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RV-6A valuation help

drainge

Member
So apparently I broke forum rules on my last post and it was taken down -- sorry about that everybody.

I am looking for assistance valuing an RV-6A that I am interested in purchasing. This will be the first experimental plane that I have purchased and I'm way out of my depth wrt appropriate price.

Basic specs:
- QB Slider
- ~1000 TT
- XP IO-360
- Electronic ignition
- CS prop
- dual axis autopilot
- nice "IFR" panel, but not really IFR. No ILS, no VOR, no certification. Does have WAAS GPS unit, however.
- nice looking "20ft" paint

The plane appears to be in good shape. It was put together by a VAF member and his posts and build notes are very encouraging. Photos of the panel, however, reveal a nest of wires down by the rudder pedals and a snake of wires duct taped to the left wall running aft :/

Asking price is 79k. Am I way off base in thinking this sounds very high? I don't want to offend the seller or shut down the deal by pissing him off, but I'm thinking something closer to 60k is appropriate. I see other 6s listed in and around this price range (or a bit lower), but I have no idea what they're actually selling for, or if they're actually selling.
 
So apparently I broke forum rules on my last post and it was taken down -- sorry about that everybody.

I am looking for assistance valuing an RV-6A that I am interested in purchasing. This will be the first experimental plane that I have purchased and I'm way out of my depth wrt appropriate price.

Basic specs:
- QB Slider
- ~1000 TT
- XP IO-360
- Electronic ignition
- CS prop
- dual axis autopilot
- nice "IFR" panel, but not really IFR. No ILS, no VOR, no certification. Does have WAAS GPS unit, however.
- nice looking "20ft" paint

The plane appears to be in good shape. It was put together by a VAF member and his posts and build notes are very encouraging. Photos of the panel, however, reveal a nest of wires down by the rudder pedals and a snake of wires duct taped to the left wall running aft :/

Asking price is 79k. Am I way off base in thinking this sounds very high? I don't want to offend the seller or shut down the deal by pissing him off, but I'm thinking something closer to 60k is appropriate. I see other 6s listed in and around this price range (or a bit lower), but I have no idea what they're actually selling for, or if they're actually selling.


Not too much of a rush to answer this, I see! I'll give it a shot. On the surface, it does seem a little high. For that money, I think you would want something more; lower hours and/or better than a "20 foot" paint job, and/or a more advanced panel and cleaner wiring. My initial impression is that this plane should be priced mid-sixties or so. Having said that, I haven't seen the airplane, and don't know what the quality of the workmanship is, so this is a very superficial impression. A quick look on Barnstormers shows a couple of 6A's that seem fairly comparable priced in the high 50's right now. Again, this is a paper evaluation, and my experience in buying my own 6A a few years ago (300 hrs, O-360, FP prop, fairly simple panel with AP, very nice workmanship, $62.5k) tells me that there are much larger variations between aircraft with similar specs in the homebuilt world than is the case in the certificated world, so it all comes down to the individual airplane and how it's built. On paper, just looking at the cold specs, you wouldn't understand why Steve Hurlbut's 6 could be worth well over $100k (just sold last week), but if you have seen that airplane up close, you know it's worth every penny.

If you're feeling a little lost, I really recommend finding someone knowledgeable in these aircraft to help you. A pre-buy inspection by someone who knows these aircraft, preferably someone who has built at least one, is worth whatever you have to pay for it. In addition, running aircraft ads (with as many high-def pics as possible) by someone with that kind of knowledge is also invaluable to help identify what things you should be looking for (both positive and negative) and help you sort out all the factors that go into valuing an airplane. I had this kind of assistance from two individuals, and it was incredibly helpful. Once you find "your" airplane, it's all worth it. Good luck!
 
Pictures...

...always help, the more the merrier.

Exterior from diff angles.

Interior of upholstery.

Interior of panel.

top and bottom views of engine compartment.( cowling off of course ;-}

Also sent you a PM...

Jerry
 
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