Home Car Appraisal Blog

Appraiser Blog

Fleet Sales Jumps 13 Percent – Summer 2016

Fleet Sales Jump 13% – Summer 2016 Estimated retail and fleet volume for June 2016 vs. June 2015 June 2016 retail sales June 2015 % retail share June retail sales June 2014 % retail share % change General Motors 209,300 82% 206,800 80% 1.20% Toyota Motor 180,300 91% 182,800 87%

Read More

Top Quality Cars By Brand – July 2016

Top Quality Cars By Brand – July 2016   Kia overtook Porsche in J.D. Power’s annual report card on vehicle quality, marking the first time in 27 years that a nonpremium brand has topped the list. Tthe Jeep, Chrysler, and Subaru showed the strongest improvement. Jaguar plunged from third place

Read More

2017 Fiat 124 Spider – U.S. Wonder

2017 Fiat 124 Spider – U.S. Wonder     The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider is easily the best car in Fiat’s four-vehicle U.S. lineup and a worthy successor to the storied original Fiat 124 Spider that debuted in November 1966. The two-seat convertible coupe shares a

Read More

Vehicle Values Depreciation Rate – July 12

Vehicle Values Depreciation Rate – July 12   Depreciation Rates Change – Overall car values decreased 0.37% last week. – Full-size Car depreciation rates changed -0.66%. – Mid-size Car segments received the highest weekly depreciation rates at 0.54%. – Overall truck values decreased 0.3% last week. – Sub-Compact Luxury Crossover segment

Read More

Average Auto Loan Term Rise – July 2016

Average Auto Loan Term Rise – July 2016     The average loan term has been on a continuous climb based on vehicle affordability. Every quarter for the last two years, new-vehicle loan terms have increased by one month. In the first quarter of 2015, the average new-vehicle loan term

Read More

Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act

Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act   Unfair-Claims-Settlement-Practices-Act   –   pdf Section 1. Purpose The purpose of this Act is to set forth standards for the investigation and disposition of claims arising under policies or certificates of insurance issued to residents of [insert state]. It is not intended to cover claims

Read More

Vehicle Values and Depreciation Rate – June 28

Vehicle Values and Depreciation Rate – June 28   Vehicle Values Decline – Overall car values decreased by 0.43%. – Sub-Compact Car led the decline by 0.96% – Luxury Car declining at 0.68% – Prestige Luxury Car 0.57%. – Overall truck values decreased by 0.37% last week. – The small

Read More

10 Best and Worst Cars to Insure

Not all cars are created equal.  Some cars cost quite a bit more to insure than one would think.  Here is a list of the best and worst cars to insure: THE WORST: 1.  Subaru Impreza WRX 2.  Scion TC 3.  Hyundai Tiburon 4.  Mercedes CLS class (4 dr) 5. 

Read More

Auto Market Depreciation Rates – June 20

Auto Market Depreciation Rates – June 20   Depreciation Rates Steady – Overall car values decreased by 0.47% last week. Similar to the average depreciation rate of 0.44% seen in the previous two weeks. – Compact Car depreciation rate 0.82%. – Mid-Size Car depreciation rate is 0.72%. – Luxury Car

Read More

Toyota Technology Dominance

Toyota Technology Dominance   Toyota Motor is dominating the global market for the fuel cell, electric and hybrid vehicles patents. Toyota has been developing technology and process patents far ahead of its competitors. From 2011 to 2015, Toyota engineers were granted 9,807 patents for inventions related to alternative-powered vehicles. The gap

Read More

Vehicle Trapezoidal Rules

Vehicle Trapezoidal Rules ­The grille not only is it important to thermodynamics and aerodynamics, it also must be aesthetically pleasing, or at least not repelling potential buyers. Automakers are playing it safe by adopting some version of the trapezoidal grille, a style of the 1950s Aston Martin (picture above).Prudent design

Read More

Sub-Compact Car Values – June 2016

Sub-Compact Car Values – June 2016 Sub-Compact Car Values – Overall car values decreased by 0.47% in the beginning of June. This is worse than the average depreciation rate of 0.27% seen in May. – Sub-Compact Car and Mid-Size Car segments experienced high drop in value of 0.87% and 0.79%, respectively.

