Crazy Pricing?

[dmloftus]

The vref document seems to use base price. Calculating backward, it implies we paid about $190K for our plane, but it was actually $225K. The AP was a 25K option and without looking it up I believe the GNS units were an option as well.

Vref has a way to specify major options that will adjust your price accordingly. But as stated, I don't think it fully reflects the current market. Eventually the market will turn, as it always does. I'm confident I got a good deal at the beginning of the pandemic, I would not want to be in the market right now.

[p3dave]

I have a Cessna with a Lycoming engine that has been down since last May for an engine overhaul. The cylinders have been on order since last February. No end in sight. Due to the shortage of parts, the engine shop has gone to 4 days a week and has a lot of engines sitting around waiting.
Something is going to have to give.
Dave S.
Ohio

Interesting. I had a top done last year around April on an O-540 and I bought new Superior cylinder assemblies off the shelf at Aircraft Spruce.

[p3dave]

Here is an example on Controller for a higher time 2005. There was one a couple of weeks ago that sold within days of being advertised at a much higher price than a year ago would have fetched.

https://www.controller.com/listing/for- ... e-aircraft

And this one, low time 2007

https://www.controller.com/listing/for- ... e-aircraft

[Paul]

I might make an offer on that second one. I sold my 2007 XLS with less hours in 2012 for more than $100k less than what they are asking for this one. I went to a Cirrus, a Meridian and now an M600 but my kids want to learn to fly now and while the M600 is magnificent transportation, I miss the fun of the DA40.

[DaveS1900]

I have a Cessna with a Lycoming engine that has been down since last May for an engine overhaul. The cylinders have been on order since last February. No end in sight. Due to the shortage of parts, the engine shop has gone to 4 days a week and has a lot of engines sitting around waiting.
Something is going to have to give.
Dave S.
Ohio

Interesting. I had a top done last year around April on an O-540 and I bought new Superior cylinder assemblies off the shelf at Aircraft Spruce.

Well you got lucky. From what I understand the market is tight from all suppliers now. The reason I even bring this up is that it takes aircraft out of the system and off the market. This only exacerbates the aircraft price inflation.
Dave S
Ohio

[Tom-B]

As I prepare to put my 2002 DA40 on the market - I used the AOPA VREF calculator to adjust the base price with the 40K+ worth of modifications I have made to the airplane in the past three years of ownership.

As an aside - Something I learned by the VREF site is that by serial number my aircraft is actually considered a 2003 model (built Dec 2002).

Another data point - Had a friend at the field recently sell his DA20 - the VREF value changed dramatically upwards in the three weeks between his listing the aircraft and before the deal was closed.

[Rick]

As an aside - Something I learned by the VREF site is that by serial number my aircraft is actually considered a 2003 model (built Dec 2002).

Many of us have this same problem. In my case, my "2006" DA40 says "XL" on the side (like a 2006) but is s/n 40.701 and all of the standard 2007 XLS features (GFC700, WAAS, PowerFlow, electric rudder pedals, etc.). I guess it is called a "2006" XL model because it was built in August 2006? This actually helps me with property tax, since there was a BIG price jump in 2007 when the GFC700 and WAAS became standard, but my tax is based on the 2006 model without those features. When I sell my DA40, though, I expect to call it a 2007 model, because that is how it is equipped.

[Steve]

Rick: I suppose you can describe it as any year you want and install any decal on the fuselage, but I would stick to the year manufactured as listed in the FAA database.

[smoss]

Like Rick, I have a built in 2006 XL that was sold to me by a broker as a "2007". I did ask when I bought it, and was given the explanation that it was like the car model years which often come out far before the actual year.

[Rick]

Someone looking for a GFC700-equipped DA40 might only look at 2007 and later models since that was when Diamond made the change, so there would be a good reason to list it as a 2007 model. Like Steve, mine was sold to me as "a 2007 model" back in 2012, but it is listed in the FAA database as a 2006 DA40 because that is when it was first registered. This would be equivalent to the DMV calling your 2022 car a 2021 model because that is when you bought it and registered it with them. Also, Diamond bumped the serial number series from 40.6xx to 40.700 in late 2006 to reflect the standard feature change, so this helps support the "2007" designation, I think. This was back when the 'Y' in the 40.Yxx serial numbers reflected the model year.