| Author | Message | ||
     Mark Taxis Prolific User Username: mark_taxis Post Number: 129 Registered: 4-2007 |
Question for the learned members of the forum. What is a 1951 Bentley Mk6 special worth in Australia, Pictures of the car are in the general discussion ,thread name "photos of our cars", scroll down to the mk6 special, exterior and interior shots" Trying to put a value on a car like this is very subjective, it is a special so not an original car, To some people they are an abomination to others a great car - so back to the original question, what would you pay for a car like this? The reason I ask is I am trying to establish a realistic value for the insurance, Shannons could not really come up with a figure as their estimations are based on past sales and as there are so few of these cars in Australia they could not come up with a number. Your opinions welcomed Many thanks | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 514 Registered: 4-2015 |
Mark... For unique vehicles, or any collector vehicles for that matter, here in the US it is common practice to issue what is called a "stated value" policy. As long as the valuation is not clearly unrealistic, the two parties simply agree on a stated and agreed value for the vehicle in the event of a total loss and the premium is calculated accordingly. For garden variety and mass produced vehicles where there are comparables, market value at the time of loss is the norm, but for collector vehicles like ours, and especially yours, stated value is the way to go if they will agree. That said, I cannot see how they would contest a value of at least $50,000US and the replacement cost would certainly be twice that, so there you have my offering as to the valuation brackets. . | ||
| John Rowney Experienced User Username: johnrowney Post Number: 21 Registered: 2-2015 |
Mark I have been watching with interest your posts of your great Mk VI special. I have had some interaction with Shannons re the valuation of my Mk VI Special B25KL. I paid $75k 3 years ago for this car & over this time have spent at least the purchase price bringing it up to a very high standard. To be safe, I recently contacted Shannons to increase the insurance coverage of the car. I sent them photos of the upgraded car, but was disappointing with their response. They increased the coverage to $100k on no basis whatsoever and claimed that it was bad luck if the car could fetch more outside of Australia. I understand that Shannons was taken over by Suncorp some years ago, and that Shannons is trading on its old name as a trusted friend for owners of "special" vehicles. The guy I spoke to at Shannons had no idea of what a coach built car meant and that my Bentley was just another modified vehicle. As an illustration of Shannons' poor understanding of our special cars, a friend with a magnificent 1913 RR Silver Ghost had for some time had his car insured for $300k. Some time ago Shannons wanted to reduce the coverage to $100k. He told them he would insure elsewhere, and Shannons immediately reinstated the original coverage. (The SG could be worth 1.5 to 2 million pounds!). It looks like Shannons have an arbitrary upper limit of $100k for lots of cars unless a challenge is made. This tells me that we need to find a better special vehicle insurer for our cars. Shannons appear to now be just another insurance company who don't understand or are interested in our cars. I am currently skiing in Japan, but when I get back to Australia next week I will chase up an insurance broker mate and see if he can give some advice. | ||
| Mark Taxis Prolific User Username: mark_taxis Post Number: 130 Registered: 4-2007 |
Hi John I was also thinking of having a look around for a different insurer, my brother in law recently got a quote from NRMA, a lot cheaper than Shannon’s. Having said that I have always been happy with the service that Shannon’s provide, a small accident with the daily driver was handled smoothly and all over the phone. I have also had 2 windscreen claims which were well handled. The problem I have with setting a valuation is that if the car was written off the cost to build another one would be near to $200k mainly due to high labour cost, but in all reality if it were to be written off I would not commission a new one. Getting one from the UK with all the new import rules would be nigh on impossible so I would just have to settle for a nice Bentley or RR saloon. Currently the car is insured for $90k, this was after much discussion with the Shannon’s rep., but as to its true worth , I do not know, that is why I decided to bounce the topic off the forum to see what the members would be prepared to pay for something like this. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 517 Registered: 4-2015 |
Mark... Again, value is in the eye of the beholder and there is a difference, often BIG difference, between market value and replacement value. Watch the classic car auctions and you will frequently see sales amounting to only $1 of value for each $2 of replacement (i.e. restoration) costs. Makes me shake my head at why anyone would spend, for instance, $200K for a full body off, yada, yada, restoration, only to see their resulting vehicle sell for $100K. Labor of love? Personal satisfaction? Maybe. As an investment? Sorry, not happening. That said, it is not what someone is willing to pay for a vehicle that matters, but what you and the insurance company will be willing to agree to compensate you for in the event of a catastrophic loss. . |
