Having a full blown classic car inspection done, coupled with a certified car appraisal is where you should start if you’re serious about selling your muscle car or antique car in today’s on line market. Buyers typically expect that the one’s selling their own car will reveal the car in a very favorable fashion….to be expected. This process gets worse when you add in a broker that hasn’t really seen and studied the car. Most of those deals fall apart mid flight, due to lack of confidence on the buyers part. If they do end up selling, it’s for a lower dollar than they should have sold for, because smart buyers don’t overpay for a car they are not confident in. The key to success? Earn the buyer’s confidence. Not just through salesmanship, but through honest, accurate depiction. Having the car inspected by an outside, professional 3rd party inspection company will reveal the car’s strengths and weaknesses, and help both parties get down to the truth, which leads to a truthful and favorable outcome for both parties.  Our process includes jacking up the car and test driving it when possible, along with magnet test results, and in some cases video presentations, when personally conducted by the owner. Even if you have some computer skills, the management of a successful selling campaign on line can be a arduous process. Having the time to send out 100’s of photos, over and over to different prospective buyers, teaching them how to link to and or view videos, answer dozens of questions, and continually follow up  with people is what is required. You can utilize the reports and photos that Autoappraise.com will create for you on site to sell your car, or better yet, you can let us step up and handle the whole task for you. We have sold EVERY car that has been consigned to us, through our unique process of thorough accurate depiction. Don’t just take our word for it. Auto Appraise will put you in touch with the actual sellers of the cars we’ve consigned, so you can hear the stories of our success from them….which is really their success. Put the hard work and skills of certified auto appraiser  Jason Phillips to work for you. Please call us to discuss your unique situation. We offer discounted service for car collections. Auto Appraise Inc. is well reviewed in the Classic car field, so check out what our client’s are saying! Call us to discuss your needs. 800-301-3886, or 810-694-2008. M-F, 9am-7pm, Sat 10-2pm, EST.

Technorati Tags: auto appraisal, auto appraiser, buying a used car for sale, Classic car chat, classic car for sale, consignment, muscle car for sale

This 1963 Ford T-Bird is a wonderful survivor car. The owner, who recently passed purchased it in 07 for close to $50,000, according to the records.  It has excellent magnetic adhesion all around with visible factory spot welds present everywhere. It’s had one nice repaint in the original medium blue metallic. Paint underhood and inside trunk appears original.  All trim is still very presentable, some with varying grades of patina present, but all very acceptable on a 2-/3+ show-able driver car. The complicated top system has gone through the typical $3000.00+ rebuild of all the solenoids with a replacement canvas that is very nice. This top works flawlessly, see pics. You’ll see in the YouTube test drive linked below that the 390 c.i. engine runs very well and the tranny shifts nicely. The underbody and trunk remain very solid. No patch panels, no repairs, no rot. All is very solid underneath. It could use a good long day’s worth of steam cleaning and paint detailing to the underbody on a hoist, to really make the bottom stand out. All dye holes are clean and uniform on the frame rails, and the spot welds from the rail flanges to the pans are easily seen. It’s obviously a collision free body. Interior is a combo of mostly new vinyl components and carpet, mixed in with well survived original pieces. The whole car presents in a really nice fashion. The previous owner, spent a lot of time and money in upkeep, and it shows. Links are posted below to youtube videos of the car. Autoappraise.com conducted a 3 hour long inspection on this car. We have over 200 photos and a well written detailed narrative report that will soon be viewable on our blog, see link below. The best thing about the car….just get in and drive, it’s ready for summer without delay. We are asking $35,000. 800-301-3886 or 810-691-2664, or email cars@autoappraise.com. http://www.autoappraise.com

