Updated this morning · Oct 18, 2026
Piper J-3 Cub: prices, price cuts and days on market
17 are for sale on Barnstormers today, with a median asking price of $51,000. 38% of the ones we watched appear are still listed 30 days later, and 2 sellers cut price in the last 30 days.
The J-3 Cub market this morning
What does a used J-3 Cub ask right now?
With 17 for sale this morning, the Piper J-3 Cub is the 17th most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and second to the Piper PA-28 Cherokee among Piper types. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 8 came down, about the same churn as the rest of the class. 3 of them are in CA.
Asking prices run from $19,500 to $111,000, and half of the 17 priced listings sit between $45,000 and $60,000. The median is $51,000, 50% below the piston singles median of $102,249; 7 of the 9 Piper types here ask more.
2 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 12% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 15% off the ask. Of the J-3 Cubs we watched appear, 38% 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 1 | $49,000 | 100% |
| 1940s | 23 | $48,000 | 17% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 39% of J-3 Cub listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next J-3 Cub that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a J-3 Cub appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 17. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Piper J-3 Cub
What it is
The Piper J-3 Cub is a two-seat tandem taildragger built from 1938 to 1947, close to twenty thousand counting the military L-4 spotters. It is a steel-tube fuselage and a wood-spar, fabric-covered wing with a 65 hp Continental A-65 up front on most examples. There is no electrical system on a stock Cub, so it is hand propped. You solo it from the rear seat, fly with the door open and read fuel off a bent wire sticking out of the nose tank.
It is slow. It is also the airplane most pilots point to when they talk about learning to feel an airplane, because the rudder does the work and the Cub tells you when you are not doing yours. It cruises at a speed where headwinds matter. Owners keep them for decades, restore them repeatedly and fly them off grass on summer evenings.
Variants that matter for price
Sellers list the J3C-65 (Continental), J3F-65 (Franklin) and J3L-65 (Lycoming), and the Continental version is the one buyers want because the engine is the easiest to support. A documented L-4 with military provenance draws a premium from collectors. Engine upgrades under STC to a Continental C-85 or C-90 add real climb and add value, and an O-200 conversion goes a step further at the cost of originality. An electrical system, starter and radio are worth more to a pilot near controlled airspace and less to a purist. The date and quality of the last recover matters more than the model year.
What buyers check
The wood spars come first. They are inspected for compression cracks near the strut fittings, for rot at the root and tip, and for evidence of a hard landing or a ground loop that loaded the wing sideways. Metal-spar replacement wings exist and are a plus. The lift struts are a known problem on all the fabric Pipers because they corrode from the inside; sealed replacement struts or documented inspections are expected. The fuselage tubing is checked at the lower longerons, tail post and gear clusters, and the bungee gear for tired cords. Fabric gets a punch test and a look inside for rust and mouse damage. The original heel brakes are fine for grass, and a Cleveland conversion adds value. An annual on a Cub tends to turn up cracked exhaust stacks, worn hinge bushings, a leaking fuel valve and a tailwheel that needs rebuilding. Damage history is nearly universal on an airframe this old. What matters is who fixed it and whether the repair is in the logbook.
Who it suits
A J-3 suits a pilot who wants low, slow and simple, has a grass strip nearby and either has tailwheel skills or wants to learn them properly. It is not a cross-country airplane, it carries two small people and a sandwich and a heavy passenger up front on a hot day is a problem with 65 horsepower. Buyers cross-shop the Piper PA-11 (front-seat solo, wing tanks), the Aeronca 7AC Champ (same idea, solo from the front with a better view), the Taylorcraft BC-12D and a new-production Legend or CubCrafters Sport Cub for a light-sport version.
How much does a used Piper J-3 Cub cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $19,500 to $111,000, and the median is $51,000. The middle half of the 17 priced listings sit between $45,000 and $60,000. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Piper J-3 Cubs are for sale right now?
17 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 8 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 44 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Piper J-3 Cub take to sell?
38% of the J-3 Cub 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 Piper J-3 Cub sellers cut the price?
2 price cuts in the last 30 days against 17 live listings, averaging 15% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which J-3 Cub sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 Piper J3 CubOct 9 | NV | 86 d | $25,000$20,000−20% |
| 1945 Piper J-3C-65Oct 5 | PA | 64 d | $74,000$67,000−9% |
For sale now
Which J-3 Cubs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 J3 Cub 85HP | IA | 9 d | – | $45,000 |
| Piper J3C-65 | CA | 14 d | – | $67,999 |
| 1946 Piper J-3 Cub | NJ | 18 d | – | $48,000 |
| 1946 Model J3C-65 | NE | 22 d | – | $60,000 |
| 1946 J3 Cub | CO | 25 d | – | $45,000 |
| 1946 J-3 Cub For Sale | FL | 27 d | – | $55,000 |
| 1946 Piper J3-c Cub 75 HP | OH | 40 d | – | $49,500 |
| 1943 Piper J3/L4 | WI | 41 d | – | $51,000 |
| 1946 J3/L4 | LA | 46 d | – | $58,000 |
| 1947 PA-11 Piper Cub Special | MT | 47 d | – | $111,000 |
| 1941 Piper Cub | IN | 47 d | 1 | $39,000 |
| J-3 Cub Project | SC | 49 d | – | $19,500 |
| 1945 Piper J-3C-65 | PA | 64 d | 1 | $67,000 |
| Piper Cub 1939 | CA | 68 d | – | $50,000 |
| 1946 Piper J3 Cub | NV | 86 d | 1 | $20,000 |
| Highly Modified 90HP J-3 | CA | 91 d | 1 | $59,000 |
| Piper J-3 | WA | 91 d | 2 | $62,000 |
Cross-shop
What else does a J-3 Cub buyer look at?
Other Piper types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the J-3 Cubs, 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.