Video:How to Assess Classic Car Value

Transcript:How to Assess Classic Car Value

So you have found the car you want, you have located some examples, now we are going to take you through how to determine if it is a good find. I am Zac Moseley, Director of the Classic Car Club of Manhattan and I am here for About.com.

Drive the Classic Car

The first thing you will want to do is go for a drive in the car. If you do the drive first, you may notice some issues in driving that you will want to look for when you check out the car more closely.

Evaluate the Car Exterior

We are going to start by looking around the exterior. First off, you are going to want to look at how the car sits. Does the suspension look like it is set up properly. Is it high in one corner and low in the other? Or high in the back and low in the front?

If there is any place where rust is starting it is going to be on the lower part of the car. So you really want to tap around along the rocker panels. You also want to look at the panel fitment of the car -- that can tell you a lot about the structure that is below. If you look at this seam here, it is really nice, it is a thin, even seam, and the door is hung nicely.

Check Interior Classic Car Value

Next we are going to go to the inside of the car. You will want to lift up the carpets and see if there is any moisture under there, or if the carpets look discolored, like there was moisture before. A lot of times old cars will have leaks, up around the upper seals of the windows and the windshield. If that water gets in and sits on the carpets, it is going to start rusting the floors out from the inside. So a car can look fantastic and have a nice interior, but if you find something amiss under the carpet it could be a sign of a bigger problem.

Check the Car's Engine

So you have covered the outside of the car and you have looked at the interior, now you want to have a good look at the engine. First thing is to look from above for any obvious leaks. You are going to be looking underneath, where it might be a little bit easier to see, but often if you look from above you can piece together the story. Simple things that will leak are around the valve cover gaskets, you may see some oil seepage there. You want to look for any water around the hoses and water pump. Squeeze the hoses -- do they feel supple and fresh or are they dry and on the verge of cracking?

Have a look at the coolant and see if it looks clear. If you see any oil droplets floating around in there, then that is a really bad sign: it means somehow oil and water are mixing in your engine, which means internally there is something really wrong. Similarly you will want to check all the other fluids. This car has power steering, so you check the power steering fluid level, and it has an automatic transmission, so you should check the transmission fluid.

You also want to make sure you check the engine while it is running. During your test drive, you are listening for any out of the ordinary noises, but a lot of the noises can be heard better from the engine compartment, so you will want to check it out. Listen to the idle, does it sound smooth or is the car laboring to keep running, does it feel like it is going to stall?

Look Under the Classic Car

Now that we have checked up on everything above ground, we are going to have a look under the car. Chances are, you are not going to have a lift available to you when you go to look at a car, so you are going to want to bring a flashlight and be ready to be on your knees and look under the car. Go around to all the corners -- here you have sway bars, you have the control arm bushings, you will want to check the ball joints. Look for anything that appears out of order.

These are all things that you will want to have tried to identify a bit when you were driving it: if you felt a shake or if you felt that car pull in one direction, you will want to look underneath for a clue of what is causing that.

Get Information on the Car's Value

When you are looking at the car, you will want to ask the owner for as much information as possible. The owner is an irreplaceable resource that you will not have later when you take the car into your own garage. You want to get as much info as you can before purchasing the car.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the Web at About.com.