Early Car Appraisal

[CurtEgerer]

I switched insurance companies and need an appraisal on my '71 T (and my '88 M3). It's a 'Agreed Value' policy but, unlike Hagerty and some others, you do need to backup your agreed value with an appraisal. The problem is that beyond some of the experts on this board, I don't believe there's anyone up to speed on current early car values, particularly a general collector car appraiser. I happen to have an appraiser who lives down the road and I'm meeting with him Sunday. I'm thinking I'm going to need to educate this guy with some sort of documentation on recent sales. Any suggestions???

[SWBS]

Curt,

You wrote "stated value"; is that what you meant, or did you perhaps mean "agreed value". There has been a great deal of recent discussion regarding this subject on 356TALK, and what I have gleaned from the "informed" who have offered their experience (some of it unpleasant), is that it's critically important to clarify the terms of your policy and then to reassess the market periodically so that your coverage doesn't lag behind.
The following was written by an officer of Leland West however, lots pertinant information can be found by Googling "agreed value".

As to your specific question about recent transactions, perhaps folks on the board who have had recent sales or purchases might contact you privately. Your insurer might need just a few "comps" to establish an acceptable number.

http://lelandwest.com/What_You_Should_Know.cfm

Jim

[CurtEgerer]

Jeez, I just got off the phone with a claims manager I know and we discussed agreed and stated at length. It is an AGREED value policy! I edited my original post - thanks Jim.

[cosley]

Sent you a pm.

[larry47us]

Curt:

When I first got my car, and discussed insurance with my company, they had a value provision that required an appraisal. They required me to use a "licensed appraiser." They suggested the Volo Auto Museum (a short 20 minute drive away) to get a acceptable number. By acceptable, they meant to them, not to me.

The cost was about $150 for the appraisal. Considering that the Hagerty policy that I currently have is only $264, and it includes an Agreed Value of $30,000, with a Zero Deductible, which is defined in the Hagerty website as

Agreed Value Coverage. In case of a total loss, you will receive the full amount for which you have insured your vehicle.

This was the right way to go for me.

larry

[CurtEgerer]

The only reason I switched is the new company also writes my normal vehicles, so there is a substantial discount. However, if this appraisal thing gets to be any more of a hassle, I'll switch the 'collector' cars to Hagerty.

[CurtEgerer]

Why does Hagerty have condition definitions if no appraisal is required anyway? From my understanding, I could insure my '71 T for an agreed value of $50,000 (even though it's not worth near that much). I would simply pay a higher premium than if I agreed to, say, a $25,000 value. Tom, are you saying that there is, in fact, some sort of underwriting that goes on that would weed my car out and require a more reasonable value?

[SWBS]

Tom,

You (and Curt) may have opened the proverbial "Pandora's Box". In the world of real estate, brokers frequently use comparable (nearby, room #'s, sq. ft., condition, etc.) recent sales as a benchmark for determining asking price. Is this a method which Curt, or others might use to substantiate a requested dollar amount?

Thanks for your input on this subject.

Jim

[CurtEgerer]

I think the point is comparables, i.e., if I were to find 3 'comps' to provide to the appraiser. Of course, no.1 how do I get documented comps, and no.2 I'd basically be doing his job for him .....

As for auctions, I think that might be a good source for high $$$ RS's and the like, but how many T's have sold at the collector car auctions recently? Maybe more than I think ..... as far as published market values, we know Excellence is misleading. SCM? Not sure if they're up to speed on early cars. I know Hemmings (via their Sports & Exotic Car mag) can't be relied upon. They recently had the e30 M3 listed at $5000 to $8000!!!!!!! That's less than 1/2 of what they sell for. Probably based on DMV records where most people report extremely low sales prices for tax reasons ..... I eMailed them with some contrary info and they admitted they needed to do some more investigation. Which brings me back to my original point, there are only a handful of people familiar with the current early car market. Cars worth $20,000 12 months ago are now worth $30,000.

[Rennman]

I have all of my cars with Hagerty. They are first class and will jump through hoops for you. I have come up with all of my values without any questions from them, They do examine the photos when reviewing the agreed ammount. When I raised the coverage on Polizei alot more than the previous owner had it insured for with them they looked at all of the photos and got back to me agreeing on my new ammount. Good people.

Don