Car Appraisal in US Dollars, What would you appraise this car at in US Dollars Options

[Mark Henry]

Cars like this in Canada typically go for about 25% more than their counterparts in the states. So keep that in mind of what other (US) peeps say.

Just looking at the pic's I'm going to say $17K replacement, but if you were out to sell it the market is soft and you might not get a whole lot over $10k. Just my "guess".

Your appraiser didn't work hard enough for that $350, it should of had at least 1.5hrs research time, photo's and write up another hour. Any less than that you're being ripped off IMO.
BTW in Ontario all you need to be called an "appraiser" is a business license and a bit of knowledge about cars.

My appraiser checks out my car, asks what I think it's worth, looks at papers I bring, does enough research to CYA, takes pics, and writes it up. $125

[carreraguy]

I know a guy who has a very collectible 911. He chose to totally modify it into a hard core racing platform with 3.8l 911 engine, full cage, racing fuel cell etc. etc. He has the car he wanted, but since all it has in common with the stock collectible car is the chassis, its no longer a "collectible" and now worth less than it would be with no mods. My guess is your car is in the $8-$11K range; i.e. I don't think you'll ever get back all you put into it UNLESS you find a buyer that totally "gets it".
If you're looking for an insurance value, as suggested earlier, I recommend you work with a specialty insurer such as Leland-West and arrive at a "stated" or "agreed" value that you both agree on.
P.S. I know I'll never get back all I have in my Subie conversion; I went into it fully aware of that.

[SGB]

I think that is an awesome looking car. I think a "fair" market (and insurance) value should be 12K.

[carr914]

Remember the guy that had the RayCo bodied car last month that most everybody laughed at because he wanted $25k for. He sold it for $18,5K and I think your car is much nicer.

T.C.

[KELTY360]

Remember the guy that had the RayCo bodied car last month that most everybody laughed at because he wanted $25k for. He sold it for $18,5K and I think your car is much nicer.

T.C.

I was thinking the same thing. Here's the link to that thread. For appraisal purposes, this is a comparable car. I prefer the mods you have made, but that's not the issue. You're looking for sold cars with extensive modifications. Both cars even have 4 bangers.

RayCo car

BTW, nice job on the interior, looks comfy.

[Todd Enlund]

I think any 914 driver who sits in it would be happy to pay par for it.

How tall are you? My guess, from looking at it, is that the seats are too high for me to fit comfortably in the car.

Does look like a very nice job, though.

[tracks914]

I think any 914 driver who sits in it would be happy to pay par for it.

How tall are you? My guess, from looking at it, is that the seats are too high for me to fit comfortably in the car.

Does look like a very nice job, though.

I'm 5'11" and sit just fine. With the roof on I don't touch. I measured from the wind shield/roll bar (with a broom handle) to the seat top on both my cars and found these only sit about 1/2" higher.

[computers4kids]

Honestly the car is very well done and I think if you went to sell it you would most likely get over 12k for it.

the car is very nice. But since its more modified, its gonna hold more value to someone that just love the car.

Very nice car and great attention to detail. I'm sure many would love to have your car! Unfortunately, a major stumbling block to it's value right now is it is too mofified. I would also have to agree "restored" is also not the correct term if we're talking about value.

Many classic car insurances do not require appraisals as noted already, and I doubt you would have any problem insuring it for 10-15K. Selling it in today's market, is a another story.

Once again...very nicely done!

[A&PGirl]

The appraiser probably lowballed you as much as he thought he could get away with. The value of car should be determined like this:

What is the car? What are equivalent prices for cars that have had this type of work done to them?

The individual ones (leeway here):

How much cost in metal?
How much would an average body shop charge w/out parts to fix the metal?
How much would it cost for an average body shop to paint the car?

=Equals you basic cost of the car

Here in the US (general):

Paint: $5000
Metal: $800-1000
Shop to put metal in: $1000-$7000 or more depending on the (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bs.gif) factor and the (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon8.gif) when they realize its a Porsche.

Rough Total: $10,800 (higher amount for the shop based in my local area)

The appraiser should of at least done enough homework to know how much it costs to paint and get metal restored.

