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So I have traded a few emails with the owner. It's an amazing aircraft and VERY well maintained. The ONLY issues that I see:

1. Aerobat Checkered pattern is no longer on cowl & spinner (he repainted and I'm not sure the white matches rest of plane). So, you could have just the cowl redone. Not a huge deal

2. Price: $60K -> Vref is $42K configured as his plane is (IFR Garmin Stack, 20SMOH, Engine Monitor, etc.).

#2 is my hangup. $18k over vref is steep, but it is a rare bird. But, Vref accounts for that right?

Thoughts?

I don't think Vref accounts for collector's value.

vref is consistently off base.

I agree with Hung and Poobs. Vref is (I think) one good baseline to use, but I don't think it accounts for cream puff airplanes. I'm not exactly sure how to figure a good selling price for one like that.

It’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

You have to decide what it’s worth to you.

If you have the means, you can offer $42k for it and see if the seller bites.

If he accepts, you have an Aerobat. If not, you will have to decide what it’s worth to you.

What it really comes down to is how badly you want an Aerobat and how much can you afford?

Keep in mind, “never fall in love with another’s airplane.”

All good advice. Capital to purchase isn't an issue. Getting what constitutes a fair price does even if it's a premium. Just not sure how to value this one. I'll never fault him/anyone for getting as much as possible for it. This particular Aerobat is VERY nice. $60k Nice? For me, I'm not quite there, but for others, it may be a slam dunk.

You’re trying to quantify something that really isn’t quantifiable.

You’ll have to come up with a figure that is likely to get you an Aerobat but won’t keep you up at night.

Only you know what that is, and you may not know that you know it.

You could hire an official aircraft appraiser through something like the National Association of Aircraft Appraisers - See http://www.aircraftappraisersinternational.com/naaa/

Also, if you get a subscription to Trade-A-Plane, you get access to an NAAA appraisal tools that lets you input more variables than Vref to get another datapoint on the value of the plane you are considering.

Not ready to go that far (appraiser). Still determining if an Aerobat is even for me. I'll admit it does get the blood going just by looking at it!

I always think it's good to return to basics: what's the mission? I bought J-mo to get an instrument rating in, get more experience with cross country flying. Gain experience with airplane ownership. Give friends and my kids enjoyable rides. All in an affordable way.

The plane somewhat defines my mission, too, so, owning that beautiful Aerobat would mean I could fly the cross countries I currently fly, but with perhaps even less useful load. I could learn some aerobatics, given a light enough instructor. Insurance cost would be a bit higher, with the higher hull value. I would be less likely to want to "risk" the airplane landing on grass, due to the lovely paint. I'd be more fastidious, and worry more about keeping it good looking. For me, compared with J-mo, a net negative.

Still, for someone itching to learn aerobatics, who likes nice-looking things, that plane might be perfect.