Classic Car News & Auto Appraisal Tips

If your vehicle was damaged during the recent historic rainfall and floods in and around Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, South Florida, it is highly likely your car will be declared a total loss by your insurance company. Be aware of the 'Appraisal Clause' in your policy, and/or do an internet search. Do not accept your insurance company's first offer. Invoke your 'Appraisal Clause.' Big $$$ at stake!

As a follow-up our May 17, 2022 post "So, what's your Pinto worth", this one just sold on the online auction site Bring A Trailer for $12,500. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1979-ford-pinto-wagon-3/ The original MSRP was $4,338, and the current value of those 1979 dollars is $17,486. Stay tuned for what's your Trabant worth?

The AMC Gremlin is a subcompact automobile introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style (1970–1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC). The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact car also produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1975 through the 1980 model years.

If you do an internet search for ‘auto pre-purchase inspection’ almost certainly the first Sponsored listing will be Lemon Squad. Lemon Squad has great marketing! Dig a little deeper and search for Lemon Squad reviews and you might decide to keep searching. Whichever auto pre-purchase inspection company grabs your attention, before you hire them, do your due-diligence by reading through all the good, the bad and the ugly reviews online.

Which Land Rover Defender 110 would you buy? Recently a client from Texas called to say he was looking to buy one of two mid-1990s advertised for sale in Miami, and he wanted pre-purchase inspections (PPI) on both so that he could decide if and which one to purchase. They were both being offered at about the same price.

In which state should you register your collector car? A great majority of the registrations for collector cars are split between three states: South Dakota, Arizona, and Montana. It can be a little confusing to know which one to choose , so here's a breakdown of each state to give you an idea of the one that’s right for you.

A Texas rancher, Chuck, was on his summer vacation in the west of Ireland and decided to stop at a dairy farm just outside Galway. Chuck introduced himself to Paddy, the owner of the farm, and asked him about his farm. Paddy was more than pleased to show him around. "Here is where I grow me potatoes, green peas, cauliflower and parsnips. Over there I built a play set for the wee ‘uns, next to the shed where I keep the cows," Paddy said.

Over the years we’ve appraised 1,000s of different vehicles for all sorts of reasons. Fair Market Value Appraisals for pre-purchase and pre-sale inspections, bankruptcy, divorce, probate, and financing purposes. Replacement Value Appraisals, usually for Collectible and Exotic Vehicles, watercraft and light aircraft, for Agreed Value insurance coverage purposes, Prior-to-loss appraisals to determinine the Fair Market Value of the vehicle prior to the loss, and Diminished Value Appraisals to assess the loss in value of a vehicle as a result of an accident caused by the negligence of another.

California emissions standards are much stricter than those implemented by the EPA. The EPA is a federal government agency that oversees environmental protection matters. In 1970, congress passed the Clean Air Act (CAA). The law gives the EPA the authority to set nationwide vehicle emissions standards. But under one section of the act, California was granted the ability to seek a waiver from federal standards, thereby allowing the state to set its own stricter regulations.