What's My Car Worth?

By Joe Whitaker

One of the most often asked questions is: What is the value of my classic? For each and every time that question is asked, there are perhaps 100 different answers. When folks ask me this question on the phone, I will often jokingly say, “Somewhere between $0 and $100,000” because it’s impossible to establish a value on the phone. And my idea of fair market value may vary considerably from that of another individual or a professional appraiser.

When trying to establish a value for insurance, most insurers have an agreed value policy. This is where you suggest the value of your car and the insurance company gives you a premium quote based upon this value as long as it fits in their ‘normal” range of values for your particular make, model and condition. I always suggest that owners guess high when submitting this value as there is nothing worse than an underinsured or uninsured loss.

Fair market value is nothing more than the sales price of a car when it changes hands under normal (not auction) conditions between a willing seller and a willing buyer. This value is often less than (sometimes far less) the prices you may see published in collector car price guides. The guides use a national average of hammered sold collector car auction values that are often inflated tremendously by all sorts of factors. The higher profile car auctions attract hundreds of potential buyers where cars are often bid far over their market value just because a wealthy bidder “has to have it”! In addition, auction entry fees, sellers and buyers commissions and travel/lodging expenses all factor into what a car may sell for at auction. For example, if I have a 1957 Bel Air sport coupe that has a fair market value of $30,000, I may sell it to you in my driveway for $30,000. But by the time I pay to transport the car to the auction, pay the entry fee, seller’s commission and pay for my room and meals, that very same car may need to sell for $45,000 for me to net the same amount as if I had sold it to you in my driveway.

So before you jump up and down when a ’57 convertible “just like yours” sells for $100K on television, remember all of the above factors. Your car may be nearly as nice as the auction car, but may only have a fair market value of $65,000.

On-line auctions, like eBay, are not great ways to establish value either. I have watched classic prices closely on eBay for two years and I see prices fluctuating all over the place. Project junkers that I thought would bring $1000 may sell for $10,000! And cars that I thought for sure would meet their low reserves were listed and then re-listed and did not sell. Bidding on/buying cars here is quite risky as cars always look far better in photos than they really are.

If you are buying a classic, it will be very unlikely you’ll find that “deal of a lifetime” these days. With the proliferation of the internet and large numbers of would-be car collectors today, just about everyone has an idea (often inflated) of what their car is worth. That dream of stealing a car for half what its worth may be long gone. However, with high gas and food prices and folks falling on hard times (or perceived hard times), it certainly doesn’t hurt, as a buyer, to try and take advantage of the situation. As the old saying goes, “It’s never going to be as cheap as it is right now.”

By far the best way to establish the value of a car you own, or are buying or selling, is to see what cars similar to yours sell for between private buyers and sellers. Ask around at car shows and see what folks paid for cars like yours. Don’t be afraid to ask the judges or fellow car owners at the next CCC event to tell you what your car is worth. The collector price guides don’t use these real-world prices because they are difficult to obtain. Often these guides are supported by the very auctions they report the prices on, so there is a good reason to keep the prices high. Higher prices mean more interest in the auctions, higher entry fees, higher commissions…more money for the auction house!

Just remember, your car is most likely worth from $0 to $100,000!