The appraisers are hungry!
 

I had never gotten around to having the '87 300D Turbo (W124, OM603) appraised for insurance purposes, although the other two cars had been done years ago. Finally, I decided I'd better get it done before I became another one of the many posters who have had their Mercedes wrecked and then discovered that the insurance adjuster wasn't on their side after all.


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When I called the people who had appraised my other cars, I was pleased to learn that they have lowered their prices -- business must be slow! For the '87, they would do the job for $225 (please note that these are California prices; YMMV). For that price, I get two copies of a report with color pictures of my car as it is today, plus copies of comps and recent sales in this area. This will amount to 20 to 40 pages, depending on how many comps they can find.

The purpose of this kind of an appraisal isn't really to set a "value" on the car, as that will only be determined if there were a buyer ready and willing to pay the price. In fact, appraisers tend to set their values high -- they are working for you, after all, and want you to be a happy customer. For example, in 2006, my 1985 300D appraised at $9000 and in 2008 the 1996 E300D appraised for $14,000. Clearly today's market would not support these prices but they give me a weapon, should I ever need one.

In fact, the real purpose of the appraisal is to document the condition of the car as it is now. It gives you a written document, created by a disinterested professional. It gives you something to throw at the insurance adjuster, with a comment like "this is what the car looked like before your client crashed into it."

Without some kind of documentation, you are at the mercy of the adjuster. He does not work for you, after all, he works for the stockholders of his company and it is they whom he must keep happy, not you. He must be able to justify the money he gives you; a written professional appraisal gives him the tool he needs to offer you more than a few hundred bucks. You still may not get what it will take to find another car like the one that just got wrecked but it will be only worse if you don't have someone on your side.

When I get the appraisal report, I take both copies down to my insurance agent. One copy goes in the agent's file; the other copy, signed and dated by the agent, goes in my fire-proof (well, for two hours, anyway) safe.

What if your insurance company uses the appraisal to increase your collision rates? That's actually good -- they have as much as admitted in writing that your car is worth more than they previously thought. Now they will have a much harder time wiggling out of a fair settlement, should you have to use your insurance rather than the other guy's.

Think about it!

Jeremy

Unless you know if or when your car is going to be damaged in some way, why would you need an appraisal - since over time the value of the car in all likelyhood decreases?

Current comps is what a company will look at when push comes to shove in determining a current valuation in case of damage.

An appraisal would only be good on the date your car is appraised. They would have no way of knowing what condition the car was actually in later on when being damaged anyway.

In Australia there is an option for agreed value rather than market value on policies. In theory you could insure a 78 300D for $20k. The premium would be high but if its a write off you get $20k !!

An agreed value policy eliminates the need for some bonehead who calls himself an appraiser. Most appraisers know nothing about the MB market - especially the middle-aged MB market. So you pay them some bucks, they take some photos, tell you they'll do a great job, then they go onto NADA, Manheim auctions, Ebay, AutoTrader, Cars.com, and KBB then call you you and give you an inflated price so you feel like you got your money's worth. I can do the same homework as they do (actually I don't need to because I'm an MB enthusiast!) and not have to pay them. Or you get an Classic Car Agreed Value policy and not pay those boneheads that way either.

Bottom line is - I doesn't really change anything to me if you pay for an appraiser, and I understand why you do. But I really think those appraisers are about as close to clueless as you can get, and what they usually end up doing is just making the guy who pays them feel good about the inflated value of his car. It's not truth, and if I'm paying, I want truth.

I like the wagon, btw.

Some good points.

An MBCA certified "appraiser" in San Antonio won't even give parameters on an MB unless he sees it in person. And what does a local appraiser know about what an MB is bringing on sale day anyway?

A buddy of mine is travelling almost a thousand miles each way to see a 1963 Corvette coupe, fuel-injected. He is planning on paying several hundred bucks for some nationally sanctioned regional Corvette judge to meet him to tell him the car is either legite or not. Price? I don't know about that, but the car in my opinion is at least $20K over priced in this market environment. Antique cars are going for 50% of what they did for 3 - 4 years ago at this time.

Frankly, I don't see all the rigamaroll either using appraisers - unless you are getting real estate appraised. And even then - any real estate appraiser worth his salt will tell you to rely on the opinions of what real estate agents - who actually sell and represent properties in the area advise you to price it at.

Unless he actually has cars widely considered "collectable" I don't see the point either.

the appraisal can give a lawyer a starting point from which to fight the insurance company. NADA and Kelly Blue Book all have average, good, excellent ++ pricing. the insurance guys like to say your car is
"average" and low ball you. it's unfortunate, but there are many
stories of people getting screwed over by the insurance guys. they
are very happy to take your money in the form of premiums, but
not so quick to pay out. that's the nature of their business.

I'd buy agreed value coverage if it wouldn't restrict my driving but I only found covrage for <2000 mi/yr & then mostly to car shows or meets. I've been able to beat the adjusters to within a reasonable amount but I'm a life & health agent & have to argue with carriers all the time about rates or claims. The process ALWAYS involves understanding why they came to a conclusion & giving them more information contradicting their conclusion.

Jeremy,

A bit off topic, but I'm wondering the reason why you and others block out the registration tag? I don't understand the purpose . . . I've always wanted to ask when I see that done, but always seem to forget by the time I'm done reading . . .

I had to do a double take... I thought it was an Audi at first!:P An Audi with a star on the hood!

Despite what the detractors might say, it is a fine idea. You may never need it, the insurance company may ignore it, but every weapon you can have when dealing with the other guys insurance company is worth having. If you are forced to go into arbitration or mediation with the insurance company, having a previous independent appraisal is extremely valuable. I know collectors with more than one appraisal per vehicle.

I do this every year on my coaches, each one I buy is unique. Not sure it's worth it on an '87 300D though, just print and save copies of sold and for-sale ones on Ebay, traderonline, et al. As Joe says though, if a loss occurs they will want to value it against recent comps, not year-old or more ones.

Do you guys find that comprehensive insurance costs an arm and a leg on these cars? AAA wants more then double for comp. on my SDL (w/ a 1k deductible) then they do for my 99.5 Jetta (w/ a $500 deductible). Even storage insurance was almost $180 a month. :S

-Jason

Over here in Europe you can get a classic car insurance policy that coupled with an independent valuation gives you a no quibble value in the event of the terrible.

Compared with "standard" motor policies these seem to me to be much fairer as in the event of a claim you don't get the perpetual arguments with the insurers who tend to offer a value lower than the lowest book (day) value.

These policies, however, are often restricted in terms of maximum allowable annual mileages or you need to use another car as daily driver or you can't drive your car to work - you can only use it for pleasure...

yeah its stupid expensive to put comp and collision.. like my premium went from a nice $93 a month for the cab to like $300 if I put decent comp and collision on it. I don't have the state mimimum and I have UIM coverage

Storage on my '86 SDL cost $77 for 6 months.