KBlair

They just told me my car has a trade-in value of $450!!!!! What a joke. Edmunds.com had a value much closer to reality, but still below market by a few $1k dollars. Is it a conspiracy by the insurance companies to keep from paying us what our cars are worth or what?

Anyone got access to NADA?

V-Fib

No Dealer is going to give anything near the value of your Shark "on trade in". It is doubtful that any price guide will give a decent price on any older 928 (10+ years old). As Wally and a few others have said in the past, Most of our older 928's are worth more in parts than a whole car. I thought 4k was a great deal on a 79/928 in decent shape. I've spent over 3k in parts alone since ownership in Feb., and I am not even close to getting it where I want it to be. I figure another 5-6k at least. Even then, I would be lucky to sell it for 4-5k. Will I ever get my money back? No. For the most part, an older 928 is not a financial investment that will give you any return on your money. I love this car and barring any major wrecks, I will continue to drive and spend. My friends driving older Vettes, Mustangs and the like, don't understand how I can keep pouring money into it with no real re-sale value. The people on this list Do Understand though. There are so many variables to what an older 928 is worth, that the "Book Value" is basically worthless, IMHO, of course. What do I get out of driving the 928? A perpetual WOODY! (And at my age, that's pricele$$!)

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Ell

Yes you are right about it being a scam for the insurance company.

The value in a shark goes well past the book value. When you consider that only 25,105 928 version cars were built for the US and only 57,998 world wide, this is a special car. These number are not for the one year, they represent the complete production years. for your year there were 3,999 built world wide with 2,746 made for the US.

One thing that might help when you look at the book value or deal with the insurance company, know what options your car has. If you go to the 928 Specialist weg site, you can find a world of great information. They have a chart that list all of the option codes. This is something that I am going to take a look at. The car basic weight is 3400lbs, mine is 4200lbs, the extra 800 lbs must be tied up in options that will add to the value.

If your car gets totaled, do not let the insurance company take the car and trash it. I believe you can buy it back for the residual cost. This is computed by the weight of the car, and by no way comes close to what you can part the car for. for example my coil over shocks around the car are over $4K. Just look at the 928 International catalog and see what kind of value the used parts have. You could probobly get 4K for just the engine and trans.

The better thought would be to rebuild it for racing and strip the weight and add the horses. New rubber ans suspension. and time to kick some BSP Corvett but.
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

John Struthers

On the up side..
No sHARk owner is EVER going to accept a couple of hundred bucks for their baby, So by default you get to hang onto the 928 forever.
This topic often comes up during insurance hassles on the Renn...we seem to have clumps of hit & runs and rear endings, with the occasional front end smasharoo's.
Our rennlist bro's in the insurance field harp on us about the pitfalls of not enough insurance but if your claim exceeds the insurance/bluebook value of the car you get to bend over. They have a valid arguement. I, personally, refuse to spend over 2K a year on a car valued at far less than the value I place on it. I'll play the acturial tables lotto, thank you very much.
We all take a beating every year.
I bought my house for $55,600, the house was sold under a relocation policy that Texas Instruments used to have (Big Oil did the same).
It was built for $106,000 during 'the boom', It sat on the market during 'the bust'. I made two bids on it and got it cheap after 'the tax year'.
Then, the appraisal office with no supporting documentation jacked the value up to the point where we are now - high $80's. I pay over $1700 in taxes on the property yearly. In less than 30 years I could buy another home. Do what we do...
-it'll **** of the neighbors but... - let the grass grow, I collect a few dead trees which I strategically 'plant' for effect and park the pick-up out in the large adjoining corner lot that I bought. Do this about the time they send out appraisal notices and rebutt the appraisal.
We got them to reduce the value this year.yippee!
If you figure your hike's in auto, home, health and in my case life insurance. Then figure the constantly rising appraised value on the constantly decreasing real value of your property. Has heating, cooling, maintenance costs gone down?
Has fuel and maintenance or insurance on your car gone down?
Then of course you get 'a raise' that actually costs you money due to the increased tax and retirement plan bite.
This brings us back to VALUE! Yours vs Theirs .
You think you are insuring your car at a given value until they total one out from under you. Under-valued! They win, you lose. Most of your insurance, particularly over the base amounts is for other people and property. Somehow THEIR LAWYER always gets over-value. If your insurance provider won't go to court for you and your undervalued property you will become a member in good standing in the :Sacred Brother/Sisterhood of Let's Argue -mindlessly if need be- With Any Insurance Rep.who Presents Him/Herself as a Target
It's seems to be our lot to see less and less of our income, so, it would be prudent -maybe not wise- to reduce the cost of maintianing our lifestyles, Porsche's included, while remaining aware of the risks those reductions might incur.
FWIW I'd have spit on the floor and walked out if some jerk had offered me $450.00.
That conversation would have ended right after he said $450.00 and there would have been an eternal Embargo, a hex, and bad juju placed on that lot for good measure.
<img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> <img src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" border="0" alt="[soapbox]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

