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My Little Brother bought this car brand new in 1999. At the time of his passing he had put only 3240 miles on it. We put it up in my Dad's shop, and I just now got it out this spring. I've put about 500 miles on it, mostly going to area car shows.
Right now, all I have on it is liability coverage (yeah, I know....makes me very nervous driving it....). My current insurance company says the most they can insure it for is around $9,000....which seems pretty damn low to me. Hagerty says a #1 condition (which this car no doubt is...) is worth $26,000.....which seems kind of high.
So, I'm asking for your opinions, what do you think it is worth....in the real world?
I agree that $26k isn't realistic, all things considered. There was a '98 SS with 7k miles that was discussed here extensively earlier this year, that car was probably comparable to yours. The seller posted a confirmed sale price of $15k at the end of the thread, here is a link:
His color was more desirable than yours, but you have less mileage and one model year newer. Without knowing all the specific details on yours, overall I would value it similarly or a little more (assuming same trans type.)
I'd insure it for $18k...the color hurts it a little, as does no t-tops, but at the end of the day its still a 3k mile car. Plus with Hagerty it will barely cost you extra for the extra $3k so why not? My WS6 is insured for $20k, but realistically its around a $15k car. And I would think given the miles, your car is worth more than my WS6
Thanks Jason, that is a good idea. We had my Brother's 69 Z/28 insured through Hagerty's...seems like a pretty good company. Have you, or anyone you know, ever made a claim with Hagertys? I know most insurance companies pull a Jekyll and Hyde maneuver when you go from a paying customer to one who makes a claim.....
Certainly nothing wrong with insuring it for a bit more than its "real world" value. Should you experience a total loss and want to replace the car quickly (rather than hunting/waiting for a deal), that extra bit of money will give you better options more quickly. I did the same with my '98 Z28 when I moved it to a collector policy about 10 years ago, and they've slowly increased the coverage every year (automatic program called 'inflation guard', which can be discontinued if so desired) with very little effect on my premium.
I can't speak for Hagerty, but I've been a Grundy customer for a decade. Thankfully I've never needed to file a claim, but there was a member on here with a Firehawk that had to file a large claim through Grundy and they took great care of him. I also have a friend from my local car show circuit who needed to file a Grundy claim and he was taken care of without hassle or issues as well.
I'm a brand new customer to Hagerty. I used to have Grundy for several years, whom I never made a claim with either.
RPM,
I had Grundy and got screwed hard when over literally a 15 day period, they went from insuring "new classics" like my CTS V to not, last fall. I was beyond pissed. Part of the reason I could justify buying a DD and relegating the V to weekend duty was saving enough on insurance on the V to pay for the yearly premium for the GXP. Barely 2 weeks later, they "changed their policies."
I got rid of Grundy as fast as I could. I'm still pissed about it.
Your 1999 SS is lower mileage than my car and better optioned. If I figure my car at a max of $13K. I'd give you another $2K-$3K for real low miles and +$1K for the better SLP package. But would subtract $500 for lack of TTops (other's might not). I don't have any problem with your car's color.
I'd put it around $16,500. Where do you find another '99 M6 with all the important SLP options? My car's orig owner wanted to go that way but just couldn't justify the cost of chrome wheels and Bilstein suspension. But he spent a few hundred bucks on a GM/Hurst short throw shifter in 1999 because he said it wasn't available on the SS's.
If any of the on-line sports car dealers got this car, they'd be asking $22K-$26K, no doubt. I think it would be an easy sale in the $15K-$16K range. Could easily be "worth" $17K. I sort of put the limit on SS's at around $17.5K unless they are ultra low mileage 2001-2002's, 1LEs, or verts. $17K-$18K insurance value would be very logical. $15K is too low imo....underestimating the cool SLP package and ultra-low miles. That's a $4K SLP add on. And in my mind, worth $2K more than an identical car with no SLP added content. You have a essentially a nearly-brand new, loaded '99 SS M6. There are far fewer of the 1998-2000's in this type of condition than the 2001-2002's. KBB and NADA give little extra value for low miles, and nothing for an M6 or SLP options. In fact I don't think KBB gives any extra value once the mileage drops under around 10K....or it's very little.
That 1998 SS for $15K that was mentioned above, had a repaint on the sail panel and mirrors (to body color). On a bone stock, ultra low miles car, that's a sizable deduction imo. The worst deviation the OP's car has is a black decal (?) on the hood scoop inlet area. Probably easily removed....and it is stock on some year 2000+ Berger GMMG's. Any chance your brother put on other Berger mods such as white face gauges and blacked out rear panel?
Your insurance company is going by "book" value on your 1999, which is probably around $9K-$10K max. Absurd. If they looked around the market for 10 minutes they'd see the going rate for these is $15K and up. They could insure it for the right amount but choose not to. The lazy way out.
