when having your car appraised what does the appraisers look for exactly?

Question

I want to restore my mach 1 and then have it appraised but i would like to know what the appraisers are looking for and what kind of lists they go by and possibly where i can get a copy.

Answer 1

What are you trying to do? Are you trying to have it appraised for insurance purposes, or have you been watching Barrett Jackson and think you are going to make some money?

When a classic car is appraised, the appraiser will look at the overall condition of the vehicle. An all original, or restored to original, vehicle is worth a lot more than a customized car (unless of course it is something like an original Batmobile).

Seats, carpeting and trim that is factory stock (or is replaces with the same items) are important.

They will look to see that the numbers match, meaning that the engine transmission and rear end are the ones that came with the car. Rebuilding the engine is fine, replacing it with another, even if it is the same type, hurts the value.

Obvious body repair and plastic body fillers (bondo) will reduce the value. Anything that is not stock will hurt a classic. Even a non factory radio or speakers will reduce the value of a classic car!

If you are trying to restore the car for yourself, you can make the changes that you want. The appraiser will look at the car, not as a collector's item , but as a nice toy. The value will be less, but you will have the car you want!

Do not make any modifications that you can not undo, if you may want to sell the car as a classic later!

Answer 2

Well it depends on what the appraisial is for. There are basically 2 kinds. you have the collectable, and the selling. Of course they are basically the same, but you will find the collectable one they will go into a little more detail with. They will chec the frame, cleanliness, the numbers to see if they match, carpet, seats (firmness, upholstery) Engine cleanliness, leaks, exhaust, if all the original components are on the vehicle, any aftermarket parts, straightness and metal in the body (they will take a little thing that looks like a pen thats actually a magnet with a gauge on it to see if the panels are completley metal and how strong the panels are) completly around your car to see if theres any rust hiding. Plus they will need to see service records and the list just goes on.

Answer 3

if you want it to bring the most amount of money it wont do this by being original,custom cars today bring more than originals do ,seems like people are over the original look for a while,but when they look it over they go over it really good ,it has to be flaw-less in every aspect of it,i mean perfect,i have been restoring cars for some time now,and for them to be worth anything at all you have to be perfect in the underneath of them as well as the top part,the people that do these appraisals are good they know what to look for,and they don't miss anything,i have only done two that ever made it to be top show,the rest ran a close second,its hard to make one perfect,the thing that you forget is the first thing they,ll see,so if you plan on making it perfect,you better study up on the rules of restoring one,its a tough business,good luck on it.