Selling your Cessna for cash in 2026 — what the market's actually paying.
The Cessna single is the most common airplane I'm asked to buy, and for good reason — there are more of them flying (and more of them sitting) than anything else in general aviation. If you've got a 150, 172, 182, or 206 you're thinking about selling, here's an honest read on what the 2026 market is paying, and what moves your number up or down.
First, the disclaimer that matters: there is no single "blue book" number for your airplane. Two same-year 172s can be $40,000 apart based on engine time, avionics, paint, corrosion, and logbook completeness. The ranges below are real, but your airplane is its own animal. The only way to a firm number is for someone to actually look at it.
Rough 2026 cash ranges by model
These are cash-buyer ranges — what a principal buyer like us pays to take it as-is, today, with no contingencies. Retail (a perfect, in-annual airplane sold to an end user over several months) runs higher. The gap is the price of speed and certainty.
- Cessna 150 / 152: roughly $18,000–$38,000. Trainers live hard lives; hours and corrosion drive the spread.
- Cessna 172: roughly $45,000–$120,000+. A run-out, older-panel Skyhawk versus a low-time, glass-panel 172S is a different planet.
- Cessna 182: roughly $70,000–$180,000+. The Skylane holds value well; engine time and useful load matter a lot.
- Cessna 206: roughly $120,000–$300,000+. Hauler demand keeps these strong, especially with good paint and a mid-time engine.
If those ranges feel wide, that's the point. The variables below are what decide where your airplane lands.
What bumps you up
- Engine time. A mid-time or recently overhauled engine with documentation is the single biggest lever. Hours since major overhaul (SMOH) move money faster than almost anything else.
- Complete, continuous logbooks. Every gap costs you. Clean, complete logs are worth real dollars.
- Useful avionics. ADS-B compliance is now table stakes. A modern GPS navigator or a glass panel adds value; a panel full of dead 1980s radios does not.
- No damage history and no corrosion. A clean airframe in a dry climate beats a coastal airplane with surface corrosion every time.
What pulls you down
- Out of annual / sitting. An airplane that's sat for years needs hoses, tires, a battery, fresh fluids, and almost always a few surprises on the first annual back. Buyers price that in.
- Run-out engine. An engine at or past TBO is a known six-figure-adjacent risk on some models. Retail buyers over-discount it; honest cash buyers discount it fairly.
- Missing logbooks. Not a dealbreaker for us, but it absolutely affects price. (We wrote a whole guide on selling with missing logbooks.)
- Tired paint and interior. Cosmetics don't change airworthiness, but they change what the next buyer will pay — so they change what anyone will pay you.
Two ways to sell a Cessna — and the real math
The broker / retail road
List it, pay 8–10% commission, and wait. The average GA airplane sits on the market four to eight months. During that stretch you're still paying hangar ($300–$600/mo), still paying insurance, and your annual may come due. If your Cessna is turnkey and in annual and you can wait, retail nets the highest gross. If any of that isn't true, the math erodes fast.
The cash-buyer road
This is what we do at Cash4Planes. We use our own funds, give you a number in about 24 hours, and close in days through a licensed aircraft title company. No commission, no listing photos, no waiting on someone else's financing. We come to your ramp — and if the airplane isn't flyable, we arrange ground transport on our dime.
Our number won't be the peak of a perfect retail sale. But once you subtract commission, months of holding costs, and the pre-buy that falls apart in month five, the gap is usually a lot smaller than owners expect — and you have cash this week instead of a maybe in the fall.
"I had a '78 Skylane that sat three years after I stopped flying. I kept telling myself I'd 'get it ready to list.' Three more annuals' worth of hangar rent later, I called for a cash number. Wish I'd done it the first year." — a recent 182 seller
What to do this week
- Pull your logbooks together — even incomplete. Knowing engine time and last annual date gets you a sharper number faster.
- Get a real cash number on the table. Call (386) 209-6722 or request an offer online. Worst case, you learn exactly what your Cessna is worth in a quick sale.
- Decide on your timeline deliberately — not by default while the hangar meter runs.
Whatever you fly — Skyhawk, Skylane, Stationair, or a tired old 150 — there's a real number on it today. Let's find out what it is.