My 64/98 went through inspection without a hitch last night. I only had to go for the brake recheck- and she stops beautifully. Thank you to everyone that helped me get the right parts and talked me out of the front brake disc upgrade.

I did have my 98 appraised because the state of DE told me it was worth 14K, and wanted me to pay taxes on that. I had it appraised by Alan Orenstein, a classic car appraiser from Jenkintown, PA. (www.autoappraisalsbyalan.com) The state at first refused his appraisal, stating that they go by NADA classic car guide or a "dealership appraisal". Alan is a I-VAN certified appraiser, and I trust him more than someone at a dealer trying to tell me what my 50 year old car is worth. They ended up, after a heated discussion, using what I paid for the car ($5500), rather than what he appraised it for ($5200), or what NADA said ($14K). And after sweet-talking the woman behind the counter, I was able to get a 5 digit tag and ordered a porcelain black tag, which is coveted here in the state of Delaware, and will look awesome on the back of my 64. So the moral of the story is- don't let someone else dictate your situation, especially if you think they are wrong. I went from having to pay $625 to title it down to $256 to get it titled. Even with the appraisal, I'm still under what I would have had to pay, and the appraisal is a valuable thing to have as well.

Just thought I would share that my land yacht is now legal to drive!
Thanks
Adam

 

That NADA value is insane.

Collector Car Market Review says:

4dr Hardtop: #5... $750 #4... $1900 #3...$4400 #2...$8050 #1...$12275

Judging by what you said in your thread, I'd call yours a nice #3, so even $5,000 is outrageous.

- Eric

 

Dang I wondered if he would travel I need to have to agents value my car to get an indemnity bond did he charge you to appraise it?

 

I suspect he charged more than your car is worth (as it sits, with no engine in it), Bill.

- Eric

 

Jeez lol don't discourage me more decisions decisions lol

 

Hey, Bill, while nobody here would ever think of minimizing your ability to screw up, you have to admit that all of us combined have screwed up more than you ever possibly could in your whole life, and while we can't keep you from making your own mistakes, we can definitely help you to avoid making ours.

- Eric

 

So if nobody says it, I will:

Congratulations on the passed inspection!

 

X2 on passing inspection. It amazes me on how people always try and base worth on purchase price in these cases. What if you got the car for nothing, would they have based your fee on that?

 

You're good ik you're helping I appreciate it and sorry for my rudeness congrats on your inspection

 

Thank you everyone.

Well, the appraiser said that he rated my car a "high 4", possibly a low 3. And he used several things, including NADA and other car guides, and recent closed sales, etc, and that's how he came up with the $5200.

The state of DE says (depending on who you ask) the book value or what the purchase price was, whichever is higher. They told me last night that if I purchased the vehicle from someone in state, rather than from another state (PA), they would go strictly by what I paid for it. They were trying to tell me that if I got someone from a dealership to put it on their company letterhead that the car was worth $200, then I would pay taxes on that. I think that there is a letter to DE in my future, discussing this seemingly absurd process.

Honestly, I paid $275 for the appraisal, but that included $110 in travel expenses. He came from 2 hours away to do my appraisal. I would have went to him, but my car was not legal to drive yet. The next time he appraises my car, I am going to go to him. He said that he goes to car shows and whatnot to do appraisals, and the Delaware Valley Olds Club, which I am a member of, holds their shows practically in his backyard.

I'm hoping to drive my car some this weekend. Not sure what the weather is like yet though!
Adam

 

Sounds like that would have been worthwhile.

There's not a lot of times I've gotten a receipt for a car that had the actual amount of money I paid on it.

- Eric

 

Yeah, that information wasn't given to me the 1st time I went to the DMV. Their stories changed while I was standing there on Wed, let alone what they told me when I was there back in January. I like skirting past rules, if I can. But only if they make sense the first time. When I was told in January that my car was worth $14k, I laughed right in their face.

I know enough people at dealers that I could have done it the way they told me, but I'd bet if I went there with paperwork stating the car was worth less than $2k, they wouldn't have accepted it either.

Adam