What is it worth?

[Mark Annan]

I have a question for you guys.  What sources would you use to try and place a dollar value on very good condition to restored Penton motorcycles?  I know that there are members out there that must have insurance coverage on their prized possessions.  How did/do you go about establishing and documenting a realistic dollar value?  I'm trying to establish a value for insurance and or sale value.  

Just because you have invested many hours and thousands of dollars on a project doesn't mean it is worth what you think it is.  I know (and believe) the philosophy that any item is only worth what some one else is willing to pay for it.  (witness the recent sale of my '39 Ford)  But how do you determine a value without actually selling the item you are trying to establish the value of?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.   Mark

 

[JD]

Mark,

When I had a nice "older" car my insurance company let me set my own value "in reason" on it.  I was told that if it sounded out of reason I would have to get a profesional appraisal on it, which means pay someone to tell me what I think it is worth.

Anyway the insurance company took pictures of it at their office and insured it at the value that I specified and I paid the rates that THEY specified for that amount.

So if your bike in your opinion is worth $5,000 then you will pay rates on $5,000.

IT ALWAYS GOES BACK TO MONEY!!

I hope this helps.

JD

BTW - I think I am paying for some of you to be riding around in $100,000 cars while I cruse the neighborhood in a $3000 car.  Atleast I sold my $500 car last week.

 

[Kip Kern]

For what it's worth, I have a bike shop, friend, appraise mine and insure the bike for fire/theft.  It isn't that expensive and gives me peace of mind.  State Farm insurance, and your agent makes the difference!  Good Luck

 

[gooey]

I had an incident several years ago,, actually LOTS of years ago,,, I was paying insurance on what I believed to be the correct value on my 51 Harley pan ... was a very custom bike,, Ness frame,Hurst/Airheart sprint car calipers, big inch hot rod motor, in other words, all the toys .... bike had a Joe Hunt mag and was very hard to secure and was stolen ,,, so I proceeded to try and collect on the policy .... several weeks later, the bike was recovered by a Hiway patrol that for no unknown reason stopped to check a couple bikes in the back of a pickup ,,, but what I found was that staed value meant NOTHING ... ZERO ... NADA .... I was being asked to accept something like 2500.00 for the bike,, based on some make believe records that didnt exist. ....



 Now,, I have a lil D50 Dodge ( mitsubishi ) pickup w. removeable hardtop, v8 ford power, chome Yellow/ candy brandy paint, and have been told ( assured actually) that in order to  collect the stated value,, I MUST have detailed pix, any and all records pertaining to the build and maintenance of the unit in question,, and its helpful, IF possible to have an appraisal by a respected authority on that type of unit .... Spring is here, and I will be cutting back to liability on that vehicle,,, it just seems like they leave too many doors open to skate out ...



 One last example ... a short one ... my 67 Cyclone got CREAMED by a woman that admittedly ran a red light ,,, there was an insurance agent 3 cars behind my wife when the accident occured,,, there was NO question of fault ,,, I hadnt kept records at all,, and I fought for months to finally get a settlement of a measly 1,000 ! ....



 Moral here,,, i believe in insuring them for all they are worth,,, but by all means,,, gather and keep detailed records,, pictures,, opinions,,, hwtaever you can,,, because after some meth crazed creep steals your bike, all you have is documentation BEFORE that incident ....  and you WILL need it !



 By the way,, that 500.00 car sounds right up my alley ... is it still for sale  I drive JUNK to work and it sounds like a step up !

[Mark Annan]

I have heard similar tales before. The thing everyone seems to forget is that insurance companies are not in business to protect us or pay us money when something bad happens.  They are in business to make a profit and to pay dividends to their share holders.  OK I'll get of my soap box now.

I guess my question is... How do I find one of these recognized appraisal experts?

Mark

 

[Chris Brown]

Hi Mark,
If you look through this forum history you will find a long answer of mine to the same question some months back. Jan-Feb I believe.

I have found when things are really quite rare, someone will come along and offer you enough to make it worth selling. But you're right, it's tough to value them without creating an actual sale. Very subjective indeed.
For insurance purposes, documentation is the key. I got paid off on a claim on a car quite a bit higher than normal because of the records I kept on it.
Chris