February 17, 2011
Welcome New Subscribers! and Welcome Back Old Friends!
This issue has info for your muscle car search and updates on new pages on the website that you don't want to miss.
In this issue we review some important facts about getting muscle car insurance. It is surprisingly different than your daily driver car insurance and this is a good time, right before the kick off of the muscle car buying season, to learn what you need to know. With this information you'll be prepared when you find your muscle car.
This issue also gives a quick tip on muscle car appraisals, updates on new pages at find-your-muscle-car.com and information on new features we are working to bring to our visitors.
New on the Website
Check out the What They Won't Tell page, just recently added. Here you'll find some important information that a muscle car seller may not want to reveal.We recently updated another favorite page, the Muscle Car Quiz results. We now have links related to the type of buyer you are based on your answers to the quiz.
Tip - Muscle Car Appraisals
A professional muscle car appraisal is good protection for you, especially if you are purchasing a muscle car from an online auction or muscle car dealer and will be buying remotely. It is also important information you may need when applying for a loan or car insurance for your dream car.A good muscle car appraisal will provide a detailed written, photographic description of the interior and exterior of the car. A thorough frame, structural and mechanical inspection is performed and documented. The VIN, data plates and other documentation is inspected and validated. A test drive is done (if possible) and tons of photographs are included. Expect to pay between $200 and $500.
Be aware that some vendors claim to perform a muscle car valuation for $15 or less. These "appraisals" provide information that you can find for yourself online. For example, they might give the current sale price from various muscle car sales venues or the NADA classic car value. They will tell you how many vehicles like yours were produced and where they were built. Some will give you a break down of the VIN of your car. Again, this is readily available for you online for free. This type of valuation cannot be used for insurance or loan purposes.
Click HERE for more information on muscle car appraisals.
Getting Muscle Car Insurance
Once the '72 Dart Swinger came to live in our garage, we knew we needed to get adequate insurance coverage. Just for kicks we went to the online sites of well-known specialty car insurance companies like Hagerty and Heacock to get quotes. But we planned to use the agency that insures our daily drivers because we've been customers with them for 30 years and couldn't imagine why we would need to get muscle car insurance from another source.Imagine our shock when we got their quote for twice the amount of the online quotes from muscle car insurance agencies. In addition, they would only provide replacement cost for a 1972 Dodge (as according to the standard value insurance rating) unless we could show receipts for every bit of work done to bring the car to our estimated value of its worth after our rebuild. The hours of skilled technical labor performed by us could not be added into the equation, only the receipts for the parts we purchased. Say what?
The specialty insurance companies are experts at providing insurance for antiques, classics, muscle cars or street rods, giving great coverage at reasonable prices. Still, do your homework like you would for regular car insurance. Get quotes from more than one company and compare what each offers for the price. You certainly don't want to put money into insurance that you'd rather spend on your muscle car.
There are many factors that affect the price you'll pay for specialty insurance. For example, your age, your driving record, where you store your muscle car and any safety or security features either on the car or the garage can all affect the rate you'll get.
The specs of the car (stock vs modified), planned usage/mileage, for instance, going to shows only, around town on nice days, or never driven are a few other factors that impact pricing.
Here are some questions you should ask when getting a quote for insurance.
-- Is an appraisal required or will a description and photos be acceptable to set the agreed value of the car? By the way, while a muscle car appraisal may not be required for insurance coverage, it can still be important for you for other reasons. See the Quick Tip above.
-- Can you change the agreed value as you restore the vehicle, if that applies?
-- How do you make a claim (live person?) and what is the average time to resolve claims?
-- Are there annual mileage and use limits?
-- Are extra services such as towing or roadside assistance included or available? (Ask anyone who drives their muscle car to car shows how important this is!)
Click HERE for a complete checklist of questions to ask a potential insurance company.
The bottom line is this, while you don't want to overpay for muscle car insurance, you want to make sure you have the right coverage in place to protect your investment.
Coming Soon to find-your-muscle-car.com
We continue to work on searching out and listing featured muscle cars in several price ranges. The goal of these new pages is to keep you informed of asking prices for muscle cars all over the country that are available for $10,000 or less, $20,000 or less and $30,000 or less.A new feature that puts two muscle cars head-to-head for you to pick your favorite is being developed. Watch for it to show up on the Home page soon.
Here's hoping Spring arrives quickly in your town so you can get out and find your muscle car!
Do you plan to attend a local or regional muscle car auction or car show in the next few weeks? Right now the car show calendars begin to fill up, especially in the West, South West and South East US.
Share your favorite spring time car show or gathering HERE.
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To start your muscle car search, please go to the find-your-muscle-car HOME PAGE for information you need.