I have several vehicles without title. It appears that the best way to get title is to do a bonded title here in FL. I was taking with the DMV lady and she said the biggest issue was not getting a bond twice the retail value. She also said they have great leeway on what they can accept as retail value. I figure what's more set in stone than getting them professionally apprasised? How much does this typically cost? Do they need to do it in person (yeah I know that's best) or can I send pictures and description of the vehicle? Discount for multiple vehicles?
I have a friend who does it for a living. We don't talk money a lot, but I think he usually charges $300-500. His appraisals are more geared towards people who are buying cars "as is/where is" and can't put eyes on them. As such, the "appraisal" part is more along the lines of "is this car worth what I'm about to pay for it?". He does a lot of research to find out what original option packages where, whether numbers match, etc. He usually sends prospective owners several thousand photos, a start up and running video and a multi-page report. He typically spends about 2-3 hours with the car and a like amount of time processing photos, researching the car and writing reports.
I'm sure you could get lesser services for a lesser price.
I use appraisers for DV claims. 200-350 is what I have been paying for 5 years
Sorry for my show response, a GRMer got me in contact with an appraiser friend and we're going to see if it'll appease the DMV gods.