J S WEST

I own a small used car dealership that I run part-time after my full time job. I bought my first 928 in Jan.2002. It was a 1985 928s automatic with 105,000 miles,perfect condition and custom wheels. It was towed in at the auction and I paid $3,800.00 for the car. I got lucky, it ran after a fuel pump relay! It stays inside with a cover. I purchased my 2nd 928s in March,from the auction, a 1983 5spd with 172,000 miles,all maintenance records,average interior and paid $3,000.00 for it. I drive this car daily. My third 928 is an auction car also, 1981 automatic with rough interior. I paid $1,000.00 for the car.Never drive it. Possible restoration. My dealer friend bought a 1983 928s auto last week for $2,200. runs great but it has high miles. Only one 928 brought for what I consider "top dollar" at an auction this year. It was a 1986 928s automatic,81,000 miles,gold with tan interior,showroom condition for looks. The car sold for $8,000.00. I am in the process of a 4th 928, a 1987 S4 automatic, 84,000 miles for $8,500. I have seen six 928 cars this year with a wide range of prices. I have not seen anything newer than 1987. This is what they are selling for wholesale in the southeast. As for retail your guess is as good as mine.

Drewster67

Another thing to consider when buying the car back from the Insurance carrier.

We all know that the value of our sharks go beyond what any "Book" states. The truth of the matter is somewhat painfull. In two words -

RESTORE/SALVAGE

Most times when "Buying/Keeping" your car after a wreck, it will have to be re-registered. In doing so, (In AZ) The DMV will give it a Restored/Salvage title - In other words, it was in a major wreck and the damage exceeded the value. If your planning on keeping the car for life - like we all should, no problem. If your going to sell her later on, problem. Most people tend to have negative thoughts regarding R/S titles. Some a valid concerns and there are exception to the rules. I think the main obstacle is not the conditon or how it drives but ....Financing. If your not in a position to pay all at once, you will have to find financing. I don't know how it is in the ROW, but in AZ, the banks won't finance Restore/Salvage titled vehicles.

I just wanted to share some insight because I do own R/S motorcycle. Ive been riding motorcycles since I ws thirteen and Ive had too many to recall. My present motorcycle is a hybrid Honda.
A friend of mine totalled his 98 CBR 600 F3. The frame, forks, wheels....everything was trashed except the swing arm and motor. So me being me, I bought the bike from him who in turn bought it back from the IC. I then went and bought a 89 CBR frame (Which is the same almost) and 98 CBR Tank,Fairing and body peices from a used cycle shop. Long story short, I put her all together, painted her in Burple, added a jet kit, 2 Bros Carbon Fiber Pipe and Michelin Racing Slicks. This bike is so clean and beautiful, she turns heads wherever I go. The down side is this. She's all a 98 CBR F3 except for the frame. After the police inspection I was able to title her only as a R/S vehicle as a 89 CBR 600. The Book value is around 2.8-3K, take another 1k off for just having the R/S status. So, I have a bike that is basically a true 98 CBR 600 F3 (6K book value) but is only worth 2K - .

In trying to get my point across, if you buy back the car. Good chances are you will get a R/S title with her. This not only will decrease it's book value, it will also prohibit financing for a potential buyer if you decide to sell later on.

I,for one, would keep the car and rebuild her. Regardless of any STATUS. You know what you have and that's all that matters. You can't put a price on Happiness!.

PatrickP

I think location plays a big part as well. Supply and demand kind of thing. I paid 6K for a very nicely maintained '85 in San Diego. However, Porsches and sports cars in general were all over the place. About 8 months after moving to a town outside of Nashville, someone offered me 10K for the car.

I'm still driving it daily and probably will as long as I can. I have yet to see more than one other in the area in two years. I still get admiring looks and the inevitable "What the heck is that" comments from the locals.

IMHO, bluebook value is to a shark are what professional wrestling is to sports. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

KBlair

Patrick, I believe you are right on there. I'm in pretty good company right now, what with Wally and Steve being about 10 miles away. But next year I'm moving back to Talladega. Giovani is the only other 928 I know of that's will be close (relatively), but his isn't running. One guy even asked "How much did it cost to make the headlights do that?" last time I was over there!