Recommended appraiser in SoCal?

[ebanville]

Hey, all. It may be time to send my 66 Beetle on to its next owner and I'm looking for an appraiser to get a valuation on it. Body off resto done in 2006. It looks stock, and is filled with lots of upgrades, so I will need someone who can look at the car, the receipts, and any other variables and give me an idea of its worth.

Thanks for any help you can be!

[Sharp64]

Appraisers are dreamers in most cases. Check the classifieds here and you may get a better idea of actual sales value. Good luck.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
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[ebanville]

Thanks, Sharp64. I have been doing that. It's tough though. A ten year old stock restoration, with cheaper interior, is listed at $15k. Poorly done customs list at 8-10k with stock motors and lots of cheap EMPI parts. I've got a beauty with rubber from West Coast Metric, hardware from CB Performance, disc brakes, 1914cc engine by Chico Performance, trans from Wright Gearbox, custom interior done with BMW and Mercedes textiles. She's a real peach. 30k invested. I know I won't get anywhere near that, just trying to get a sense.

[[email protected]]

Stock restorations bring the most return, and appeal to the largest audience imo. Even mild customs sometimes scare a lot away. There was a Cal-Look Oval with a big stroker at the Auburn In. Labor Day Weekend Auction that only brought $18k. A friend picked up a super clean 65 Sunroof Beetle in Long Beach with a Geoff Hart 2332 that made 201 at the wheels for less than $15k around 2013.

JJ Best is one of the larger lending companies for classic cars. Maybe give them a call to see if they could recommend someone they use local to you.

[EverettB]

I think Randy of http://oldbug.com might do that?

Or he might be able to recommend someone.
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[c21darrel]

The problem of using an appraiser is that their value is their own opinion only and they are not buying the car. Its $300 that you will deduct from your pocket...sell or not. You may get stuck on that opinion and keep yourself from selling. I think the best advice is to look here to see what is advertised, similar year and condition cars. Remember, the ones you are looking at are not "sold" those are asking prices. Note when ad was placed. Location plays a part too.
This ghia guy had his appraised because it was a daily driver (cant get Classic car Insurance, "agreed value" on a daily driver). Has contact website for his appraiser.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=640918&highlight=appraiser
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[EverettB]

Good point, appraisals are really only for insurance purposes.
It's best to look at other cars for sale as specified above.

I own a car that was appraised to sell.
I bought it for 1/3 of the appraisal value after the guy finally gave up after a couple years trying to sell it for anywhere near that price.
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[Sharp64]

[EverettB]

[Sharp64]

[c21darrel]

The clouds are parting, I hear singing.

So the moral is, get it appraised and sell to EB at 1/3 appraised value.
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[[email protected]]

If an appraiser is doing their job, there's no reason the vehicle could not sell for the appraisal. Sure, if the customer wants an inflated number to cover their ass for insurance purposes that's fine, but an honest value is what the car could sell for. A local appraiser, and fellow VW enthusiast does his job/research, and customers get a value on what has SOLD. Looking here in the classifieds can sometimes be a joke. I remember Bob Cook a couple years ago selling a numbers matching fresh full restoration Split Beetle for around $63k after all the auction fees. My employer was at the auction/event, and was thoroughly impressed with the car. At the same time, there was a similar Split listed in the classifieds for $90k. Sorry, but there wasn't a $27k difference in the two cars. Asking, and selling prices here in the classifieds can differ in 10, 20, or even 50% increments. Get your high appraisal for your insurance, or get your actual appraisal for your sale. The bottom line is it's only a guided estimate.

[ebanville]

Thanks, all. I've been watching the ads and tracking the price trend graphs on different car sale sites. Judging by that it appears $15k is about the norm for a 66 with a refresh with a few modern accoutrements. Full body-offs (stock) go for the highest. From what I can gather 25-60k is the range on those. Guess I should have stayed stock.

All this said, 15k is what I figured, knowing I wouldn't get back what I put in.

I may still get an appraisal as I'm selling it to my brother and want to give him a fair price, but not one that either of us gets hosed.