[Sandy]

1993 (final year for model name) Cadillac Sixty Special.
One of 59 made in Dark Amethyst Plum Metallic.
Mileage is 10,100 Never been in rain nor snow,
garaged in heated garage every year from Oct. 31
to April 1st. 100% original, not a single blemish,
flawless, impeccable white leather interior, as
new fallen snow! Car has every option that was
available from the factory + Vogue tyres.
Cadillac factory chorme wheels, moonroof,
Am FM Bose Gold Series w/Cassette, Auto Locking,
Cold Weather Group, Comfort Group, Memory Group
and more. Not a single flaw ANYWHERE. As new.
All servicing receipts, owner's manual, & all paperwork
and documentation paperwork.
100% all original......AND

it's a 1-off ! You see, with that exterior
paint color, a buyer's choice was an interior
of either Light Grey, Beige, Saddle or Taupe,
(a light greyish-lilac.) BUT, I wanted WHITE.
White was a special order (Code D60).
Documented the sole 1993 Caddy with white
leather in combination with that paint color.

So, I am buying Stated Value Collector Car
Insurance, and I need some outside opinions as
to what this car's RETAIL value might be.

Ideas ? HERE ARE PICTURES >> http://www.smatarese.com/forum/sandy/

 

[ted tcb]

Boy, that's a tough question, Sandy.

I used to get my 71 Cutlass Supreme convertible apparaised every 5 yrs for collector insurance.
The appraiser really didn't have a clue on the car's features ... I basically took his research and corrected him on
certain comparables ... if anything, the appraiser would overvalue my car, which increased my premiums.

You are well aware, with your background, that your car is worth whatever a buyer is willing to write a cheque for.
Comparables are impossible, due to condition and rarity. As you say, you have a one off.
Additonally, although your car is absolutely gorgeous, Sixty Specials are not a traditional collectable car.
Its not a 66 T-Bird roadster, nor is it a 59 high fin classic.
There are no car clubs or specialty mgf's supporting these year DeVille's.

Still, to buy a used Sixty Special and invest in thousands of improvements to bring it up to your car's condition,
I would hazard a wild, speculative guess of $20k???

Does that seem out of the ballpark to you?

What is your best, educated guess?

 

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

Sandy, it is worth the world to you. If you sell that car it will only come back to haunt you, unless of course you sold it to me for a good price.

 

[Sandy]

Ted, the problem is that I REALLY and truly do NOT know what she's worth. I do not want to under value her nor do I want to pay crazy premiums.
I felt $15,000 was realistic.

D.C. Fleetwood, I am not selling her. I am changing insurance companies and they want a realistic value on her, from me.

I could never sell her. She's like a family member, sort of. She even has a name !!! "Aubie" short for AUBERGINE (a kinda maroon/purple color - color of eggplant !

Maybe I'll go with $17,000 1/2 way between my $15 & your $20.

 

[72186]

KBB says $5,280 for retail, but there's no way in hell I would sell that fantastic of a car for anywhere near that price.

Now when dealing with an entity to which rarity and significance matters, the value skyrockets. The value jumps again when the meticulous care of the owner is factored into the equation.

To an insurance company, who value things as low as they can go, its not much. But anyone else, estimating conservatively, as I often do, 15k sounds about right.

 

[96Fleetwood]

$15-20K sounds reasonable.

I am thinking of increasing my collectors insurance on the '96 to $20K since parts are getting harder to find.

 

[Sandy]

I am scared shitless every time (seldom) I take her out. This is New Jersey and overpopulated and loads of traffic. I fear a "fender bender" or anything like that. There are no new parts left. Your parts department is the junk yard.
It's not much fun driving her, as the worry & fear takes the fun away.
I had her out, yesterday. A 4 mile ride & I headed home, for a total of 8 miles. Thanks for thereplies, I am gonna go with $16,000 for a final figure.

 

[Guest]

KBB says $5,280 for retail

That IS what it is worth, technically. You bring it to any car dealer USA for a trade in and you will get hit with the KBB "trade in value" which is probably substantially less that the $5,280 figure. Still, with that mileage, color combo and all, I'm sure there's a collector somewhere that would pay $15-20k for that car. Ok, I'm fairly sure..................:alchi:

 

[Sandy]

But, I am never selling her. Actually, she is listed in my will and willed to my wife. I am changing collector car insurance companies and it's owner stated value, and your premiums are based upon your figure. I could insure her for $60,000 - it's okay by them, but my premiums are based upon $60,000. So..... I just want a fair appraisal and then maybe a tiny squeeze more.

