What Cessnas are listed for right now
As of August 2026, PlaneFox lists 1,580 Cessna aircraft. 741 of them carry a published asking price, the median is EUR 188,000 and the middle half sit between EUR 93,000 and EUR 359,000. Nine are marked price on request. Typical build years run from 1964 to 2008, and the full range reaches from the 1940s to current production, which is why the brand-level spread is so wide.
The 172 Skyhawk
288 Cessna 172 Skyhawks are listed, and a large share of them will not quote a price until you ask. Read the current spread on the model page rather than from a single figure here, because the 172 has been built for decades and the listed fleet includes both 1970s airframes and current-production 172S models. Age moves the asking price more than condition does.
The Skyhawk is the most listed single in Germany, at 29 of the 466 aircraft currently for sale there.
The 182 Skylane
291 Cessna 182 Skylanes are listed. The 182 also heads the list of aircraft carrying a Garmin G1000, at 49 of the 452 G1000-equipped listings on the site, and a G1000 Skylane and a 1970s Skylane sit at opposite ends of the brand's price range.
Per-model samples on a single currency are small. Use a model page as a sanity check against one advert, not as a valuation.
100-hour versus annual
On the FAA register a privately operated aircraft needs one inspection: an annual, due within the preceding 12 calendar months under 14 CFR 91.409(a) and approved for return to service by a person authorised under 14 CFR 43.7. The 100-hour inspection under 91.409(b) is an additional requirement, and it applies only when the aircraft carries persons for hire or is used to give flight instruction for hire. The scope of the two inspections is the same; the trigger is different.
The 100-hour limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours, and only to reach a place where the inspection can be carried out. The excess is then subtracted from the next interval, so an aircraft that arrives at 108 hours has 92 hours until the next one.
This matters when buying. A 172 that has spent its life on a flying school line has been inspected roughly every 100 hours and will have a thick, continuous record. A privately flown 182 doing 60 hours a year has had one inspection a year. Neither is better, but they produce very different paperwork and very different wear patterns.
On an EASA register the annual is replaced by the Airworthiness Review Certificate, which under point ML.A.901 of Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 may be extended a maximum of two consecutive times, for one year each time, by an approved airworthiness management organisation when the conditions are met.
Engine reserve per hour
The reserve is arithmetic, not opinion: the cost of the overhaul divided by the hours until it is due. What changes between Cessnas is the divisor.
- FAA type certificate data sheet 3A12 fits the 172R and 172S with the Lycoming IO-360-L2A. Lycoming's Service Instruction 1009BF, revised 20 July 2026, gives it 2,000 hours when overhauled and 2,600 hours when factory new or factory rebuilt, inside a twelve calendar year limit that applies to every model the instruction covers.
- The Lycoming O-320 variants in earlier 172s sit on the same 2,000 and 2,600 hour split, with the O-320-H at 2,400.
- Cessna 182s built up to the 1980s use Continental O-470 variants. Continental's service information letter SIL 98-9 lists the O-470 family at 1,500 hours and twelve years, with the O-470-U eligible for 2,000 hours only when specific components are fitted. Read the current revision for your exact dash number.
That 500-hour difference changes the hourly number by a third. On a 2,000-hour interval, every EUR 10,000 of overhaul cost is EUR 5.00 per flight hour. On a 1,500-hour interval the same EUR 10,000 is EUR 6.67 per hour. Get a written overhaul quote for the specific engine variant and do the division yourself rather than accepting a generic per-hour figure.
Under FAA Part 91 private operation the TBO is a manufacturer recommendation rather than a legal limit. It is still the number your budget and any future buyer will use, and an engine flown past TBO reduces what the aircraft will sell for.
Insurance
Hull cover is quoted as a percentage of an agreed value rather than as a flat fee, liability is priced separately, and rates rise for tailwheel types and low-time pilots. PlaneFox holds listing data and no insurance data, so no percentage is published here. Get a quote against the specific registration and your own logged hours before you agree a price.
Before you make an offer
- Ask for hours since major overhaul and the exact engine variant, then check that variant's rated TBO in the current manufacturer document rather than assuming 2,000 hours.
- Ask whether the aircraft has been on a 100-hour cycle or an annual cycle, and read the last three inspection sign-offs.
- Ask for the airworthiness directive compliance list with next-due dates for every recurring item.
- Compare against live inventory on Cessna listings, Cessna 172 Skyhawk listings and Cessna 182 Skylane listings, and against the wider single-engine market, where 2,183 of 3,949 listings show a price and the median is EUR 144,000.
PlaneFox figures were taken on 7 August 2026 and are asking prices from broker and private-seller listings, not transaction prices.