The 180 market this morning
What does a used 180 ask right now?
With 19 for sale this morning, the Cessna 180 is the 14th most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and second to the Cessna 182 among Cessna types. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 10 came down, about the same churn as the rest of the class. IL and CA have 2 each.
Asking prices run from $105,000 to $319,000, and half of the 17 priced listings sit between $145,000 and $250,000. The median is $199,000, 95% above the piston singles median of $102,249; 3 of the 13 Cessna types here ask more. Age matters: 1950s airframes ask a median of $160,000 against $197,500 for the 1960s.
4 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 21% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 9% off the ask. Of the 180s we watched appear, 22% were still for sale 30 days later.
Written from this morning's figures and how they compare with the other types on the site. It changes as the market does.
By variant
| Variant | Seen | Live | Median ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180H | 14 | 4 | $214,500 |
| 180A | 4 | 1 | $130,000 |
| 180C | 2 | 0 | — |
Only listings whose title names a variant. Median is over live, priced listings of that variant.
Asking price distribution
Asking prices as typed by the seller. "Call" and "make offer" are counted as unpriced.
Median asking by decade
| Built | Seen | Median ask | Cut rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10 | $160,000 | 40% |
| 1960s | 14 | $197,500 | 21% |
| 1970s | 2 | $260,000 | 0% |
| 2010s | 1 | $319,000 | 0% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 45% of 180 listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next 180 that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a 180 appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 19. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Cessna 180
What it is
The Cessna 180 is the taildragger Cessna kept building after the 170 gave way to the nosewheel 172. It arrived in 1953 as a bigger, stronger 170 with a 225 hp Continental O-470 and stayed in production through 1981, a little over 6,000 airplanes. The 182 is a 180 with a nosewheel and the 185 is a 180 with a bigger engine, so the 180 is the light one in the family, the one that climbs well and gets off the water when the load is reasonable.
It flies like a heavier, more planted 170. The spring-steel gear stores a lot of energy, and a fast, flat wheel landing bounces you straight back into the air, so 180 pilots learn to arrive at the right speed and keep it landed. Owners call it an honest airplane, and a 180 that has been in one family for forty years is not unusual.
Variants that matter for price
The model letters run 180, 180A, 180B and so on through 180K, with the letter tracking the year. The first three years used the 225 hp O-470-A; from the 180A on it is the 230 hp O-470 in its K, R, S and finally U versions. Gross weight climbed through the run to 2,800 pounds, and the cabin grew with it: early 180s are four-seaters, later ones share the longer six-seat cabin with the 185.
Buyers hunt the 180H through 180K, and the 180K (1977 to 1981) most of all: highest gross weight, the O-470-U, and on the later ones a 28-volt electrical system that takes modern avionics without surgery. Floats already rigged, a factory seaplane history with corrosion proofing, and long-range tanks all push an ask up.
What buyers check
The gearbox comes first. The structure the spring gear legs bolt into takes every hard landing, and cracks around the gear attach are the classic 180 finding, along with firewall wrinkles from the same landings. A repaired gearbox with paperwork is fine; one found cracked and left alone is a negotiating point. On float airplanes, especially saltwater ones, corrosion goes on the list: belly skins, tailcone, stabilizer attach, strut fittings and the wing bays where the bladders sit.
The seat-rail inspection applies here as on every Cessna of the era. The O-470 is a long-lived, easy engine, and cylinder condition matters more than calendar time. Old bladder tanks wrinkle and trap water. Mods are everywhere on 180s and mostly help: Sportsman or Robertson STOL, vortex generators, extended baggage, a three-blade prop, big tires and the O-470 to O-520 power conversions. An engine upgrade adds value when the STC holder's shop did it and the logs say so.
Who it suits
The 180 suits a pilot who wants a real four-seat airplane that goes to gravel, grass and lakes without drama and still cruises reasonably on the way there. It is not a first tailwheel airplane, and someone who mostly flies IFR between paved airports gets the same job done in a 182 with less attention on the ground. Realistic cross-shops are the 185 (more engine, more money), a clean 170B if the load is light, and a Maule or 182 if the tailwheel is the sticking point.
How much does a used Cessna 180 cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $105,000 to $319,000, and the median is $199,000. The middle half of the 17 priced listings sit between $145,000 and $250,000. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Cessna 180s are for sale right now?
19 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 10 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 53 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Cessna 180 take to sell?
22% of the 180 listings we watched appear are still for sale 30 days later, so most take longer than that. We will publish a median once more than half of the cohort has closed.
How often do Cessna 180 sellers cut the price?
4 price cuts in the last 30 days against 19 live listings, averaging 9% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which 180 sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 Cessna 180Oct 15 | NM | 61 d | $149,000$142,500−4% |
| 1953 Cessna 180Oct 9 | CA | 67 d | $175,000$169,900−3% |
| 1969 Cessna 180HSep 23 | WA | 45 d | $249,950$196,000−22% |
| Cessna 180A Amphib!Sep 22 | WI | 91 d | $140,000$130,000−7% |
For sale now
Which 180s are for sale right now?
Newest first. Days listed is counted from the morning we first saw the ad; listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 show the day we started watching.
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Cuts | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C180H | NY | 1 d | – | $145,000 |
| 1954 C180 | WA | 2 d | – | $160,000 |
| Spectacular Idaho Cessna 180 | IL | 10 d | – | $299,900 |
| Trade Only: 1967 Cessna 180H | PA | 13 d | – | $230,000 |
| Cessna 180 Project | IL | 14 d | – | $105,000 |
| 1972 Cessna 180H Skywagon | VA | 21 d | – | $295,000 |
| 1954 C180 42 Tsmoh • 260HP IFR | AZ | 26 d | – | $246,000 |
| 55 C-180 Ground Up Restored! | NV | 31 d | – | see ad |
| 1969 Cessna 180H | ME | 58 d | – | $199,000 |
| 2010 Husky A-1C-180 | ME | 58 d | – | $319,000 |
| 1958 Cessna 180 | NM | 61 d | 1 | $142,500 |
| 1953 Cessna 180 | CA | 67 d | 1 | $169,900 |
| Cessna 180 | — | 91 d | – | $120,000 |
| 1967 Cessna 180 Skywagon | CA | 91 d | – | $250,000 |
| Cessna180 | GA | 91 d | – | $250,000 |
| Cessna 180/185 Control Lock | KS | 91 d | – | $100 |
| Cessna 180A Amphib! | WI | 91 d | 2 | $130,000 |
| 1967 Cessna 180 H | MN | 91 d | – | $235,000 |
| Cessna 180H | NY | 91 d | – | $185,000 |
Cross-shop
What else does a 180 buyer look at?
Other Cessna types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the 180s, and how are they counted?
Where they are
How we count
Barnstormers piston categories are read once a day. A listing is "delisted" after it is missing on two consecutive mornings. Days listed starts the morning we first saw the ad, so listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 are excluded from time-on-market figures. Prices are asking prices as typed by the seller. Nothing here is an appraisal. Full methodology.