 

[Frost]

No sense in paying premiums on 60K if they'll never pay that out in the event of a claim. IF they will agree to say, $20K as the value of that car, then base your premiums on that and enjoy the car as you're now doing.

 

[Sandy]

I have driven her an average of 612 miles per year, since new in 1993. She has never been in rain nor snow. Her windshield wipers and heated windshield have never been used. From October 31st to April 1st (yesterday) she's in heated storage & covered with a breathable cover, battery removed.
The pot holes here in Jersey are SO BAD this year I really do not wanna take her out - some are the size of a car's tire (laying down flat) and 4" deep ! Good for bent rims and crooked steering wheel syndrome !

SOoo, 'ya, I brought her home yesterday ! All 4 miles of the trip. Satin silk smooooth. She looks showroom new, in out, and under. Production stickers are still visable on the black painted frame. Jeep is kicked outta the garage, until Halloween !

 

[drewsdeville]

I don't want to sound like a complete @-hole, but...

In the end your car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of statistics. "Rare" does not necessarily make something valuable. The real question to ask is "Is it DESIRABLE".

Those prices you guys are rattling of in the $15-20k range is only a dream unless you can actually find some crazy rich collector who finds the car to be desirable. To your average Joe, it's a sedan in good shape, looks nice. But it's still 17 years old, is prone to 17 year old problems, and in most opinions (probably), is insignificant next to a 1959 Eldorado. So where does it lie? Depends on who you find...

I'd agree with the blue book value posted earlier.

 

[Sandy]

Desirable, well lets see....

1938-1993 55 years of the model, this is the final year.

Last Front Wheel Drive Cadillac with :-
Chrome Bumpers; Factory installed Padded Vinyl Roof; Electro-Luminescent Opera Lights; and last year of any model Cadillac with White Leather, and last year for heated windshield.

Now 5-6 K might be what an NADA would put or some other publication, but remember, this is collector car insurance and this company RECOGNIZES
this tear/make/model as qualifying FOR the type of insurance they offer. which would be stated value of a vehicle that they see as either a special model or an historical model or an end of the line model (model namesake must have been in use for at least 25 years....) So, they do see something there......

 

[King Steve]

My thoughts are that the value must be higher than the blue book, because anyone who would be buying the car would certainly have the future in mind. It is a 17 year old car now, but if kept in the same condition at antique age and beyond, it will likely only appreciate in value. Thus it would have an element of investment involved. If I at age 24 were to buy a car like this, there would probably be the expectation of keeping it immaculate for 20 years or so and then seeing if I could get quite a high price for it (Think about it, a 35-40 year old car with <10k for mileage and mint, not to mention the last model year of a long-running model). Because the value would likely be much more in the future, I think there is this element that book value is not going to fully take into account. That said, in order to attain that value in the future one must take great care to keep it in the condition it's now in. So, this involves some effort; it's not just like throwing the money in a CD. Taking everything into consideration, I'd say it's certainly worth more than current book value..20K might be a little steep although not necessarily a bad investment for someone who will maintain it properly..I would personally price it a little under 15 K, and I absolutely love the perfect, beautiful white leather. Realistically it's gotta be at least over $10k, but the amount of dedication to the car a buyer plans to give to the car could make it worth a little more to such a buyer.

 

[drewsdeville]

Desirable, well lets see....

1938-1993 55 years of the model, this is the final year.

Last Front Wheel Drive Cadillac with :-
Chrome Bumpers; Factory installed Padded Vinyl Roof; Electro-Luminescent Opera Lights; and last year of any model Cadillac with White Leather, and last year for heated windshield.

Now 5-6 K might be what an NADA would put or some other publication, but remember, this is collector car insurance and this company RECOGNIZES
this tear/make/model as qualifying FOR the type of insurance they offer. which would be stated value of a vehicle that they see as either a special model or an historical model or an end of the line model (model namesake must have been in use for at least 25 years....) So, they do see something there......

THEY see something, that still doesn't tell you what it's worth in the real world.

All of those options on that car are fantastic. But again you are blurring the line between rare and desirable. "last for this..." and "last for that..." makes it plenty rare. Rare is great if you are into that sort of thing, but rare does NOT automatically = value. This is a common misconception.