I had Grundy and got screwed hard when over literally a 15 day period, they went from insuring "new classics" like my CTS V to not, last fall. I was beyond pissed. Part of the reason I could justify buying a DD and relegating the V to weekend duty was saving enough on insurance on the V to pay for the yearly premium for the GXP. Barely 2 weeks later, they "changed their policies."
I got rid of Grundy as fast as I could. I'm still pissed about it.
What do they consider a "new classic"? Is this a rolling age limit or a fixed model year cutoff? My '98 is the newest car I have insured with them, and I've heard nothing about this as of my renewal last week.
I also looked at Hagerty 10 years ago when I started with collector policies, but their higher rates kept me away.
Originally Posted by Firebrian
Your 1999 SS is lower mileage than my car and better optioned. If I figure my car at a max of $13K. I'd give you another $2K-$3K for real low miles and +$1K for the better SLP package. But would subtract $500 for lack of TTops (other's might not). I don't have any problem with your car's color.
I'd put it around $16,500. Where do you find another '99 M6 with all the important SLP options? My car's orig owner wanted to go that way but just couldn't justify the cost of chrome wheels and Bilstein suspension. But he spent a few hundred bucks on a GM/Hurst short throw shifter in 1999 because he said it wasn't available on the SS's.
If any of the on-line sports car dealers got this car, they'd be asking $22K-$26K, no doubt. I think it would be an easy sale in the $15K-$16K range. Could easily be "worth" $17K. I sort of put the limit on SS's at around $17.5K unless they are ultra low mileage 2001-2002's, 1LEs, or verts. $17K-$18K insurance value would be very logical. $15K is too low imo....underestimating the cool SLP package and ultra-low miles. That's a $4K SLP add on. And in my mind, worth $2K more than an identical car with no SLP added content. You have a essentially a nearly-brand new, loaded '99 SS M6. There are far fewer of the 1998-2000's in this type of condition than the 2001-2002's. KBB and NADA give little extra value for low miles, and nothing for an M6 or SLP options. In fact I don't think KBB gives any extra value once the mileage drops under around 10K....or it's very little.
That 1998 SS for $15K that was mentioned above, had a repaint on the sail panel and mirrors (to body color). On a bone stock, ultra low miles car, that's a sizable deduction imo. The worst deviation the OP's car has is a black decal (?) on the hood scoop inlet area. Probably easily removed....and it is stock on some year 2000+ Berger GMMG's. Any chance your brother put on other Berger mods such as white face gauges and blacked out rear panel?
Your insurance company is going by "book" value on your 1999, which is probably around $9K-$10K max. Absurd. If they looked around the market for 10 minutes they'd see the going rate for these is $15K and up. They could insure it for the right amount but choose not to. The lazy way out.
I basically agree with everything you've said above, though I think pewter will hurt demand more so than the lack of t-tops (there are quite a few hard top fans roaming about), it seems to be one of the most disliked colors.
I'm still mostly thinking about that NBM '02 SS M6 we saw earlier this year with 4900 miles at that dealer (I think in OH?), it was probably the nicest example I've seen in years and with full SLP content (minus CME and KD tires). That dealer had trouble moving the car even at $18.9k, figure it might have sold for $18k or so. Based on that, I would think a '99 in a less desirable color but similar miles and SLP content would have an actual sale price of a couple thousand less than an '02.
But since we're talking about insurance value here, rather than preparing for actual sale, I certainly see nothing wrong with covering it a bit higher than average sales value. I agree with the ~$18k value that most have suggested for insurance.
Op, just a fyi, I would remove that front bra from your car. It absolutely will eventually cause paint damage due to rubbing on the paint. It does nothing but trap dirt and sand away at your paint. It does much more harm than good.
If you really want to protect the front end, have it clear wrapped. You would not even be able to see it on pewter.
Op, just a fyi, I would remove that front bra from your car. It absolutely will eventually cause paint damage due to rubbing on the paint. It does nothing but trap dirt and sand away at your paint. It does much more harm than good.
I agree.
Originally Posted by 98CayenneT/A
For the record, I love Pewter F-bodies !
Two of mine were pewter, I ended up regretting it both times and I don't think I would buy another in that color.
Another opinion about that bra. LOSE IT!! Nothing good will come with it except clear coat grief.
I have Hagerty's for my C4, and they are pricey, but I know the agent real well (a fellow car show guy) and feel confident that there would be no problem if I wrecked it. With Hagerty and their 'agreed' policy terms, I think $15,000 is fine if worse comes to worse. Just for info, my regular insurance company is Geico and I pay about $400 per year for each car. If I added the C4, it would be another $400, but if I wrecked it, only about $8k would be paid out. With Hagerty, it is still in the $400 price range for the year but it is insured for what we 'agreed' upon. No deductibles or mileage limits either. Just has to be garaged and you must have other cars to 'daily drive'.
