Tom, as I'm sure you know, in your industry, there are appraisers and there are appraisers. As a banker, I have actually refused to accept appraisals from certain appraisers, who essentially asked their clients: "What do you want it to appraise at?" They too were paid more for their opinions than the value of a cup of coffee, but I'd take the cup of coffee before I'd take their opinion of value.
That's why I choose to buy my vehicles in good shape at the outset. Then I can rationalize (to my wife!) my time and energy to bring it to the level I want it.
While I'm largely in agreement with you here Tom, the fact remains that if a buyer spends double what you and I think a car is worth, it is still a good deal to him, or he wouldn't have made the purchase. So our opinion doesn't matter.
It is not my profession, but I do get paid to do it.
As to hobby, I'm very much hobby. Otherwise, I would have made my million in the cut-throat buying and selling game that goes on. One car I bought on a Wednesday I could have doubled the price on that Saturday. Instead, I got a lot of miles and a lot of fun out of it over many years. I play with old cars that I enjoy and most don't understand why I like them.
And instead of giving opinions and answers here for free, I'd be like the spam and tell you that for $xx I can give you what you are looking for. But I've never made a buck or attempted to off of here.
Instead of having the "No Touch" signs on the cars if one is out somewhere, I put the kids in it some they can have their picture in it rather than beside it. It creates a new enthusiast. Remember the first Corvette you saw? Now do you remember the first one you were in or rode in? Which is the better memory?
I like that they do a pat-down on 70 and 80 year old ladies and check down your underwear while shoeless at the airport but you can climb aboard a private plane at a commercial airport and no one checks you for anything. Heck, you walk through the door and you are on the tarmac, free to wander the hangers, and so on. Yet a friend at the telephone company was called to the airport to fix a problem they had and he has 45 minutes to clear security to fix something for them that takes about 10 minutes to do.
I'm not an appraiser. I'm more of an advisor. I evaluate a car, see what is right and wrong, tell the buyer if it is worth it or not. I never deal with money or assign a value.
However, you do acquire a sense of the prices rapidly doing that. You have to just to know if the asking price is too high or not.
I NEVER suggest any are an investment similar to stock or realty except very few really rare cars - L88s, Grand Sports, etc. The Grand Sports are all taken. The L88s are very dangerous to deal in, it is a high risk unless there is tremendous documentation and it is well-known.
To each there own. Some buy and drive immediately to enjoy, others enjoy the building. No way is wrong. Well, the building can be wrong depending on the wife.
I think that is true mostly and was very true in the past. However, some cars today with the overly inflated prices make that not true because many go out on a limb to buy in hope of making money. This is foolhardy. There is always the chance the demand and price can drop, and it has in the past, but there is the very real risk that what they are paying premium dollar for is not real, and thus the value is not real.
Likewise, many buy into this "financial investment" garbage like it is a lottery ticket, usually spending money they don't have. You know how foolish that is.
Kind of like buying a house and discovering termites. That is why most banks insist on termite inspections.
And while you can get screwed on any car, many it isn't that big of a deal. So you pay $20,000 instead of $18,000. But when you pay $120,000 instead of $70,000, it is a lot more serious.
I'm not sure that counts. You can nearly hit a baseball into four states from your house. :-)
I think most people are at a place where they end up like Kickstart, 400 miles and never left the state. For grins, I made a list of states and marked which ones I was in with which Corvettes. Surprisingly, I've had each of them in relatively few states. I drove them a lot, and put a lot of miles on, but like Kickstart, some of those trips were several hundred miles in only one state. The one that had the most states was the one with the fewest miles. It also lived on a trailer much of the time, however, it is a bit rough going anywhere on the highway with an unlicensable race car.
Seriously, I think it is pretty neat you guys were out there in snow and all. But even you will admit that is the exception rather than the rule with most Corvette groups anymore.
Tom, it sounds like you've been watching the B-J Auction in Scottsdale. I believe it was W.C. Fields who said "There's a sucker born every minute". And the Scottsdale auction proves it every year.
Zerox, I just noticed that you are with Cox Communications and that reminds me of an old joke: Did you buy your searsucker suit at Cox or did you buy your suit at Sears?
That auction may possibly be one of the worst things to happen to the hobby. They have a party the night before, they open the bar a couple of hours before bidding, and they give egotistic bidders a chance at 15 seconds of fame on national TV. Only if they are bidding.
Add alcohol, beautiful women, competition, money to burn, and chance at TV fame, and the prices go nuts.
Then every person around who has a Corvette think they should get those same prices.
That is why Dad doesn't have that '64 right now. No doubt someone told her, or she saw a clip on the auction, about how much Corvettes are "worth", i.e., B-J prices.
=====================\ No I can not hit a baseball into 4 states from my driveway....BUT Maybe I could hit 3 States with a Golf Ball .... Yea I can be in Penna in about 30 minutes... and into either West Virginia or Virginia in under 15 minutes... So I guess I will agree with you that that does not count... LOL
As far as the snow was concerned...It sure was not much
BUT
it honestly was worth the price of admission it to watch some of the drivers either intentionally drive over the snow (so they could say they drove their Corvette in snow..) or watch some others drive around the patchs of snow so they could in all honestly say they never drove their Corvette in Snow..
I do not know if I drove over any snow...it was no big deal
BUT
I did hike back into the woods thru snow to find a tree to hide behind at one point..... got back in the car and within 200 yards found a "Comfort Station"....always happens!
Bob G..
This thread has gotten a little long..and at one point I was hoping it would not end up in a big Flame War... which it has not but I have not finished reading it completely yet... hope it stays civil...
I been biting my tongue all along trying to let him ease up civilly but he keeps jumping back in with both feet. How's the sewing coming along ? kickstart
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