I have been busy with fettling all my cars over the past few weeks. This was mainly done to prepare them for their (every three years recurring) appraisal for the cars insurance. And last week all three my road going cars were presented to the appraiser. And again this task was performed by a man who knows my cars pretty well (http://www.ht-taxaties.nl/). He has actually done the appraisal of my cars for as long as can I remember.
Starting with the longest continuous serving car in my ownership, 't Kreng. Despite ever more signs of her hard use, her value remained the same. Mainly because she still looks pretty good for a car that was restored almost 25 years ago. And of course all the improvements and customization were taken into account here. As were the rising market prices for the TR7 this side of the pond. So her value remained the same as three years ago.
Next in line was the Defender. Though the prices for most “polluting” diesel powered cars are under pressure here in The Netherlands, including huge tax premiums, that has had no negative influence on the value of the original Defenders. And despite the fact that my Defender also shows some clear signs of (hard) use, her value too remained the same as three years ago.
And finally it was the DHC's turn. Nothing much changed there. The appraiser was still impressed by how well she looked after 11 years of regular use since she was restored And with the mileage readings there to prove the fact. But also the proof of regular maintenance, including the renewal of the carburettors and brakes, over the past 3 years helped with the slow but continues rise in value of this car. Her current valuation is almost twice the cost of her restoration in 2010. Well pleased with that! Though it will again raise the insurance premium ...
And yes she could have benefitted from a good clean, though that wouldn’t have any influence on her value. And while we were in the shed we also had a look at my current project. Hopefully that one will be ready for valuation next year 😇