The $10,800 should be the base at which he works off of.

How much for an engine rebuild?
How much for a transmission rebuild?
How much did it cost to bring the suspension back to equivalent standards for the car?
How much did it cost to bring the car back to standards concerning mechanical & safety issues?

That will probably be anywhere between $1,000-5,000 or more also depending on average shop prices.

With the custom interior work, you could easily lob off $1,500 on the selling price. It all depends on the buyer. Or it might add $1,500 in value.

A fair value for your car $13,500-14,000USD which would be 27,000-28,000 pounds in the UK.

[tracks914]

Here is the deal. The way I looked at it, I hired the appraiser to work for me to protect my assets. (I got the feeling he thought he was trying to protect the Insurance companies assets)
Less than 1% of the populatuion would pay or even think that a Z1R Corvette is worth $100K, but that doesn't mean that some think it is worth it, or will pay that for it, thus making it worth $100K.

This appraiaser came in at about $8400 US.

I thought he should have come in at least $11,000 US or $14-$15K CAN. (Given the dollar was trading at .77 last week)
Looking at the poll results I see that over 40% believe it should be appraised at about $11K US or higher and almost 20% over $14K US.
I now feel justified that he might have under valued my car for Insurance replacement purposes.

I want to thank all for voting and posting.

Thanks
Doug

[Dr Evil]

That price is ridiculously low. I am glad you were able to get some clarification here.

[Pat Garvey]

Most of you folks would know what I feel about this car. For that reason, did not vote. But.....

For a "personalized" 914, this is very nice. Though I only have superficial photos to draw from.

Let's be realistic here. This car, nice as it is, will never draw top dollar because it is too far from orignal. No, it can't be taken back to original in a weekend. I am not "dissing" your 914. You made your choices & did an excellent job, but it is a custom car.

As the years go by, the numbers of original 914's drop. That raises the values of the original/restored to original cars. Remember, they didn't make that many to start with!

Now, let's discuss insurance! You can get a stated value coverage from a number of sources. That doesn't translate into what your 914 is worth. And, it doesn't mean that you'll get the final coverage if it's demolished. Read the policy. There are many derivatives. Be careful.

Nice 914 - I like it!
Pat

[tracks914]

Let's be realistic here. This car, nice as it is, will never draw top dollar because it is too far from orignal. No, it can't be taken back to original in a weekend. I am not "dissing" your 914. You made your choices & did an excellent job, but it is a custom car.

No offense taken but, all but the fenders and mirrors can be unbolted and originals put back on, I believe, in a weekend. I am a bit of a stickler for originality. The only reason I decided to molest this car a bit was because it was a broken back poor specimen of a 914 when I bought it.
I have the original bumpers, painted and ready to replace if need be. I'm still not sure I like the 916's so I have both if I change my mind. The original dash is uncracked and the basket weave is still in great shape on the metal backing plate. I even left the upper dash vinyl black for contrast and if I wanted to replace all to original I wouldn't have to change that too. All the dash components on this car came off another car. The seats, out of an 88 Corolla, were mounted on original seat mounts and can come out of the car in 30 seconds. The original 38000 miles seats are in my attic with all the other original parts including unmolested door panels and back pad. All the bright aluminum trim is in a box in my attic.
If I chose to replace the mirrors, the holes could be patched and painted with minimal work compared to what has already been done. I did keep the old fenders but mostly because they were the only part of the car that had no rust. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) but I don't ever plan to put them back on. If I did that would be a few weekend work in itself.

BTW if you saw earlier in the thread, I do already have an all original '72 I use as a sunny day driver. I'm hoping to use this as my DD and bring the '72 up to show car state in the next year or so.
Thanks for looking Pat.

[tracks914]

I just received my second appraisal.
FMV (Fair Market Value) $12,000 US.
Replacement Value - $18,000 US.
Much more inline with what I expected.
This is what I'll submit to my insurance company.
Thanks again to all that polled.

BTW I did provide the appraiser this web site for research purposes.

[Mark Henry]

Yep....I wasn't to far off. Much more in line with Canadian $ values.