AOPA Aircraft Values

[Dean]

I have just ran some aircraft through AOPA's pricing program and they seem VERY high. I even ran the 150 I just sold and it showed a price of $27K, if I would have ask that for it people would think I was nuts. I think they are giving owners a false imformation of what their planes are really worth. I talked to a guy who wants 39K for a Beechcraft 23A that the blue book list at 31K and his response was " I'm asking less than the AOPA Vref " I think AOPA should re-vamp their system, just my opinion.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

It has always been 10-20% high imo, but since the last few years when prices went to the sewer it has been.. as you say... VERY high. All "imo".

 

[Iceman]

I think aopa is just about right. You referenced it to the blue book value of the aircraft. Where did you get such a value? The aopa prices are IMO retail prices. If you want a good deal on a used aircraft talk to a dealership and ask them for a trade in value for the aircraft. Go inbetween (based on aircraft condition) to have a price to shoot for. Or just study all the FS sites for a few months and find out what sim type planes are selling for.

 

[Dean]

I think aopa is just about right. You referenced it to the blue book value of the aircraft. Where did you get such a value?

The Bluebook I referenced is the "Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest" this is the one your insurance company is going to use if your plane is damaged. The copy I have came from a local insurance agent. As for added equipment, you do not get to add the total cost of equipment and installation to the value of your airplane. A rule of thumb is 70% of that cost gets added, you have to subtract the value of the radios that were replaced. If airplanes were priced closer to their true value, they would sell a little faster. I have seen planes on the market for close to a year or longer.
Why? because the owners are convinced its worth several thousand more than what it is.

 

[Ken Ibold]

The aopa prices are IMO retail prices.

Where do you get that notion? And where would "retail price" come from? Most transactions are between individuals, and when you file the bill of sale with the FAA, it is very common for people to put the value at "$1 + OVC" (other valuable consideration) or some weird number that is aimed at reducing taxes for someone somewhere along the line. So no one knows what the selling price was for sure except the two parties involved.

Vref at AOPA tends to use sales numbers reported by dealers/brokers. Those figures are typically higher because 1) those guys tend to focus their efforts on the nicer examples 2) they try to force the price higher to make a commission and 3) they often do more fix-up before sale than do casual sellers.

 

[gismo]

I think aopa is just about right. You referenced it to the blue book value of the aircraft. Where did you get such a value? The aopa prices are IMO retail prices. If you want a good deal on a used aircraft talk to a dealership and ask them for a trade in value for the aircraft. Go inbetween (based on aircraft condition) to have a price to shoot for. Or just study all the FS sites for a few months and find out what sim type planes are selling for.

I have generally found the Vref (AOPA) value to be inflated by 10-20% over what I see people paying for airplanes in private sales. Maybe Vref does come close to dealer's prices, at least the asking price. Also in the past it seemed like Trade a Plane's value calculator was closer to reality, but recently I ran both on my plane and TAP was higher (both were too high by about 10% as far as I can guess).

 

[Ken Ibold]

I have generally found the Vref (AOPA) value to be inflated by 10-20% over what I see people paying for airplanes in private sales. Maybe Vref does come close to dealer's prices, at least the asking price. Also in the past it seemed like Trade a Plane's value calculator was closer to reality, but recently I ran both on my plane and TAP was higher (both were too high by about 10% as far as I can guess).

When I was pricing my Citabria, the TAP tool was actually higher than the Vref tool on the AOPA site. I priced it in the middle of the two, and that's what I ended up getting.

 

[Robert]

The values that are on the web site are the retail values. Call the Pilot Information Center at AOPA (1-800-872-2672), and they can give you the wholesale value, and take more info into account when pricing the aircraft.
If you want a rock solid real value of the aircraft, you need to pay an aircraft appraiser to come out and look at the aircraft and logs.
Robert

 

[Iceman]

The values that are on the web site are the retail values. Call the Pilot Information Center at AOPA (1-800-872-2672), and they can give you the wholesale value, and take more info into account when pricing the aircraft.
If you want a rock solid real value of the aircraft, you need to pay an aircraft appraiser to come out and look at the aircraft and logs.
Robert

Thanks! That's what I'm trying to say. Retail prices are inflated...insurance values are inflated. You need to find the wholesale price of the plane (the price a broker would pay to buy your plane right now and put it in his inventory). When you buy a new plane most large dealerships know you want to sell your old plane before you start making payments on your new one. Therefore they often give you a clause that they will help you try to sell your plane for a commision. If the plane does not sell in a given amount of time they will purchase it from you at a value I call wholesale (a value that they feel they can "turn" the aircraft for a small profit). Going back to AOPA I feel they give a good RETAIL price. Some dumb ... pay more than retail for a car some pay retail. I'm not one of them. I find retail vs. invoice or for used blue book retail vs wholesale and find a value inbetween that makes it worth my time and money.

If you look for used planes for long enough you will find some that get on the market and are sold within a week or two. These planes were priced low in the given market. Other planes will be priced high and sit on the market for a year or more. You need to pay attention and find a value inbetween these two price points and be ready to buy.

 

[poadeleted20]

Vref is a good estimate of the cost to replace your plane with an identical one. The Blue Book and Aeroprice sources are better estimates of what you can get for your plane. Retail vs. wholesale, asking vs. selling, something like that.