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National Corvette Museum Selects Auto Appraisal Group to Value Sinkhole Corvettes

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA –

On February 12, 2014, security cameras at the National Corvette Museum recorded the movement when a 40-foot sinkhole opened up in the Skydome section of the museum, taking eight Corvettes down with it. Auto Appraisal Group (AAG) has been hired by the National Corvette Museum to determine the value of the vehicles prior to their damage.

“Life really is stranger than fiction” is a frequent statement heard from AAG founder and president Larry Batton. “No one could have foreseen the ground just swallowing up these historic Corvettes while most of us were asleep”. The recovery process has been an engineering marvel in itself. The eight vehicles that fell into the sinkhole are:

  • 1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors
  • 2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” on loan from General Motors

The other six vehicles were owned by the National Corvette Museum including:

  • 1962 Chevrolet Corvette
  • 1984 PPG Pace Car
  • 1992 White One Millionth Corvette
  • 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
  • 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
  • 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette

“Having documentation of your collector cars while they are in good, undamaged condition prepares you for the unexpected. We think of it as insurance for your insurance. The museum has extensive historical documentation on these Corvettes which is being utilized during our evaluations. The significant provenance of many of these cars will continue in spite of the damage” concluded Batton. The last of the eight Corvettes was pulled out of the sinkhole on April 9th.

Local AAG agent, Bradley Youmans of Smyrna, TN is available to assist collectors in the Southern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama area with certified appraisals on their custom or classic cars, trucks and motorcycles. “While it’s possible to establish fair market value after a vehicle has been damaged or lost, it’s much easier to establish value before any potential damage has occurre” states Bradley Youmans.

In addition to being leaders in the field, AAG is one of only a handful of companies with experience appraising large collections. A partial list of clients include the Harold LeMay collection of over 2300 vehicles in Washington, a portion of those cars are now part of America’s Car Museum; the Bob McDorman collection of over 200 cars in Ohio, many of them Corvettes; Chip Miller’s collection, founder of Carlisle Productions, the world’s largest presenter of collector car events. AAG is also the official appraisal company for the Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center in Michigan.

You can contact the Auto Appraisal Group at 800-848-2886 or visit www.autoappraisal.com. Bradley Youmans and the Auto Appraisal Group would welcome the opportunity to work with owners to ensure peace of mind so that they and their insurance companies will know the true value of your priceless collectibles. Bradley Youmans local contact numbers are; 615-556-9199 cell and 615-462-6800 shop.