It’s been quite a while since I posted any blog news to this site, and many of you who know me are aware why. I have been working on a price guide for post-war car for a number of years, and we finally have it printed and for sale. We also have set up an entirly new website — Carsthatmatter.com. I hope you take a minute and go take a look. Issue one of CarsThatMatter is for sale through the website ($20.00 plus $2.25 S&H, but a one year, three issue subscription is just $40.00.)
I was asked to write an article for the Westport Concours about my experience starting a new price guide “from scratch” I am including that article in this blog. Enjoy!
Four years ago, I began the process of creating what has become CARS THAT MATTER, a different kind of price guide that would cover post war collectible cars, the cars that I grew up with and the ones that are the current ”objects of desire” of so many of us.
Since 1990 I have owned and operated USAppraisal, a professional automobile appraisal company located in Great Falls, VA. When evaluating and valuing automobiles, price guides have been both an enormous help as well as a source of endless frustration. Many guides seemed to have been compiled by committee while others list vehicles that were never produced, ignoring some of those that were. Other guides, while well intentioned, have not been keeping up with changes in the marketplace, choosing to publish again and again with the same outdated information.
Any project born of frustration becomes a passion for those whose goal is to make improvements. Such was the case for CARS THAT MATTER. If the goal was simple, getting there was anything but.
For the first two years of the project, I made phone calls and inquiries about purchasing an already established price guide. Despite multiple attempts and some negotiating, it appeared that no purchase could be made. I was led to the inevitable decision of building a database, using manufacturers’ data as well as a myriad of hobbyist publications.
With the hiring of an editor our team grew. The task of disassembling and reassembling the base data was necessary before even a single price could be entered. We quickly learned that a one-word change on the part of a manufacturer could result in as many as two hours of additional research. Body styles would morph from coupes to two door sedans and back to coupes with the manufacturer’s whim, and occasionally without any changes at all to the body. In some cases, roadsters became spyders that became convertibles which begat dropheads, all because of an advertising executive’s need for copy to fit. In other cases, roadsters and dropheads were completely separate lines in the same model range. We became automotive detectives, chasing leads that were forty or fifty years old.
With the database complete, the next phase was the most sensitive, pricing. For this we assembled a team of experts across the country, and in some cases, across the world. Our goal was to find accurate and complete valuations from all sources — collectors and dealers, appraisers, financial institutions, auction houses and reported sales. Data that was circumspect was noted but not used; “bullet-proof” data was dissected to see just how accurate it was.
Market anomalies are the bane of all appraisers’ and valuers’ professional lives. Explaining to a client why a vehicle sold for an exceptionally high or low price, how it could be the result of a hundred different factors, is always a challenging process. The phenomenon of the one-time sale has happened throughout history and with instant communications is now magnified many times. When a Triumph TR-3 sells for close to six figures, the information is disseminated around the world within a matter of hours or days. Understanding that the sale was a one-time event, and that the circumstances are unlikely to repeat themselves, takes a little more explanation.
Competing interests make valuation difficult for those who choose to only look at one side of the market. For every buy there is a sale, for every offering price there is a final transaction price. Dealers occasionally perceive it to be in their best interest to report all sales as full retail, where private owners tend to downplay their full costs of purchase. Working from both sides, the sales information can seem convoluted.
The auction process would seem to be the most open and transparent way to view a sale. The buyer and seller are both present; the auctioneer’s only interest is in selling the car. In most cases, the sale is transparent and what you are witnessing is the actual transaction. In the rare case, however, the potential for market manipulation at auctions remains high.
The goal of CARS THAT MATTER is to provide accurate pricing information without bias or prejudice toward one vehicle and away from another. As we are not in the business of buying or selling, we remain wary witnesses to the market.
As I said before, I had no idea of the work involved in building a team to assemble what was needed. Thousands of hours of research, writing, exploring and interviewing have gone into the creation of CARS THAT MATTER. I had no idea the process of creating a price guide would be this complicated when the project was started. But our results speak for themselves…we have a price guide unlike any others on the market, well researched, easy to use and understand
I think you’ll find CARS THAT MATTER to be the most convenient, comprehensive and accurate guide available. Our process is one of constant improvement as well as constant updating. In future issues, we will be adding more cars, more models, and more information. We hope you will join us for the ride!