Everything is a matter of degrees I suppose. They're not rare. People often conflate pivots, saddles, and actuators, in 182RGs and 210s. 210s came in both saddle and pivot variants, R182s only came in pivot form. The OP is talking about the narrow cabin 210 and 210A models, with the exclusive-to-them 1000hr replacement interval saddles. Though a labor intensive job, they're not rare to procure. The 210B and beyond model saddles, merely require dye penetrant (and no mandatory replacement at any hour interval, unless you find a crack of course) inspection every annual under a different paragraph of the same AD.
You want to talk about unobtanium? Actuators. I was doing some research on a different forum and hoo boy, that puckered me up. Met a guy who found my email and was nice enough to proffer me his flying club ledger when I went asking about R182s: 10k for an actuator, and only way they were able to swing it was they had it in a club and everybody pitched in as the AOG was killing the club cash flow. The aircraft was AOG for 4 months based on procurement. Cessna wanted 25K and had a 365 day backlog. He didn't expand on whether that was as a function of bona fide backlog, lack of interest by Cessna, or the OEMs desire to release orders in batch form.
At any rate all that to say, 210 saddles are a layup by comparison. Reason people have fallen out of favor with the short gear 210s is that they get hit with the insurance premium of the bona fide 6 seater (the tubular long "modern" leg one that can actually fit 6 people in earnest), and people consider the engine driven hydraulic gear system of the pre-72 ones a detraction. Others misunderstand the gear door inclusion in the gear system and overestimate the mx on it, which leads to further erosion on pricing.
This of course leads imo to a better value for people looking into a 4 seater, if you can swing the insurance hit. Long legged 210s should be considered a different airplane than the spring leaf gear ones (latter which came both in cantilever and strut braced wings). If it wasn't for my self-imposed rule to fly continental engines in pairs (I keed I keed ...I think
), I'd be all over an early 210. Of course, I better ask my AP how he feels about it, as I'm also not fond of having people get paid to learn on my dime, which perhaps is why I cram myself into a Cherokee in the first place LOL
Pivots otoh (for the R182) have been STC'd for re-milling.
@flyingcheesehead had those guys do him one. Otherwise you're looking at similar procurement and pricing dynamics, though nowhere near as bad anymore since they STC the repair of one's existing pivot.
I think the OP will be fine, he just needs to actually confirm these folks have done the job before. That really is the bottom line on this particular affair.
