[V8] Re: V8 appraisal
Roger M. Woodbury
rmwoodbury at adelphia.net
Thu Jan 12 08:56:48 EST 2006
>From the pictures, my opinion is "take your money and run.".
Yesterday the auction for that '93 V8 in Pennsylvania ended with a final
price well below $3,000. $2,550 was the final selling bid, if I recall.
There are quite a few '90 V8s for sale for small dollars. To buy back the
car that has had relatively serious damage and then try to fix it with used
parts will be a great exercise and if you have the time to do it all
yourself, it might work out.
But the actual cash value of the V8...ANY V8...in decent condition is really
never more than twice what you are being offered by the insurance company.
So, for six thousand dollars, a newer V8 model, with relatively the same
miles is available. For $3500 another '90 V8 is waiting somewhere.
Then maybe its time for Mom to think of a newer, Honda Accord V8, or
something similar that hasn't the "issues" of the V8.
If you can get another five hundred bucks out of the insurance company, then
its worth a try. But time is money, and for a '90 V8, the offer from the
insurer isn't a bad first offer.
Incidentally, the fact that there has been a gazillion dollars of recent
mechanical work done on a car has zero effect on the value of the car from
an insurance standpoint. It is assumed that a car is properly maintained,
so maintenance must be done in order for an insurance company to pay "fair
market value" on the carcass after loss. So also if the car was right at
timing belt time, and the timing belt had not been done at time of loss, the
fact that the engine was due for major service would have had no effect on
the value that an insurance company would pay after loss. Perfect interior?
Worth money. Ripped and torn upholstery? Worth negative money, because the
car is below "average" to an adjuster's eyes.
If this were my car, I would take make a counter offer of around $5,000 and
explain why. The insurance company will probably come up a few bucks, and
at that point, I would take the whole amount, and start searching for the
"next" car....whatever that might be.
Roger (My .44 worth....well, it IS a Type 44, is it not?)
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