aaca senior award affect on vehicle

[Guest frightpig]

I was curious what the consensus on a fresh senior award affecting the vehicle's value is?

[Guest my3buicks]

In most cases an AACA or even a Single Marque Club such as the BCA's Senior award should give some added value to a vehicle. It gives the car a bit of a thoroughbred status and denotes the car as being a cut above and judged to a high degree of condition and authenticity. Now that usually holds true that the cars that obtain these positions are excellent in every detail, there are those that slip through the systems that that does not hold true for unfortunately.

That's not to say there are not exceptional cars out there that do not hold a senior status as many owners do not like to go the judging route.

[jscheib]

I might add some additional comment. I believe that it has happened in the past that someone has taken a tag from an award winning car and put it on a car offered for sale, thinking they might get a higher price. So the "buyer beware" message applies. Just my thought. But the operative word in the original post is "fresh"

John

[Thriller]

I am not an AACA member, and haven't delved into their judging. I would wonder though how their judging compares to BCA judging. I know many are members of both clubs, but does the AACA have sufficient expertise to add value to a Buick? I'm not criticizing the AACA, because I don't know...I'm just curious.

Similarly, from my knowledge of BCA judging, which is supposed to be against the standard of how the car left the factory, we often discuss here how the shiny bits on a restored car - that is paint and chrome - can be considerably nicer than it was from factory. So, you could theoretically have two BCA Gold Senior cars side by side that have a considerably different finish or luster. Now, typically, the one that has paint and chrome like factory isn't as likely to earn the Gold Senior, from my observation of the judging.

One thing to keep in mind too is that judges are human, therefore not perfect. Add to that fact that as time marches on, fewer and fewer will have an actual recollection of how cars shipped from factory, or even how they looked after dealer prep. For me, all the cars I've had judged thus far are older than I am, so I certainly can't make assertions about how they looked originally. All I can suggest is that if there is a run or two in the paint, or other slight imperfections, they shouldn't necessarily get a deduction. Similarly, I understand that bodies and bolt on body parts (fenders, hood, trunk lid, doors) weren't necessarily painted at exactly the same time, so the effects of temperature and humidity may leave them looking slightly different. All that is to say is that the BCA standard isn't against some ideal standard of perfection, but how it was built.

Getting off soapbox now....

[John]

Don't know how to quantify the value, but I would feel more comfortable buying such a car, especially a make/model I don't know as well as the Buicks I've owned for decades.

John

[buick5563]

Don't know how to quantify the value, but I would feel more comfortable buying such a car, especially a make/model I don't know as well as the Buicks I've owned for decades.

John

Agreed.

I also prefer Keith's "thoroughbred" reference to the word I have used for years; "pedigree".

I would imagine it would definitely make a difference on less desirable models such as sedans.

"Fresh Senior" would also be more valuable from a marketing perspective than "Driven Senior" (slam at myself )

Edited June 30, 2011 by buick5563 (see edit history)

[Bill Stoneberg]

But with a little bit of work, your car cleans up nicely.

[buick5563]

Thank you Bill,

In my most humble voice "I agree".

However, it would no longer be a (NEW) Senior without more than a minor detailing.

If somebody wants to flip a car, a fresh award would get more coin (in an apples to apples comparison).

[Terry Wiegand]

I would like to address Derek Thille's comment about not belonging to the AACA - SHAME ON YOU! (just joshin' ya) You really should join. I have been in the club for over 40 years and a life member for almost 25. I would like to comment about AACA judging. The AACA judging guidelines are the standard that every other club should follow. Let me tell you a little story about one of our three Buicks. We have a 1920 Model K-46 Coupe that has LESS than 5,000 ACTUAL, DOCUMENTED miles on it since new. This car won a First Junior Award in 1988 at Murfreesboro, Tennessee at an AACA Meet. We bought this car in 2002 and had the award transferred into our name. In 2006 we took this car to Rochester, Minnesota for the BCA National Meet. It was entered in the ARCHIVAL Class. Guess what - we did not so much as get a thank you from the judges (Pete Phillips is NOT included in the folks I am talking about). Here is the reason why. This car sat for 61 years in the basement of a Buick dealership in upstate New York. Moths got into the interior and ate the seat cushions down to the springs. The headliner and doors were OK. Tom Lester found the car in 1982 and bought it. We think he was the one who had the seats recovered in period correct upholstery cloth. I was honest and

told the judges about the problem the car had. They just walked away from the car after I told them that. My question about the BCA judging criteria is this - just what in God's name is a person supposed to do with a car in a situation like this?

Is a person supposed to set their ass on bare springs and create a hazardous driving situation like that? I wrote to every BCA Board Member and the chief judge and expressed my feelings about their judging system. I will never bring any of our Buicks to a BCA Meet and have them judged again.

I want to publicly thank Herb Oakes of the AACA for helping us get our 1920 Buick into the HPOF Class. The First Junior Award was retired and returned to us and now when we take this car to an AACA Meet it will be in the HPOF Class for all to see a car that is as original as is possible and still be driven and enjoyed. In response to the question that was asked about awards increasing an automobiles value - it is my unprofessional opinion that I think they do. I think that awards are a way of saying to the owner that the time, effort,

and yes, expense, are appreciated in trying to get something as close to what it left the factory like. To me that is worth some recognition. Am I sore at the BCA? No, not at all. I have a lot of good friends in BCA and I truly enjoy our 'old' Buicks.

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

terrywiegand@prodigy.net

Phone - (620) 665-7672