Hagerty has introduced a segment called "The Appraiser" on YouTube, and a recent episode where the guest brought on his recently restored Plymouth Superbird captured a key detail that we at The Common Gear have long believed in.
"Chris (the owner) has said he has no original paperwork for the car, which, although it's not the kiss of death on a Mopar, it would be really nice to have a factory broadcast sheet, or some ownership history, original window sticker, something like that. That would help the value."
What's incredible to me about this is the owner likely paid $50,000 or so for the car as a project, and then paid to have it restored by one of the leading Mopar shops in the country. So, let's say he's $175,000 all in on this car the day he picks it up. It just blows my mind that you'd spend that kind of cash and not even ask the seller to purchase a report that breaks down the VIN plate, or shows its ownership history to the point that he picked it up. It's not always easy but I've done it for $2,000 junkyard cars - why would a six-figure shopper not make the same effort?
While he's not likely to be unable to sell the car when it comes time, he may be in for a $10,000 - $20,000 hit as a result - and that seems like a huge price to pay in exchange for not making the effort to track down a few pieces of paper. Watch the full episode below.