Whats wrong with the pewter cars? Is it just personal preference?
Personal preference is all it ever is. The prettier and more appealing colors get the most interest...SOM, Black, NBM, Red, etc. Some people don't want the most common colors Black/Red. Others want only Black as it's the most "sinister" look of the WS6 package. Pewter may not bring appreciably less money. But could take longer to get it sold vs. a red/black car. No doubt buyers will try to negotiate price down claiming "if it were only any other color but pewter." Had my SS been Pewter when I considered buying it....would not have made one bit of difference. I wanted a fairly local car, very low miles. There were very few choices. Color never deters me when considering an excellent car.
Fwiw, I ran into a woman 2 years ago who was looking for a duplicate of her new car from 2001....a pewter WS6 M6. She wouldn't settle for anything else. Might take a while to find such a car. Personal preference!
" The worst deviation the OP's car has is a black decal (?) on the hood scoop inlet area. ............ Any chance your brother put on other Berger mods such as white face gauges and blacked out rear panel?"
That is just lighting....the only things not original on the car are the tribute decal in the rear window, the SLP window banner, and the bra. Until this spring, it still had the original oil in it. Well, maybe not, I'm sure the oil was changed for the break in period.
I put the bra on when I am driving it to a show, cuts down on cleaning off bug splatt. I didn't think about clear vinyl wrap....another good idea, thanks!
And I want to be perfectly clear here....the car IS NOT up for sale....I can see 15 years down the road my Grandbaby will be driving the car.....she really likes how fast it "zooms".....
Thanks again for all the good advice...I really do appreciate it....
Mike
Whats wrong with the pewter cars? Is it just personal preference?
Yep, Firebrian nailed it above. Anything in that range of beige/sand/tan/brownish-gold tends to be less desirable among performance vehicle shoppers.
I'm pretty picky about color, when I'm looking at a car the color can certainly make or break the deal for me depending on the specific car and where that color falls within my personal preference range. Some folks don't care much or will be fine with anything if the deal is "right".
My first brand new F-body was a '99 Z28 in this color. I wanted silver, but I waited too late in the model year to buy (July), and the factory incentives only applied to the '99 cars so I couldn't get the same deal if I ordered an '00. None of the dealers within trade range of me had what I wanted in silver, so I settled for pewter thinking it was "close enough". That was a mistake, as I was never happy with the color and sold the car a year later. Then, in 2007, I picked up an '02 Z28 as a driver - it was also pewter but I talked myself into it since the car and deal were otherwise exactly what I was looking for. I kept that car until 2014 and greatly enjoyed driving it, but I was still never happy with the color.
Ooben's car sure does look nice though, seems to be a true time capsule.
Yep, Firebrian nailed it above. Anything in that range of beige/sand/tan/brownish-gold tends to be less desirable among performance vehicle shoppers.
................ Ooben's car sure does look nice though, seems to be a true time capsule.
You know.....I don't understand why my Brother chose that color. His 69 Z/28 was Cortez silver, and I know they had a silver color in 99.....
Thanks RPM, the car has spent it's entire life in a heated garage....never been driven in the rain, alway had a towel over the seat....unless Bruce had a hot date...then the towels came off.....
You know.....I don't understand why my Brother chose that color. His 69 Z/28 was Cortez silver, and I know they had a silver color in 99.....
Thanks RPM, the car has spent it's entire life in a heated garage....never been driven in the rain, alway had a towel over the seat....unless Bruce had a hot date...then the towels came off.....
Mike
That is a very fine collection, some great cars!
I'm a huge fan of Cortez Silver, my Nova is that color as well.
The silver offered on the 4th gen Camaros was code 13, Sebring Silver Metallic. My '98 is that color, it's what I should have bought the first time around.
What do they consider a "new classic"? Is this a rolling age limit or a fixed model year cutoff? My '98 is the newest car I have insured with them, and I've heard nothing about this as of my renewal last week.
I also looked at Hagerty 10 years ago when I started with collector policies, but their higher rates kept me away.
I don't think its a rolling age limit or anything so much as a particular model of car. Grundy very snottily told me "well, its not a Corvette, so..." to which I responded "you're right, its worth more than a regular old 2011 Corvette."
Apparently the way Hagerty looks at it, its more about what the car in question is. They won't insure a plain old 2011 CTS, but a V? They're all over it. And yes, Grundy is cheaper for sure...they quoted me $600 when they claimed they would insure the V. Add that to the $250 the SS was insured for, and that's $850 compared to the $1,200 I have through Hagerty.
I now pay $1,430 for the 3 cars together, with $80k total value...no complaints there. Even if down the road Grundy would insure the CTS, I wont go back to them. I'm done with them after years of having them.
09-20-2017, 01:57 PM
1999 Camaro SS insurance Value 
