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Used Aircraft Guide

Cessna 172

Larry Anglisano
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A nicely kept Skyhawk like the 1973 M model in the lead photo can sell for north of $65,000, while late-model birds are in the $300,000-plus range.

Without question, after all these years the venerable Cessna 172 Skyhawk still delivers enormous practical value. There isn’t a mechanic around that can’t wrench one, parts are plentiful, it carries a reasonable load and it’s stone simple to fly. These desirable traits only scratch the surface.

But, it used to be that you could get a decent used 172 for what we considered to be an affordable investment. How affordable? When we last looked at the used Skyhawk market five years ago in Aviation Consumer’s Used Aircraft Guide, a decent 1976 172N had a typical retail price of $38,000. According to the latest Summer 2021 Aircraft Bluebook, that number has jumped to we’ll over $50,000, and selling prices of well-maintained and generously modified Skyhawks of that vintage can easily fetch close to if not north of $100,000. Newer ones flirt with $450,000. 

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.