Technorati Tags: auto appraiser, classic car, Classic car chat, for sale

In this article, Auto Appraiser Jason Phillips breaks down the 1-6 “condition numbers” that often get assigned to determine a vehicle’s worth, and the general weakness of this approach in a real attempt to place a proper value.
The first question one should ask would be…”is the car untouched and all original”? From my past experience, it’s very rare when a buyer runs across this situation. This is the easiest situation to assign a single number to a car with equally aged components. Seller’s often unknowingly represent their cars this way, when in fact they have been partially or fully repainted, or modified in some amount they consider not worthy of mentioning. Sometimes, they’re not even aware of previous changes, due to purchasing the car in that condition. Other times alterations are “bolt-ons”, absent the original parts accompanying in the trunk. Sometimes a beautiful exterior re-paint has left the door/trunk jambs in single stage, unattended condition. Sometimes those new base/clear repaints get reacquainted with their old; patina soaked or pitted original bright work. One thing is for certain; other than an untouched, unaltered “barn find”, it’s very difficult to describe most cars with only ONE NUMBER!
After 21 years in the hobby/ workforce, I consider myself a veteran auto appraiser. Appraising and training others to appraise is my full time career. I say this not to establish bragging rights, (though my mother is very proud) but to help establish a foundation of where my opinion comes from. I’ve had the honor of creating an education from inspecting over 6,000 vehicles. Of those, I can count on two hands (O.K., maybe three) the number of actual untouched original vehicles viewed. While a multitude of these appraised cars were close to “bone stock originals” improved upon minimally, the vast majority had at least one exterior repaint, re-covered seats, replacement carpets coupled with some interior paint freshening and re-plated bumpers. The rest fell somewhere between frame up and frame off restored, excluding the “street rods” and “resto-mods”. On cars such as these, it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to assign just one narrow, categorized number for valuing! To further complicate matters, consider the following; of those touting “frame off” restored, the quality of workmanship varied between that “at home” amateur father and son first project look, all the way up to “House of Kolors” over-restored dialed in to the max beauty look!
If my past experience as an auto appraiser has taught me anything, it really all comes down to this: most cars have a “split personality” regarding value. That is to say varying levels of new and aged improvements made on various components, and the quality level at which said improvements were tastefully executed plays a huge role in determining value. Ill-fitting poorly made Chinese reproduction parts are no substitute for true OEM components and or nicely restored original pieces. Stop signs and home heating duct do a sufficient job of patching holes in a trunk pan, but are not equal to a replacement trunk pan that’s been properly installed. New seat covers and carpet DO NOT equal a restored interior. Neither does spray canned black control arms and coil springs with new yellow shocks installed inside them equate to a rebuilt suspension. And NO, roofing tar does not make a sufficient frame repair, regardless of how smooth you may get it to look over the rust holes!
In summary, breaking down the car by each major section and assigning a number or grade is the way I come to a logical conclusion on placing value. Having a solid basis of knowledge on restoration costs, OEM parts expertise vs. aftermarket parts and their associated value, as well as a good eye for quality workmanship are the key factors you should apply when assessing values on your own. Just for grins, Try numbering your own classic car by section and see what you discover. If you end up with mostly #1’s and #2’s, well then……ask your best car buddy to do it for you again, JUST to be sure you’re not missing the mark or showing any subjective favoritism!

Technorati Tags: auto appraisals, auto appraiser, Classic car chat

As an automotive writer, sometimes I just get stuck for ideas…blank screen. In my 20 year career as a classic car appraiser, I’ve constantly seen a lot of spectacular cars, many I would write about, if I could just get passed the idea that I’m droning on about it in a boring way. I’m not that interested in writing about a car’s production history, although sometimes you’ll catch me doing this. History on cars can be read practically anywhere one looks. History can also be boring. I mean, how many of us actually paid attention in high school history class anyway? Old production history doesn’t tell you much about the classic car parked in front of you either. As an auto appraiser, it’s my goal to bring to the table some of the interesting things that I discover during an intense auto inspection. Yes, I DID say intense! For example, I often see the same style repairs on “first gen” Camaro quarter panels. Most body shop technicians I speak to like to do “lay overs”, instead of full quarter panel replacements. There are pros and cons to this method, (mostly cons in my opinion) many I will discuss in an upcoming article. These are things I feel have not been discussed or brought to light that are far more interesting than how many Camaro’s were actually produced. When you’re attempting to purchase a car long distance, these are things that are hard to discover about the car and weigh out before you commit to the process. It is my goal as a writer to bring up issues such as these and shed a little light on the subject. If you have any thoughts or ideas that you wish to share or items you wish to see written about, feel free to forward them to us at http://www.autoappraise.com. Entitle them, questions for auto appraiser Jason Phillips, or sign up to our blog as a contributor.

