Armalite Ar-180 - school me.

[Jcgodfrey]

So my dad sent me some photos of an old Armalite AR-180 he has owned for years.

I’m curious if anyone has an idea of the value of it? Serial # is in the 25,xxx range. It does say Costa Mesa and Sterling (I read Costa Mesa models are the best and Sterlings are the worst quality. I don’t know which this is if it reads both).

I’ve been doing some reading about them and was curious on value. He might look to sell it but I just don’t know much about them.

Tia for any info!

 

[LRRPF52]

They are collector’s items and have been for many years now. There’s a Sterling import on GB right now with a starting bid of over $2k. Depending on condition and what accessories/magazines you have with it, they can get up to $4200, but the Sterlings tend to go for less, since way more Sterlings were made than Howa and Costa Mesa models.

You have to watch out for pawn shops and dealers who raise their prices on failed bids or quick-flip re-sales with high starting bids. You used to be able to get the Sterlings well below $2000, but pricing has only gone up with inflation and limited supply.

Magazines, scopes, sling, original box, owner’s manual, etc. increase the value for a collector.

A thing to look out for is stock wobble, since the AR-18/AR-180 is not the strongest folder in that respect. An informed buyer is going to want a less-wobbly stock.