The RV-4 market this morning
What does a used RV-4 ask right now?
With 8 for sale this morning, the Van's RV-4 is the 51st most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and second to the Van's RV-6 among Van's types. 8 were listed in the last 30 days and 12 came down, a faster churn than the experimental and kit average. 2 of them are in TX.
Asking prices run from $12,000 to $92,000, and half of the 5 priced listings sit between $60,000 and $80,000. The median is $72,500, 39% below the experimental and kit median of $119,500; it is the cheapest Van's type with a page here.
No RV-4 seller cut price in the last 30 days, against a cut rate of 27% across every type we track. That is the lowest cut rate of any Van's type here right now.
Set against every other type, the RV-4 also appears in our note on which models get their price cut most often, with the sample behind each figure.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1 | $53,000 | 0% |
| 2000s | 2 | $70,000 | 0% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 87% of RV-4 listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next RV-4 that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a RV-4 appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 8. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Van's RV-4
What it is
The RV-4 is the tandem two-seat taildragger that made Van's a company. It first flew in 1979 as a stretch of the single-seat RV-3, and well over a thousand have been completed from plans and kits since. It is a small, low-wing aluminum airplane with a bubble canopy and a Lycoming O-320 or O-360 of 150 to 180 horsepower. The design goal was a fast, aerobatic sport airplane a homebuilder could afford, and it climbs hard, cruises fast on modest fuel and still lands on a short grass strip.
Owners describe it as the purest RV. Roll is quick and pitch is light. The cockpit is narrow, the rear seat is tight and the baggage space is small, so it is a one-plus-one airplane rather than a two-adult traveler. The rear seat also moves the center of gravity aft in a way you have to respect. Pilots who have flown the whole line often say it is the one they would keep if they did not need to carry anyone.
Variants that matter for price
There is only the RV-4, so sellers lean on engine and era. A 180 hp O-360 with a constant-speed prop is the strong end; a 150 hp O-320 on a wood fixed-pitch prop is the light, economical end, and both have their fans. Many early airplanes were built from plans and raw stock with builder-drilled holes, before matched-hole kits existed, so workmanship varies more than on any later RV. A careful plans-built airplane is worth as much as a kit one; a rough one is worth much less. Later kits with the factory-built spar and quickbuild wings usually mean a straighter airframe. A modern panel matters here because so many RV-4s still carry what they were finished with in 1990.
What buyers check
Start with the spar. Older airplanes used a builder-assembled main spar, and buyers want to see the spar carry-through, the wing attach bolts and the center section inspected for cracks and corrosion. Check the fuel tanks for weeping. The canopy frame and its hinge or latch area crack on some airplanes; look there and at the rollbar. The tailwheel spring and the tail attach fitting take a beating on rough fields. Engine questions are the usual Lycoming ones: cylinders, oil use, time sitting. Read the logs for a ground loop or a nose-over and then look at the gear legs, the gear towers and the wingtips. Ask for the builder's log and photos, the Phase I sign-off and the weight-and-balance. A canopy that has yellowed or crazed is common and not cheap to replace.
Who it suits
The RV-4 is for a pilot who flies mostly alone, wants aerobatics and a fast cross-country in the same airframe, and is comfortable in a taildragger. It is not for two large people, not for hauling bags, and not a first taildragger for most. Buyers cross-shop it against the RV-8, which is the roomier version of the same idea, the Harmon Rocket, and a Pitts if aerobatics is the main draw.
How much does a used Van's RV-4 cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $12,000 to $92,000, and the median is $72,500. The middle half of the 5 priced listings sit between $60,000 and $80,000. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Van's RV-4s are for sale right now?
8 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 8 were listed in the last 30 days and 12 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 31 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Van's RV-4 take to sell?
Not enough RV-4 listings have both appeared and closed yet to say. The survivor rate appears here once the cohort is large enough.
How often do Van's RV-4 sellers cut the price?
0 price cuts in the last 30 days against 8 live listings. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which RV-4 sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
No RV-4 seller cut price in the last 30 days.
For sale now
Which RV-4s 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RV-4 N20JE $46,000 | AL | 0 d | – | see ad |
| RV4 | NC | 2 d | – | $92,000 |
| Vans RV4 2009 | — | 7 d | – | $60,000 |
| RV 4 Kit 60%-80% Done | CA | 12 d | – | $12,000 |
| 2003 RV-4 N160HP | FL | 12 d | – | $80,000 |
| Vans RV-4 | TX | 15 d | – | $72,500 |
| RV-4 Project | TN | 23 d | – | trade |
| RV-4 | TX | 91 d | – | see ad |
Cross-shop
What else does a RV-4 buyer look at?
Other Van's types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the RV-4s, 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.