PRESTIGE COLLECTOR CAR APPRAISAL

My Services

Specializing in collector cars, trucks and motorcycles. Stated to produce the most accurate and extensive reports by law firms and insurance companies. Services provided include reports for estates, divorces, tax purposes, insurance policies, pre sale price determination, and pre purchase vehicle evaluations. I am also hired for collection assistance and recommendations.

The Difference I Provide

My experience as a national Concours d 'Elegance judge and national marquee judge gives me the expertise to accurately evaluate a vehicle to the highest standards. In creating the nationally acclaimed 350 page Studebaker Avanti Authenticity Manual, my research skills were honed.

The appraisals are not based on sent in photographs and a filled out form or some random contracted guy coming out to see your car, rather, they are done only by myself, in person. Each vehicle evaluation takes about 1 1/2 - 2 hours where every aspect of the vehicle is carefully looked at, inspected and photographed. Back in my office, many hours are spent researching facts, comparables and the current market conditions. The appraisal is an actual 8-9 page packet (just in writings) that includes a very detailed report describing every single imperfection. All numbers are analyzed for correctness and decoded, paint meter readings are taken to determine what is under the paint and thats just a sample of whats in the report. Other appraisers just use one or two pages with some boxes checked. I evaluate the car as if I was judging a national show. All aspects of the car are reported on. Unlike other appraisers, an extensive summary section is included which sums up the vehicle's pluses and minuses, describes the current market, how it relates to the comparables found and an explanation on HOW the appraised price is arrived at (not just a number typed on a page). This is very important when legal or insurance requirements are needed.

All comparables used are printed out and included in the report to further substantiate the appraised value.

My normal range is the general western Washington area, however I will travel and have been contracted to go out of my service area and even out of state.

My services have also been used in finding and evaluating barn finds, as well as locating collector/classic cars for clients.

Another unique aspect I provided is a personal touch. Being a car guy for most of my life and having extensive experience on all aspects of the hobby, I am able to give helpful advice. Whether you are a spouse who is left with an estate having collector cars and are unsure of how to care or sell them, or the prospective purchaser of your first collector car and are in need of advice, or are out of state and are needing someone to be your "eyes and ears" and give an experienced true objective opinion, I would love to help. I was a professional firefighter for 32 years and did the job because I love helping people in need. Going the extra mile is what I am all about.

PICKING THE RIGHT APPRAISER

Probably the best, and most important, question one could ask when checking on a possible appraiser., " Is the appraised value what i can expect when selling the vehicle?" The average person will see a number on a report and assume that is the value the vehicle would sell for. That COULD be true, but there is A LOT MORE that goes into making a correct and legal report that will determine if that number has any factual basis. Let's take a look.

Nobody, no matter how good the appraiser is, can guarantee a vehicle will achieve the appraised valve. There are so many extenuating factors; venue, people present, how well was it advertised, current economic conditions, current market position to name just a few. So, why then the need for a report. Well, the report and value, if done correctly, will give the best likely value if the vehicle was at a CORRECT venue auction on any given current day This is not an exact science, more of a best (hate to use the word) guesstimate given all of the factual data and condition of the vehicle. There are a lot of factors that affect this guesstimate, lets break it down.

When determining valuation, the first step is doing a proper, in depth, evaluation of the car IN PERSON. The evaluator has to be very knowledgeable of the vehicle they are evaluating. Has to be very thorough in going through every aspect of the vehicle, documenting every blemish, modification and concern. Noting all of the good aspects as well as the bad. Paint meter readings, mirrors, magnifying glasses, creepers if no lift is available, Boar scopes for those hard-to-reach places are just some of the tools that are needed to do an accurate once over. (If they do not use these, or show the knowledge of the vehicle, or willing to spend the time evaluating the vehicle, FIND ANOTHER APPRAISER). The appraiser needs to take numerous photos and notes to document each finding. They have to be able to crawl under the vehicle, use lights if needed, in other words, get down and dirty. Documenting all these factors is vital to compiling an accurate, correct report. One MUST be able to tell the difference between correct and restamped vin tags and numbers. Be able to tell if an engine's stamp pad has been planed off and restamped. Know what a broach mark is. Know what is correct fount on stampings and what is not. Has to be able to tell what is original factory paint and what is not. Tell if a body panel has been replaced or if it is the original factory piece. All of this and so much more is needed if the evaluator/appraiser is ligament. Contracting an appraiser just because they are "certified" does not mean anything in the collector car world. Certification means you took a short online coarse that deals in the very basics of the automotive world. It is more geared to determining post accident valuation cost for repairs than determining valuation on a collector car. That knowledge is only obtained in years and years of exposure, studies and hands on work. IN WASHINGTON STATE, COLLECTOR/CLASSIC CAR APPRAISERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE CERTIFIED. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT APPRAISER IS KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THE COLLECTOR CAR MARKET,

