Appraisal

[67HEAVEN]

The (insurance company-approved) appraiser visited yesterday afternoon. I'll get the appraisal and photos back in about a week.

He walked around the car taking photos. I showed him a stack of receipts over 3" deep.

Half an hour in, I began to realize that he was looking for something. Then, it hit me. He's looking for the VIN plate. So, I casually said, "You probably haven't appraised many of these before, right?"

"Not many", he replied.

Finally, he gave up and asked where the VIN plate was. I half think he suspected it was missing.

"Look under the glovebox", I said. :eyerole

Also, I made a point of mentioning all the modifications to him to ensure that the insurance company got full disclosure. He appeared shocked when I explained the new fenders.

One more thing he said that caused me some concern. He raved about the quality of the project, but mentioned that if I were going in for judging, maybe we should have smoothed out the outer door frames (where the doors close into). I helped him understand that: a) I wouldn't be submitting my car to any judges, and; b) if I did enter, knowledgeable judges would be looking for the very factory flaws that we purposely left in place. (This entire project was done to combine the best possible performance advances while attempting to retain much of the realities and appeal of the classic design).

Now, I'm wondering if this was the right appraiser.

 

[1BAD69]

Bob,
I used Edward Davies. He used to own Davies Corvette back in the day. Seemed very knowledgeable.416-219-7660

 

[IH2LOSE]

Bob sorry for the disapointment.

time will tell how knowlegeable he is on car values.

I have not seen the car in person and I am not a proffestional but I can put a value on it from the pictures I have seen .

Good luck

 

[vetteboy86]

When I bought my trans am, the guy that appraised it was the guy my insurance company wanted me to go to. I am not sure if he low balled me or not. He didn't seem to knowlegeable about the car, other then checking the vin, and making sure the motor matched.

You know what replacement value of your car is, and if this guy doesn't jive, get a second opinon if possible. BTW I paid 125 for the appraisal, how much did you have to give?

 

[67HEAVEN]

When I bought my trans am, the guy that appraised it was the guy my insurance company wanted me to go to. I am not sure if he low balled me or not. He didn't seem to knowlegeable about the car, other then checking the vin, and making sure the motor matched.

You know what replacement value of your car is, and if this guy doesn't jive, get a second opinon if possible. BTW I paid 125 for the appraisal, how much did you have to give?

No money or hint at a value yet, although on delivery of the appraisal and photos, the fee will be $CA200.00. I've thought about it and I'll call him today to express some concern about his apparent lack of knowledge about midyears.

If he doesn't give me some feedback that makes sense, I'll tell him to keep it and I'll offer a token amount for his time.

 

[stepinwolf]

How we did it.

Bob,

I had the same problem a couple of years ago when I completed mine. I contacted the largest apraisal firm in order to get someone with experience, and after going over the car for more then an hour, we both sat down with paper and pencil, and he figured out what it would cost to rebuild the exact same car.


When the total was worked out, the actually replacement costs came out to 127K, ( including 1800 hours of my labour ), so that was what his apraisal was made out for. My cost for the agreed value policy with no deduct is 1070$ par year.

If you think the amount that will be worked out is unsatisfactory, you might want to sit down, and build a virtual copy of the car. Don't forget your labour, plus the farmed out labour, because you will be amazed at how fast the cost climbs when these so call ( spare time ) hours a factored in. You know, if anything bad did happen, this is what you would be obliged to shell out for it's identical replacement. You will be surprised at what the shipping and cross border charges are, just for parts on a project such as yours.

It's a shame but most of the apraisers work through the insurance co. back doors.

 

[paul67]

I would not be comfortable with such incompetence being associated with such a large investment. The quality and thoroughness of the appraisal might be called in question in the event of total loss through theft or collision. The appraisal might not be under the microscope at the outset but a claim might result in a greater level of scrutiny. That's not a chance I would care to take.

 

[67HEAVEN]

I'm glad I placed the call to the appraiser today.

He may not have been too familiar with midyears when he walked in, but the research he has done since then has placed the car very close to $CA150K and he tells me he's far from finished.

"The more information I've been able to gather, the higher the price goes", he says.

Thanks for your input folks. It looks like this is headed in the correct direction. Since I was directed to him by the insurance company, they will accept the outcome without question.

I won't have it in my hands until at least next Monday.

 

[Subfixer]

Looks like your insurance company's appraiser is the "real deal". He is taking your project and appraisal seriously enough to educate himself, and not make a snap decision. Nice to know there are still some honest hardworking folks out there.

 

[stepinwolf]

Oupps forgot something

Bob,

BTW, the policy does not cover the 15K U$ I spent over the winter in doing the complete performance upgrade. :ugh

 

[paul67]

He does sound like a conscientious fellow! My earlier concerns have been allayed.

