The International Vehicle Appraisers Network (I-VAN) is a nationwide association of automotive hobbyists who are also Automobile Appraisers.  As I-VAN Appraisers we pool our collective automotive knowledge and experience to make sure you get the very best professional appraisal service.  Our best is the least we can do. We appraise all kinds of antique, classic, and modified vehicles including: cars, trucks, & motorcycles. We have even appraised an antique houseboat, an antique dog sled complete with snow shoes, tractors and farm equipment, hand-drawn fire equipment and fire engines, a crane, the stainless steel cars made by Ford with Allegheny Ludlum, etc.  We also appraise all sorts of automotive related collectibles (automobilia) and have done extensive work with museums and donations.  Our motto is… 

Our motto is….

“Hobbyists Helping Hobbyists”

Terry Childers became an I-VAN Certified Appraiser in March 2004 upon completion of the I-VAN Appraisal Training School.  Terry covers from Houston to Orange in Southeast Texas as well as the Southwestern sector of Louisiana. Terry came by his love of the old car hobby quite honestly as his father has been collecting and restoring old cars for many years; since Terry was a boy.  Terry has restored his own personal cars and formerly owned Orange Autosports Inc, which provided restoration/rebuilding services for antique vehicles and Street rods.  Many of the vehicles Terry has restored have won prestigious awards and have appeared in several national hobby publications.  Terry is active in several car clubs and shows his vehicles in many Texas and Louisiana car shows.

 As an I-VAN Certified Appraiser Terry has appraised a wide range of vehicles from early antique cars to vehicles of the ‘50’s to Mustangs to muscle cars to street rods and modifides.  He has provided his expert services for many purposes including establishing insurance coverage values, settling insurance claims, and pre-purchase appraisals/evaluations.

 Whenever you need an appraisal for any kind of vehicle in Southeast Texas or Southwestern Louisiana contact Terry Childers.   

Email him at Childers@i-van.org

Phone:  (409) 886-8586

Cell:  (409) 882-1952

Vehicles Currently Owned

Club Memberships

Our motto at I-VAN is ”Hobbyists Helping Hobbyists”.  Our nationwide association of appraisers is made up of very experienced automotive hobbyists who also are automobile appraisers.  As a group we specialize in appraising antique/classic/collectable vehicles.   All of I-VAN’s Certified Appraisers  guarantee no conflict of interest because we do not: restore, buy/sell, paint, fix, transport, export, or insure, etc any old cars for a living…we are hobbyists first and foremost - we own the types of cars we appraise.

Now you can have your antique, classic, or special interest vehicle appraised by a friend…not a stranger!

1)   Insurance:  Protect your investment of Time and Money.  There are a great many insurance companies that will cover your collector car with Comprehensive and Collision coverage.  However, many will tell you that your vehicle will be covered for “actual cash value” or “book value” (ie: they decide what your vehicle is “worth” at the time of a claim) unless you provide an appraisal.  The best way to be sure that your car is protected properly is to have a professional appraisal on file with your insurance company and have an endorsement to your policy indicating the type and/or amount of coverage your vehicle has.  Not all companies offer this coverage; however, my appraisals are accepted by all insurance companies that do offer this coverage.  My appraisal will also be of immense help if you’re hit by the driver of some other insurance company or if that driver is uninsured.  Without an appraisal an unqualified person who is unfamiliar with your vehicle may be determining how much you’re going to collect at the time of a loss.  Important: did you know that during restoration in your own garage your vehicle is NOT covered for fire/theft under your homeowners policy? (only your automobile policy protects your car) Protect your investment!

2)   Selling a Collector Vehicle:  An appraisal can be a tremendous help when selling a collector vehicle.  First, it eliminates a lot of haggling or “negotiating” because the vehicle’s market value has been established.  Secondly, offering the vehicle for sale at 5-10% below the appraised value makes a prospective buyer think he’s getting quite a bargain.  Third, a qualified buyer can use the appraisal to get a loan from his bank, and other lending institutions, to assist in buying your vehicle (many financial institutions in Virginia and the surrounding areas will loan up to 80% of my appraised value).

3)   Collateral:  The value of your collector vehicle helps to increase your “net worth”. 

4)   Donation/Gift:  The IRS requires an appraisal for any gift to a charity or eligible museum, etc.  Further, the appraiser must complete and sign the appropriate IRS forms before you can take a tax deduction for your donation.  I have helped many museums and charities receive vehicle donations and helped the donors receive their proper tax deduction with the correct paperwork.

5)   Estate:  Because your collector vehicle has value it is part of your estate.  My appraisal helps prevent your heirs from being “ripped off” when they try to sell your vehicles).  It will also help your heirs determine how to divide your estate fairly.  Larger estates facing estate taxes can protect against overpayment of taxes.

6)   Divorce:  Yes, the “D word”.  Don’t ever let a court or some attorney determine what your vehicle is worth.

7)   Buying a Collector Vehicle:  A pre-purchase appraisal could protect you against overpaying for a vehicle.  It can also make a seller more reasonable in the asking price.  My appraisal establishes the loan value if you’re going to finance part of this purchase.

8)   Claim Settlement:  If you’re arguing with an insurance company over the value of your vehicle after a loss then my appraisal NOW can be a big help.  It’s not as easy to appraise a vehicle after an accident, fire, etc but it can be done if not too much time has gone by.

