While enthusiast car valuation is not always tied to the larger trend in use car values, when used prices rise at upwards of 100% per year, there is a lot you can get from following these trends. The collector and enthusiast markets generally move even faster than the larger used car market. Also, if you are not on an agreed value policy, or even if you are but have no revisited the valuation in a year or more, you may not be covered for the true replacement cost of the vehicle anymore.
After a drop in the early part of 2023, driven largely by rising interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainty and a cooling economy, March saw a dramatic jump back up after a noticeable dip and downward trend started developing in late 2022. The index returned closer to where it was in late Jan/early Feb’s index. In fact, the index now is only about 10% off peak highs from end of 2022/beginning of 2023.
What this means for car enthusiasts is that peak pricing and dealer markups are easing a little, there still remains significant pricing pressure on the most desirable cars. Dealers are largely still selling slots, often with markups, on the most sought after cars. Secondary level used cars (4+ year old cars) are generally holding their value. Macroeconomic pressures are forcing more owners of desirable, but not highly sought after cars, to sell. Still, much like the housing market, there is such as a huge backlog of buyers that even with new supply and some buyers dropping out of the market, sellers still maintain a fair bit of leverage.
Review Your Car Valuations
If you are interested in learning more about what your car is worth, particularly if it’s an enthusiast car or unique, check out our guide to car valuation. While following the trends can help you keep an eye on the larger car market, we highly recommend reevaluating the value of your enthusiast vehicle no less than annually. If the value of your vehicle has increased, we suggest to address this at each renewal. If it’s accelerating more than 10%, we recommend addressing it sooner.
Also, you don’t need to have a highly collectible car to consider its value. Anytime the agreed value, for agreed value policies, or the book value, or actual cash value policies is less than what it would cost you to replace the car, regardless of reason, it’s worth revisiting your policies.
Shift Brokers Can Help You Navigate
Shift Brokers is car insurance for car enthusiasts. We can help you understand the how different carriers will value your specialty car. In addition, we can help you select from insurance companies that will get you the kind of service and coverage you need. And because we are car enthusiasts and specialize in policies for car enthusiasts, we can help you navigate the unique needs and situations only car enthusiasts find themselves in. The best part is, because we are brokers, we represent you, not the insurance companies. There is never any obligation to work with us.
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Informational Purposes Only
As with all of our blog posts with tips and suggestions about car insurance for enthusiasts, these are intended as general information. The specifics of your policy and carrier may differ. The information in this blog post is not intended to be formal insurance advice. However, if you’d like to talk to a licensed agent about your specific needs or questions, get a quote. Always