In reality, whether you like it or not, the '60 was really just a premium package on a plain old Sedan Deville (yes, it was a nice vehicle). If one was to go buy a 1993 Sedan Deville, it would offer quite a similar experience to the 60, save for some fancy options and colors. That may lower how desirable the 60 is since you can get into a early '90's Deville damn cheap.

 

[King Steve]

PS: I sat and stared at the pic of the front interior for about 10 minutes straight today..absolutely gorgeous white which blends beautifully with the unique eggplant..I would love to see a bigger hi-res shot.

 

[drewsdeville]

My thoughts are that the value must be higher than the blue book, because anyone who would be buying the car would certainly have the future in mind. It is a 17 year old car now, but if kept in the same condition at antique age and beyond, it will likely only appreciate in value. Thus it would have an element of investment involved. If I at age 24 were to buy a car like this, there would probably be the expectation of keeping it immaculate for 20 years or so and then seeing if I could get quite a high price for it (Think about it, a 35-40 year old car with <10k for mileage and mint, not to mention the last model year of a long-running model). Because the value would likely be much more in the future, I think there is this element that book value is not going to fully take into account. That said, in order to attain that value in the future one must take great care to keep it in the condition it's now in. So, this involves some effort; it's not just like throwing the money in a CD. Taking everything into consideration, I'd say it's certainly worth more than current book value..20K might be a little steep although not necessarily a bad investment for someone who will maintain it properly..I would personally price it a little under 15 K, and I absolutely love the perfect, beautiful white leather. Realistically it's gotta be at least over $10k, but the amount of dedication to the car a buyer plans to give to the car could make it worth a little more to such a buyer.

I disagree, I have a hard time believing this car, or any recent car is gonna eventually be a valuable classic. In my opinion, the true classic cars are here, and here to stay. I think those real classics are going to hinder the ability of anything else to squeeze into their same category.

 

[King Steve]

I disagree, I have a hard time believing this car, or any recent car is gonna eventually be a valuable classic. In my opinion, the true classic cars are here, and here to stay. I think those real classics are going to hinder the ability of anything else to squeeze into their same category.

You might be right, and I might be wrong; it is all speculation at this point. However, I think it's hard for us to really imagine what it will be like now, because 93 Devilles are everywhere. Once the "similar experience" of a 93 Deville in good shape becomes less accessible, it might become more desirable. It might not become the classic that a 59 eldo is, but desirability will be more than it is now, which means value will go up. Only time will tell. I certainly hope there's still room for new classics, as I want to be able to look back someday and see classic cars that I can remember growing up with as new.

 

[drewsdeville]

You might be right, and I might be wrong; it is all speculation at this point. However, I think it's hard for us to really imagine what it will be like now, because 93 Devilles are everywhere. Once the "similar experience" of a 93 Deville in good shape becomes less accessible, it might become more desirable. It might not become the classic that a 59 eldo is, but desirability will be more than it is now, which means value will go up. Only time will tell. I certainly hope there's still room for new classics, as I want to be able to look back someday and see classic cars that I can remember growing up with as new.

No doubt there is some truth to that, I can see wanting to relive my younger driving days when I get older.

But this is 2009. We aren't quite there yet. Right now, I think we can probably agree that desirability of a 1993 Deville (or Sixty) isn't high enough for it's value to skyrocket as previously mentioned. Newer cars can offer just as much or more than a '93 Deville, but niether can offer what a true classic (such as the mentioned '59 Eldo) can offer, and that's what makes the vehicle desirable.

 

[King Steve]

Yes, I think we can generally agree on that much. I said "at least 10K" because I was building in the expectation a potential buyer would have for an increase in value. That mindset would be absolutely necessary for this car to go for that much, but at the same time I think anyone buying a 17 year old car in this condition/mileage would have a little more in mind than a comfortable commute to work. If a nice smooth ride is all one were looking for, then book value is probably right. But I think true value, aka what Sandy could get for the car if he put it on ebay today, would surpass 10k because someone would think future classic. I definitely agree with you that 09 is way too soon for the value to skyrocket to the level of a mint low miles true [current] classic, but I maintain more than book value as my final appraisal. I am biased in favor of mint cars I remember as a kid, and white leather, so I admit I might be letting my personal affinity for this car sway me...the question is, would a potential buyer do the same? Too bad we'll never know, since apparently the car won't be going up for sale!