Next is the "not fun" part of hours and hours of research, computer work and typing. Though time consuming and at times monotonous, this part will make or break the report. You will see various versions of reports out there. The cheap, lazy report will be done by sent in photos to a national company with a form filled out with boxes checked and a value written down and little else. These quickie, sent in reports, are basically worthless and rarely will they stand up legally. The vehicle was never evaluated in person by a qualified person. The reports say nothing about true condition of the car, show no comparables and nothing to justify the value given. In other words, A WAIST OF MONEY AND TIME. The next report you may see will have an actual person evaluate the car, unknown to their qualifications, will complete a typed report with short statements on different aspects, may or may not have some comparables and a value (again, no justification on how the value was achieved). Though more in-depth than the mailed in report but still falling a good amount short of a good professional report that truely tells you exactly what you have and justifies how the value was achieved. I can not state how important this is as there are many reasons for having a professional report done: To determine fair market value for selling the vehicle (Very important as to ensure the seller knows what to set a reserve at so they do not undercut themselves OR overprice it where no activity is achieved). Having a pre-sale report done is very beneficial if it is very detailed, as it will benefit out of state buyers when they need reassurance by a qualified person on what exactly the vehicle is with no transparency. Another reason for a report is in legal situations, i.e. divorces, and estates. Here, most likely at least one of the parties is not as knowledgeable about the vehicles or the market and needs help in determining true market value. Especially in these cases, exact, legally written reports are essential with attention to detail, facts and figures that is carefully written to withstand legal scrutiny. This is where you stick your neck out as an appraiser and thus you better be damn good. Another request would be for a prepurchase evaluation and report on value. Here again, extreme care and due diligence need to be done by a reputable, knowledgeable appraiser. This is because the client is basing whether or not to buy the car based on your evaluations and report. If you are not correct in any way, you can be set up for legal and financial problems.

Lastly is the determination of comparables and justifying your valuation. Finding camparables is not just going online and finding some cars sold and saying there is your proof. There is a lot of work that takes place to do it CORRECTLY. You need to know WHICH AUCTIONS to use and which to not use. Today, auction houses and sites tend to specialize in a vehicle or vehicle types. It is essential to understand this and properly choose the right sites for the vehicle you are appraising. Going with an auction house that rarely deals with say a Porsche will give false values that do not represent what the true market is, often much lower. You must go to the sites that the people looking for that vehicle will visit to get a true vision of what the real market is saying. Comparable vehicles need to be like in nature or show a significance in determining valuation and must be stated as such. At times the appraiser must use their discretion and objective reasoning to adjust what the comparables are telling to best fit the type or condition of the vehicle in question. Here again, years of experience is the key. Justifying the value in a SUMMARY section is critical as this is where the entire report is summed up, the current market is explained and how the appraised value was achieved. Again critical in all aspects.

NOTE: BE VERY WARRY OF ANY APPRAISER WHO STATES THAT USING AUCTION RESULTS DOES NOT GIVE TRUE MARKET VALUES. THIS STATEMENT IS REDICULIOUS AS THE ONLY OTHER SALES OUT THERE ARE PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS AND THOSE ARE NOT STATED ON THE INTERNET AND THUS HAVE NO WAY OF BEING DOCUMENTED AND USED IN A REPORT. COMPARABLE VEHICLES MUST BE SOLD VEHICLES! USE OF, "FOR SALE", VALUES IS TOITALLY WORTHLESS AS ANYONE CAN ASK ANY PRICE FOR A VEHICLE. IT MUST BE A LIKE, SOLD VEHICLE, TO BE A COMPARABLE.

I have been a professional collector car appraiser for over 25 years now. I have done 100 plus car collections, multi-million-dollar rare classics as well as high end customs and resto-mods, countless full classics and pre wars to foreign and everything in between to a Ford Pinto. Each report, regardless of the condition and value of the vehicle gets the same evaluation, the same amount of time spent on the report, the same amount of detail and the same amount of pride in producing a professional accurate report. I have been stated by the law firms and insurance companies i have worked with to provide the most accurate and detailed reports. They are 8-9 pages of writings alone and are done to the best of my abilities. I have gone to court numerous times in disputes over collector car values and have had the judges go with my values EVERY TIME over the other parties appraiser values.