9)   Fraud:  Did you buy a vehicle “sight unseen” or over the internet and, when you received it, believe that you have been cheated?  My appraisal can help build your case.  Did you buy a vehicle because the owner said “matching numbers” and find out later that it’s not?  Was the vehicle advertised as having never been in an accident and you’ve discovered otherwise.  Did you discover flood damage?

10) Substandard Restoration:   Did you pay for a prize winning restoration only to find out that the only prize you will win is the “booby prize”?  Does the paint come off in the rain?  Is the chrome peeling three months later?  

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Terry Childers is a Certified Appraiser with I-VAN – International Vehicle Appraiser Network.  Our motto at I-VAN is ”Hobbyists Helping Hobbyists”.  Our nationwide association of appraisers is made up of very experienced automotive hobbyists who also are automobile appraisers.  As a group we specialize in appraising antique/classic/collectable vehicles.  Some of our Certified Appraisers  also do Diminished Value, Fraud, and Lemon Law appraisals.  All of I-VAN’s Certified Appraisers  guarantee no conflict of interest because we do not: restore, buy/sell, paint, fix, transport, export, or insure, etc any old cars for a living…we are hobbyists first and foremost - we own the types of cars we appraise.

Our motto is….

“Hobbyists Helping Hobbyists”

Now you can have your rod or custom appraised by a friend…not a stranger!

1)    Insurance:  Protect your investment of Time and Money.  There are a great many insurance companies that will cover your collector car with Comprehensive and Collision coverage.  However, many will tell you that your vehicle will be covered for “actual cash value” or “book value” (ie: they decide what your vehicle is “worth” at the time of a claim) unless you provide an appraisal.  The best way to be sure that your car is protected properly is to have a professional appraisal on file with your insurance company and have an endorsement to your policy indicating the type and/or amount of coverage your vehicle has.  Not all companies offer this coverage; however, my appraisals are accepted by all insurance companies that do offer this coverage.  My appraisal will also be of immense help if you’re hit by the driver of some other insurance company or if that driver is uninsured.  Without an appraisal an unqualified person who is unfamiliar with your vehicle may be determining how much you’re going to collect at the time of a loss.  Important: did you know that during restoration in your own garage your vehicle is NOT covered for fire/theft under your homeowners policy? (only your automobile policy protects your car) Protect your investment!

2)    Selling a Collector Vehicle:  An appraisal can be a tremendous help when selling a collector vehicle.  First, it eliminates a lot of haggling or “negotiating” because the vehicle’s market value has been established.  Secondly, offering the vehicle for sale at 5-10% below the appraised value makes a prospective buyer think he’s getting quite a bargain.  Third, a qualified buyer can use the appraisal to get a loan from his bank, and other lending institutions, to assist in buying your vehicle (many financial institutions in Virginia and the surrounding areas will loan up to 80% of my appraised value).

3)   Collateral:  The value of your collector vehicle helps to increase your “net worth”. 

4)   Donation/Gift:  The IRS requires an appraisal for any gift to a charity or eligible museum, etc.  Further, the appraiser must complete and sign the appropriate IRS forms before you can take a tax deduction for your donation.  I have helped many museums and charities receive vehicle donations and helped the donors receive their proper tax deduction with the correct paperwork.

5)    Estate:  Because your collector vehicle has value it is part of your estate.  My appraisal helps prevent your heirs from being “ripped off” when they try to sell your vehicles).  It will also help your heirs determine how to divide your estate fairly.  Larger estates facing estate taxes can protect against overpayment of taxes.

6)   Divorce:  Yes, the “D word”.  Don’t ever let a court or some attorney determine what your vehicle is worth.

7)   Buying a Collector Vehicle:  A pre-purchase appraisal could protect you against overpaying for a vehicle.  It can also make a seller more reasonable in the asking price.  My appraisal establishes the loan value if you’re going to finance part of this purchase.

8)   Claim Settlement:  If you’re arguing with an insurance company over the value of your vehicle after a loss then my appraisal NOW can be a big help.  It’s not as easy to appraise a vehicle after an accident, fire, etc but it can be done if not too much time has gone by.

9)   Fraud:  Did you buy a vehicle “sight unseen” or over the internet and, when you received it, believe that you have been cheated?  My appraisal can help build your case.  Did you buy a vehicle because the owner said “matching numbers” and find out later that it’s not?  Was the vehicle advertised as having never been in an accident and you’ve discovered otherwise.  Did you discover flood damage?

10)  Substandard Restoration:   Did you pay for a prize winning restoration only to find out that the only prize you will win is the “booby prize”?  Does the paint come off in the rain?  Is the chrome peeling three months later?

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If you collect Automobilia then you should consider having some or all of it appraised to get the proper insurance coverage (and for many of the other same reasons that you would have your collector vehicle appraised). 

Automobilia may include, but is not limited to: porcelain signs, automobile toys, art, figurines, books and literature, sheet music, mascots, car parts (ex: brass lamps, horns, hub caps, etc), old auto tools, pedal cars, etc.  Mr. Childer’s experience and connections in the hobby can produce the proper appraisal of your automobilia.

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This page was last updated on 11/20/06.