The RV-6 market this morning
What does a used RV-6 ask right now?
With 21 for sale this morning, the Van's RV-6 is the 11th most-listed piston type on Barnstormers and the most-listed Van's. 13 were listed in the last 30 days and 14 came down, about the same churn as the rest of the class. TX has the most of them (3), then OR (2).
Asking prices run from $35,000 to $129,500, and half of the 20 priced listings sit between $63,500 and $105,000. The median is $87,750, 27% below the experimental and kit median of $119,500; 4 of the 7 Van's types here ask more. Age matters: 1990s airframes ask a median of $60,000 against $99,000 for the 2000s.
4 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 19% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 8% off the ask. Of the RV-6s we watched appear, 25% were still for sale 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | $60,000 | 40% |
| 2000s | 5 | $99,000 | 20% |
| 2010s | 2 | $92,000 | 0% |
| 2020s | 1 | $154,000 | 0% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 73% of RV-6 listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next RV-6 that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a RV-6 appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 21. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the Van's RV-6
What it is
The RV-6 is the side-by-side two-seat RV that turned the company from a cult into an industry. It first flew in 1986, the tricycle-gear RV-6A followed soon after, and by the time the RV-7 replaced it in 2001 more than two thousand had been completed. It is a low-wing aluminum airplane with a Lycoming O-320 or O-360 of 150 to 180 horsepower, a slider or tip-up canopy, and room for two adults sitting shoulder to shoulder with a bag behind them.
It flies like an RV, which is to say fast for the fuel, light on the stick, aerobatic within its limits and easy to land once you learn to slow it down. The cabin is narrower than the RV-7's and the fuel is a little less. The reputation is of the airplane that does everything a two-seat pilot needs at a cost a later RV cannot match, provided the build was good.
Variants that matter for price
Sellers write RV-6 or RV-6A, and the A draws the wider pool. Engine is the next lever: a 180 hp O-360 with a constant-speed prop is the strong end, a 150 hp O-320 with a fixed-pitch prop the economical end. The kit changed a lot over fifteen years. Early ones came as raw sheet and the builder drilled every hole; from the mid 1990s the kits were prepunched, and the last ones had matched holes. Later serial numbers usually mean a straighter airplane. A slider canopy is what most buyers ask for. A modern panel lifts an RV-6 out of the crowd, since most were finished with steam gauges and a single radio.
What buyers check
On a 6A, the nose gear is the conversation. The original leg and fork could dig in and flip the airplane on soft or rough ground, and the factory issued a stronger leg and fork; check which the airplane has and look at the leg for wear at the socket and cracking at the fork. On either model, inspect the main spar center section and the wing attach area, the fuel tanks for weeping at the rivet lines, and the flap and aileron hinges. Early builder-drilled airframes need a careful look at rivet quality and skin fit. Tip-up canopy frames crack at the hinge blocks, and sliders wear their tracks. Engine questions are standard Lycoming. Ask for the builder's log and photos and the Phase I sign-off. A ground loop on a 6 or a nose-over on a 6A is the usual damage history, so look at the gear towers, the wingtips and the prop.
Who it suits
The RV-6 is for a pilot who wants a fast, sporty two-seater for cross-country and light aerobatics without paying for a newer RV, and who accepts owning someone else's construction work. It does not carry much baggage, and a tip-up with a tall pilot can be tight. Buyers cross-shop it against the RV-7, which is the same airplane refined, the RV-9 for a gentler ride, and a Grumman Tiger or Mooney M20C on the certified side.
How much does a used Van's RV-6 cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $35,000 to $129,500, and the median is $87,750. The middle half of the 20 priced listings sit between $63,500 and $105,000. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many Van's RV-6s are for sale right now?
21 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 13 were listed in the last 30 days and 14 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 51 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a Van's RV-6 take to sell?
25% of the RV-6 listings we watched appear are still for sale 45 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 Van's RV-6 sellers cut the price?
4 price cuts in the last 30 days against 21 live listings, averaging 8% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which RV-6 sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van's RV-6Oct 9 | MN | 18 d | $89,500$79,850−11% |
| Van's RV-6Oct 1 | MN | 18 d | $98,500$89,500−9% |
| Very Nice RV-6A – Low TimeSep 20 | IL | 54 d | $115,000$105,000−9% |
| Vans RV6ASep 19 | NE | 91 d | $102,000$98,500−3% |
For sale now
Which RV-6s 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 RV-6 Quick Build | VA | 0 d | – | $127,500 |
| 1993 Van's IFR RV-6A | FL | 1 d | – | $112,000 |
| Vans RV-6 | IN | 2 d | – | $63,500 |
| RV6A Project Slider | IL | 8 d | – | $60,000 |
| RV-6A Project | TX | 12 d | – | $35,000 |
| 2001 RV6 | GA | 15 d | – | $82,000 |
| 1997 Vans RV-6A | CA | 18 d | – | $60,000 |
| Van's RV-6 | MN | 18 d | 2 | $79,850 |
| RV-6 | AL | 21 d | – | $95,000 |
| 2010 Vans RV6A | OR | 22 d | – | $95,000 |
| Vans RV 6 | OR | 22 d | – | $90,000 |
| 2008 Vans RV-6A- Low Time | — | 25 d | – | $84,500 |
| Beautiful 1997 RV-6A | TX | 30 d | – | $85,500 |
| Vans RV-6 | TX | 51 d | – | $68,000 |
| RV-6 | NV | 51 d | – | see ad |
| Very Nice RV-6A – Low Time | IL | 54 d | 2 | $105,000 |
| RV6 For Sale 478 Ttae | PA | 56 d | – | $110,000 |
| Vans RV-6 | UT | 85 d | 1 | $129,500 |
| 2001 Vans RV6 | IN | 91 d | – | $109,000 |
| 1990 Van's RV6 | WA | 91 d | 2 | $58,000 |
| Vans RV6A | NE | 91 d | 2 | $98,500 |
Cross-shop
What else does a RV-6 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-6s, 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.