I'm currently in a court battle over the value of my '98EX 2.3l sedan that a lady t-boned. I bought it at 179K and redid the suspension, tranny, axles, added EBC brakes and basically had it where I was expecting another 100k beyond the 195k when it was hit. Her ins co wants to value it at $1800. I have documented the parts & labor I put in at $5k above the $1300 I bought it for. It was in great shape mechanically and even had a relatively new "cheap" paint job on it. How do I explain that this car was an investment and I was expecting it to serve me for many more years=value to me

. Are there valuation systems out there that go beyond KBB and other consumer lists? Any help with this is appreciated.

 

Unless it's a rare car (generally meaning very few manufactured) you don't have a lot to go on. The market is what it is, and although those 6th Generation Accords are nice, there is nothing rare about them.

Tough as it seems, in my opinion, $1,800 is pretty decent for that car. Maybe take the money and find a private seller needing to get rid of a decent one and negotiate down, with money-in-hand....a real motivator for someone who wants to get rid of a car. Then, put your DIY hat on again and make an even better Accord than the one you lost.

 

Would it be possible for your insurance company to also provide an estimate? It might be too late for an appraisal, but maybe check that route, too. Insurance companies will pay as little as possible. It might also be worth it just to keep the car, or see if you can negotiate some money while keeping the car... then you can use it for parts for another.

 

Agreed with the above. The "only" drawback I always keep in mind with older cars is they are considered worthless to insurance companies. What can sometimes help to get a tiny bit more is to find the same car on sale somewhere and argue the price a bit, if it's higher at all.

The last time I had a similar item happen (finished do all the suspension and then it was totaled from a hit by someone). I took the money, bought it back from the insurance for a few hundred dollars. Then I went out and bought another of the same car for about the same price, and I switched over all the parts from the totaled car into the new one. springs, shocks, body suspension, radio, power locks, etc. Then I sold the car for parts on craigslist,( doors, windows, wheels, and seats ) and finally sold the rest of the car for $200 to someone who came and towed it away. Wasn't fun, took about a month, but at least I walked away with all my investment in parts and made a few hundred dollars at the end .