Read More

2016 Audi S6 Models and Trim Levels 2016

2016 Audi S6 Models, Retail Prices and Trim Levels for 2016   EXTERIOR COLORS:A2A2 Brilliant Black ……………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles………………………………………………………….N/C N/C6Y6Y Daytona Gray Pearl Effect ……………………………………………………..All Vehicles …………………………………………………………….511.00 550.00L5L5 Florett Silver Met ………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles ………………………………………………………………511.00 550.002Y2Y Glacier White Met ………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles …………………………………………………………..511.00 550.004J4J Havanna Black Met ………………………………………………………………All Vehicles ……………………………………………………………511.00 550.00T9T9 Ibis White

Read More

2016 Audi S7 Models and Trim Levels 2016

2016 Audi S7 Models, Retail Prices and Trim Levels for 2016   EXTERIOR COLORS: A2A2 Brilliant Black ……………………………………………………………All Vehicles………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C 6Y6Y Daytona Gray Pearl Effect …………………………………………….All Vehicles ………………………………………………………………….511.00 550.00 L5L5 Florett Silver Met ………………………………………………………All Vehicles …………………………………………………………………511.00 550.00 2Y2Y Glacier White Met ………………………………………………………..All Vehicles …………………………………………………………………511.00 550.00 4J4J Havanna Black Met ……………………………………………………All

Read More

Trucks and Car Segment Values – May 2016

Trucks and Car Segment Values – May 2016   Trucks and Car Segment Values Ending May 30, 2016 –  Volume-weighted car values decreased 0.23%. –  The Sub-compact Car segment weekly depreciation at 1.09%. Comparing -0.99% in 2015 and -1.19% in 2014. –  Truck values decreased 0.27%. –  The Sub-compact Luxury Crossover segment

Read More

2016 Audi S8 Models and Trim Levels 2016

2016 Audi S8 Models, Retail Prices and Trim Levels for 2016   EXTERIOR COLORS: A2A2 Brilliant Black ……………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles…………………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C 0D0D Cuvee Silver Met ………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles…………………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C 6Y6Y Daytona Gray Pearl Effect ……………………………………………………..All Vehicles…………………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C L5L5 Florett Silver Met ………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles…………………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C 2Y2Y Glacier White Met ………………………………………………………………….All Vehicles…………………………………………………………………………….N/C N/C 4J4J

Read More

May Auto Industry Sales Report – 2016

May Auto Industry Sales Report – 2016   Automaker May 2016 May 2015 % change 5 months 2016 5 months 2015 %  change     BMW 29,017 31,003 –6.4% 124,581 136,447 –8.7%     Mini 4,565 5,833 –21.2% 20,230 24,086 –16.0%     Rolls-Royce* 97 98 –1.0% 501 490 2.2%   BMW of N.A. 33,709 36,934 –8.7% 145,312

Read More

Top 25 Dealership Groups Based in the U.S – 2016

Top 25 Dealership Groups Based in the U.S – 2016   2015 rank Dealership group name Total new retail units Total used units Total units Total number of dealerships Group revenue all departments* 2014 rank 1 AutoNation Inc.† 339,080 227,290 644,164 254 20,862,000,000 1 2 Penske Automotive Group Inc.†‡ 233,524

Read More

Top Ten Checklist: Buying A Used Car

Visual Examination– The body should appear even, with no irregular spacing between the body joints. All doors and the trunk lid, should open and close with ease. Check for rust. Check the tires and also look for signs of brake fluid leaking on the inside of the tires. You may

Read More

Cloud Computing and Vehicle Safety

Accessing the cloud through a wireless internet connection in a car, has automakers thinking out of the box. Potential features go far beyond present uses of in-car Internet access. With the expanded data storage available, a car could become a highly customized personal assistant connected to the owner’s home, smartphone

Read More

Atlanta’s #1 Car Appraisers

The Free Estimate Game:

Would you rather collect 80% of an accurate appraisal or 20% of an inflated one?

Many clients believe that if another appraiser gives them a higher initial estimate, the settlement amount will be equally high. WRONG!

Insurance companies know who the legitimate appraisers are, so don't get caught up in the estimate game. Hire an appraiser based on their credentials and reputation.

Seven things to look for when choosing an appraisal company