Galen Govier- anyone else offer the same services

[priderocks]

I have a 68 383 4-speed Barracuda for which I had Galen decode the tag. It was a nice package they sent, well worth the $70. The only problem was that I made probably a hundred phone calls over the six month period it took to get the decode. Is there anyone else offering the same services that Galen does? I know about his wife as well as some other stuff going on there, but it sure would be nice to have other resources available.

[Cuda Cody]

I had the same experience as you did with how long it took.  There are many experts on this board that will help you for free.

[69bronzeT5]

The vehicle registries are starting to do it. For example, the Duster & Dart Sport registry does it and the Swinger 340 registry does it too. I do the Duster & Dart Sport registry and I can say it will be way cheaper than $70.

[OzCuda]

There are so many information sources available now to decode fender tags etc (any Mopar book, heaps of websites, ask here), why would you need to wait 6 months for GG to do it???  Does he give you additional info such as build numbers, rarity of your vehicle or is it just his verification that is worth money?

[Ghost]

or is it just his verification that is worth money?

Mostly this.


Not a fan of GG.

[426HEMI]

I am not a fan of him either.  He could not tell me what I wanted to know.  He said that it was not in any records that he had. 

[Culvers]

ask Alaskan_TA (hamtramck-historical)

[73Chally]

Unfortunately GG is pretty much the only acknowledged expert in terms of validation the numbers for market value.  As has been said before, there are plenty of folks on this board that can help, some that probably know more than him.  If you're doing it for yourself, you will get everything you need to know right here, but if you are looking to sell and need the paperwork to add value, then for the time being you are probably out of luck.

[Alaskan_TA]

I can not see where any registry paperwork would add value to the car itself, but apparently it does give some folks a warm, fuzzy feeling.

All of the generic online decoders are not model & / or year specific, so they have errors. M88 for example has more than one meaning depending on model year.

I offer a fender tag decoding service for some models, more info here;

http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/services-d.shtml

Barry

[73Chally]

I can not see where any registry paperwork would add value to the car itself, but apparently it does give some folks a warm, fuzzy feeling.

Barry

Yeah, I never saw much of a need for that, either.  If there's a car I'm interested in, I'll do the research myself, then offer what I think is a fair price.  I think the "decoded by Golan Govier" crap is more for Barrett Jackson and people to spout on Ebay.

[Alaskan_TA]

I just realized I never updated the text at that link to include 1970 LA cars, I'll get that fixed......

[priderocks]

I went to Govier for the decode for several reasons;

1) There was nobody else available to do the thorough job he did. He is the only professional game in town that I knew of.
2) All my efforts to secure the info from other sources were met either with incorrect or incomplete info. As I intend to do a total correct resto on the car, I needed the right info.
3) The place where I would have expected to get the most accurate info (A-bodies only forum) is pretty much useless
4) Like it or not, Govier's imprimatur does add value to the finished product. On a car of which only 500 or so were produced, it's money well-spent.
5) I get a warm, fuzzy feeling looking at the results

[quapman]

You could spend $15 on one of his books and decode it yourself.

If I were to buy a car with GG certs, I'd use it for toilet paper.

I'm disappointed that Abodiesonly could not provide better help.

I'm amazed that after all the bad press, GG still hasn't cleaned up his business practices.

Sad, very sad.


Steve

[N96cuda]

Galen is real nice to me every few years when he calls me to see if I'm ready to sell my 71 conv. to a client/friend of his. Other than that he rarely has the time to talk with me and then can't seem to remember who I am. I have been waiting something over 3 years for a fender tag. Twice over the past couple of years I have cancelled it and each time the lady working there says it is already finished and I will have it within 2 weeks. I have never sent them any money so I guess we're even. 

[Goehner]

From everyone I have talked to, it takes 6 to 8 months to get info back from Galen. It does increase the value to a big percentage of the buyers out there because his name has been in the public and magazine after magazine about being "The" authority on Mopars.