Well, I took my car to an appraiser and it was a rather interesting experience, thought I would share what I learned.
My goal here is to have the insurance company value the car higher than book in case of an accident. The dollar amount I am looking for is $7500. Kelly bluebook today is $3500
. The guy I took the car to does alot of car related stuff: he owns a repair shop, a car inspection company, and he does accident reconstruction and appears in court as an expert witness. He also collects old cars and does appraisals. I took the sup down to his storage warehouse that has wrecked cars plus his collection and a lift. He went over the car outside and in, put it on the rack, and also drove it. Overall he liked supras alot, he thinks they have good potential and are very popular. He didn't like the fact that my airbag was disabled and the AC was missing. It hurt the value. Alot. I asked how much and he said about $1500. Ack! First estimate he gave on the car was $5,000. He said a year and half ago he would've put it at $7,500. After driving it and putting it up on the rack, he said he would go higher, but I'm not sure exactly how much. I am going to email him everything I have done to the car. He said simply replacing a stock part gains no value. Upgrading a stock part adds value. I won't recover the cost of the labor involved, but I can recoup the value of the part itself. So keeping receipts and taking good notes is important. After I email him the list, he will type up a report, including pictures and snail-mail it to me. Then I can take this to the insurance company. He said if the insurance company doesn't cooperate, there are companies out there that specialize in such cars and they would be able to cover the car. I'll post what the final appraised value is when I get it in the mail.
He did notice the car had been wrecked, but he determined it was a minor fender bender. Not enough to deploy the airbag. He also recommended having my appraisal updated every 12-24 months as I continue to do improvements.
After the appraisal I almost hit a guy that pulled out in front of me.
Oh, here's a pic of the new interior. Seats are used out of another '90. Carpet is brand new:
My goal here is to have the insurance company value the car higher than book in case of an accident. The dollar amount I am looking for is $7500. Kelly bluebook today is $3500
. The guy I took the car to does alot of car related stuff: he owns a repair shop, a car inspection company, and he does accident reconstruction and appears in court as an expert witness. He also collects old cars and does appraisals. I took the sup down to his storage warehouse that has wrecked cars plus his collection and a lift. He went over the car outside and in, put it on the rack, and also drove it. Overall he liked supras alot, he thinks they have good potential and are very popular. He didn't like the fact that my airbag was disabled and the AC was missing. It hurt the value. Alot. I asked how much and he said about $1500. Ack! First estimate he gave on the car was $5,000. He said a year and half ago he would've put it at $7,500. After driving it and putting it up on the rack, he said he would go higher, but I'm not sure exactly how much. I am going to email him everything I have done to the car. He said simply replacing a stock part gains no value. Upgrading a stock part adds value. I won't recover the cost of the labor involved, but I can recoup the value of the part itself. So keeping receipts and taking good notes is important. After I email him the list, he will type up a report, including pictures and snail-mail it to me. Then I can take this to the insurance company. He said if the insurance company doesn't cooperate, there are companies out there that specialize in such cars and they would be able to cover the car. I'll post what the final appraised value is when I get it in the mail.He did notice the car had been wrecked, but he determined it was a minor fender bender. Not enough to deploy the airbag. He also recommended having my appraisal updated every 12-24 months as I continue to do improvements.
After the appraisal I almost hit a guy that pulled out in front of me.
Oh, here's a pic of the new interior. Seats are used out of another '90. Carpet is brand new:
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