I'm glad you brought up this subject: it jogged a thought. Given a new interior and paint I would imagine the 2003 appraisal on my car is far off the mark. So I will have it reappraised.

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

has placed the car very close to $CA150K and he tells me he's far from finished.

Wow..!!!!

$150,000.00 CAD = $119,014.99 USD

Man...I better re-think my Cheapo 50K Value on my 65...!!!!

So if your Vette ski is worth that............ then mine must be worth $100,000.00


What did you say that guys name was.???? ......:L

 

[67HEAVEN]

What did you say that guys name was.???? ......:L

I don't remember saying.

 

[67HEAVEN]

I'd like to emphasize that I pointed out all the modifications. The engine, transmission, suspension, fenders, etc., etc. I told him not to rely on "judged" prices as this car would be considered extremely modified and therefore ineligible for traditional awards.

His feedback to me suggested that quality "hotrods" are becoming extremely valuable.

"Okay", says I.

Oh, by the way.................548 miles, and I'm now becoming very intimate with this car. "Oh baby....oh baby....oh baby!"

 

[ctjackster]

just a minor point - unless the ins. co has reason to suspect insurance fraud is a likely possibility (as is the case in "over-insurance" - you hear this phrase when a husband takes out an unusually large amount of insurance on his wife just before she turns up dead) an ins. co does not have a real interest in cramming down the appraised value of the insured vehicle to levels well below the "replacement value" of the car - the nsurance company is paid by way of premium, and the bigger the car value, the more premium

real world example - I just finnished an addition on my house and thought it wise to make sure the schedulled values on my homeowners were refreshed and updated. Ins Co. sends out an appraiser - and then I get the nice report detailing the wonderfully valuable house I live in. Joy at what I was able to accomplish with addition turns to immediate pain when I see the annual Homeowners premium has now quadrupled . . .

 

[67HEAVEN]

just a minor point - unless the ins. co has reason to suspect insurance fraud is a likely possibility (as is the case in "over-insurance" - you hear this phrase when a husband takes out an unusually large amount of insurance on his wife just before she turns up dead) an ins. co does not have a real interest in cramming down the appraised value of the insured vehicle to levels well below the "replacement value" of the car - the nsurance company is paid by way of premium, and the bigger the car value, the more premium

real world example - I just finnished an addition on my house and thought it wise to make sure the schedulled values on my homeowners were refreshed and updated. Ins Co. sends out an appraiser - and then I get the nice report detailing the wonderfully valuable house I live in. Joy at what I was able to accomplish with addition turns to immediate pain when I see the annual Homeowners premium has now quadrupled . . .

Good points. Assuming that I'll likely pay a similar per-thousand amount to Stepinwolf's rates, I can live with the $CA1,300 or $CA1,400 annual premium.

 

[paul67]

Bob,
Check with your company carefully. Those look like Classic rates from Lant. You will be driving - and outside Canada. Just a wee yellow flag.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Bob,
Check with your company carefully. Those look like Classic rates from Lant. You will be driving - and outside Canada. Just a wee yellow flag.

Correct, Paul. Stepinwolf's rates appear to equate to the Lant Silver-Wheel policy for stock classics. Obviously, mine doesn't qualify. It falls under the Modified Wheel Plan.

Assuming that I'll likely pay a similar per-thousand amount to Stepinwolf's rates, I can live with the $CA1,300 or $CA1,400 annual premium.

The annual premium ends up being more than triple Stepinwolf's and, to qualify for that level of coverage, I had to upgrade to a 24/7-monitored garage alarm system for both burglary and fire. :crazy

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

The annual premium ends up being more than triple Stepinwolf's and, to qualify for that level of coverage, I had to upgrade to a 24/7-monitored garage alarm system for both burglary and fire. :crazy

Now .....that's getten carried away....Just Hire a wine-o to sleep out side your garage and keep him supplied with Mad Dog 20 -20....

 

[BarryK]

The annual premium ends up being more than triple Stepinwolf's and, to qualify for that level of coverage, I had to upgrade to a 24/7-monitored garage alarm system for both burglary and fire. :crazy

reminds me of when i was in the car audio industry.
I was a judge for IASCA (car stereo competitions) and one of the very top cars on the judging circut had so much one-off custom circutry in it and was so good of a system that the owner was very paranoid about the security of the car.
When it wasn't at a competition he had the car (with it's own security system installed) stored in it's enclosed trailer - the trailer had a security system - plus it was stored in a secret warehouse that also had a security system.

The security warehouse was hidden, inside was the locked enclosed trailer with a security system, and inside the trailer was the car with it's own security system!

you know, it gets to the point that being paranoid about material possesions goes over the top! He did have insurance on it afterall.