendar time on the engine. A low-hour engine overhauled long ago and flown little isn't worth the same as a recent overhaul with the same hours.
• Paying installed cost for avionics. The seller's invoice is not the buyer's value.
• Mixing engine variants or gear types in one comp set.
• Skipping the damage search. Run the NTSB and FAA searches before you price, not after.
• Forgetting the cost to close the deal. Pre-buy findings, sales or use tax, ferry and a first annual belong in your all-in price, even though they don't change the aircraft's value.

How this guide differs from related guides

This page is about pricing an aircraft yourself from comps and guides. The lender's formal valuation, including when an appraisal is required and what to do if it comes in low, is covered in aircraft appraisals for a loan. For how build year changes loan eligibility, see financing an older airplane. For how records gaps reduce what a lender will lend, see missing logbooks and your aircraft loan.

Frequently asked questions