Technorati Tags: auto appraisal, classic car

Cars built on the A platform include:

* 1960-1976 Plymouth Valiant
* 1963-1976 Dodge Dart
* 1967 Dart GT
* 1968-1969 Dart GTS (my favorite)
* 1964-1969 Plymouth Barracuda
* 1971-1976 Plymouth Scamp
* 1970-1976 Plymouth Duster
* 1961-1962 Dodge Lancer
* 1971-1972 Dodge Demon
* 1971-1981 Valiant Charger (Australia Only)

Cars built on the rear wheel drive B platform include:

* 1962 Dodge Dart
* 1962-1964 Dodge Polara
* 1962-1964 Plymouth Fury
* 1962-1964 Plymouth Savoy
* 1962-1970 Plymouth Belvedere
* 1963-1964 Dodge 220 (Canadian)
* 1963-1964 Dodge 330
* 1963-1964 Dodge 440
* 1965-1974 Plymouth Satellite
* 1965-1976 Dodge Coronet
* 1966-1978 Dodge Charger
* 1967-1971 Plymouth GTX
* 1968-1975 Plymouth Road Runner
* 1975-1978 Plymouth Fury
* 1975-1979 Chrysler Cordoba
* 1977-1978 Dodge Monaco
* 1978-1979 Dodge Magnum
* 1979 Chrysler 300

Chrysler built on the E-body platform for two separate car ranges.

* 1970-1974 Dodge Challenger
* 1970-1974 Plymouth Barracuda

Cars built on the C platform include:

* 1965-1974 Plymouth Fury
* 1965 Dodge Custom 880
* 1965 Chrysler 300L
* 1965-1971 Chrysler 300
* 1965-1973 Dodge Polara
* 1965-1976 Dodge Monaco
* 1965-1977 Chrysler Town and Country station wagon
* 1965-1978 Chrysler Newport
* 1965-1966 Chrysler Windsor (Canada only)
* 1966-1969 Plymouth VIP
* 1974-1975 Imperial
* 1975-1977 Plymouth Gran Fury
* Chrysler New Yorker

Technorati Tags: A body, auto appraisals, B body, E body, Mopar

During an auto appraisal, Jason Phillips took the pictures of a wonderful 1961 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible that you’re seeing below. It’s difficult to argue that there was a more beautifully designed bumper on a 60’s era car. It’s design intentionally flowed into the bold feature lines and drastic angles of the car. “You can see this car coming from a mile away”. No other GM car reigns so distinctive. This is one solid survivor convertible. It had been tastefully upgraded with a 1962 Starfire bucket seat OEM color matched interior. It features a stock factory tachometer built into the Starfire console. I have yet to look at the Oldsmobile production numbers, but I know they’re fairly low.

Ordering an auto appraisal on line is almost as easy as ordering Chinese take out. So, how do you know who’s knowledgeable, versus somebody that’s just copied some good sales info to a website in an effort to take your money? How do you know if insurance underwriters respect their opinions? How do you know if banks will even accept their work? How do you know if they’re even real. Don’t be charmed by price alone. Although price is important, be enamored by knowledge. Read referral letters and testimonials. Contact by e-mail or phone any referrals that posted their contact information. If there is no path provided to contact the past customers, then you too should pass on choosing that company. Autoappraise.com has over 100 testimonials posted, each allowing personal contact through e-mail, and some have left telephone numbers. They have 265 inspectors and auto appraisers nationwide. They are staffed with knowledgeable and trustworthy people. Call them at 800-301-3886.

Technorati Tags: auto appraiser, technical

Jason Phillips points out in an auto appraisal that it’s easiest to identify true factory built SS Chevelle’s in 1966 and 1967. Even without a protect-o-plate, or a build sheet, the cowl tag and VIN tag will not lead you astray. If it begins with 138, then it was a factory built SS model. All SS chevelle’s from 1966 through 1970 were 396 equipped cars. All except for some 402’s, and of course LS5 and LS6 equipped 454 1970 models. If you need more info or a car inspected, check out our website, www.autoappraise.com.

Technorati Tags: chevelle, chevrolet, SS, technical

auto appraiser Jason Phillips was asked “when did the 396 engine get introduced? Most people believe that it was 1966 for the SS Chevelle’s, but that’s because you rarely see or hear about the 1965’s. In 1965, you could order an SS with a six cylinder! However, early in the year, Chevrolet introduced the mark IV 396 big block, but only put it into 201 heavily optioned “A” bodies. These were all well equipped cars, called the “Z16″ Malibu. If you find one, It’s a rarer than rare treat!

Technorati Tags: chevelle, chevrolet, muscle car, SS

auto appraiser Jason Phillips notes that Mustang’s were built in 3 plants in the USA. San Jose built cars were the only ones that no buck tags were utilized. That leaves Metuchen built and Dearborn produced cars. Tags were used from 1964-1968. The Metuchen tags, at least through 1967, had wavy edges, whereas the Dearborn produced cars had flat, rectangular tags with 90 degree edges. The little holes you see punched in both versions were put there by assembly workers. These punches indicate that workers acknowledge their instructions on what that particular car was to receive. Punch holes had different shapes and symbols, based on what was being confirmed on the order.