Custom Car, Motorcycle, Watercraft Appraisals in Solvang

If you are like us, you love your car. You have spent countless hours and dollars making it everything you have always dreamed of. We enjoy being around car lovers, and more importantly cars themselves.

Although car people love to spend time and money on their cars, they all too often forget to properly value their car for insurance purposes. Dollar after dollar goes in, but never gets properly documented so that if a catastrophic event strikes, the real cost of putting the car back together gets paid by the insurance company. As collector car owners ourselves, we understand the importance of our product first hand. Fill out the form on the right to get started on your on-sit

Auto Appraisal Network of Ventura  does appraisals for all different types of vehicles including custom/collector cars and trucks, motorcycles, late-model vehicles, boats, antique boats, RV’s, personal watercraft, semi-tractors and car hauler trailers. 

If you’re in the Solvang area and need an auto appraisal for insurance purposes, diminished value claims, pre purchase inspections, car collection appraisals, divorce settlements, estate planning, financing, bankruptcy or expert witness services, contact Auto Appraisal Network of Ventura.  

We are a locally owned and operated business and part of a nationwide network of certified auto appraisers.  We have many years of experience, so you can rest assured that an appraisal report from us is accurate and complete. Our full color reports are bound and delivered to you within days of completion and are accepted by all major insurance carriers, the legal system and financial institutions. 

We take pride in our work and are as passionate about cars as you are.  Protect your investment by having it appraised by Auto Appraisal Network of Ventura.

Serving Solvang

Facts about Solvang

Solvang is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census, down from 5,332 at the 2000 census. Solvang was incorporated as a city on May 1, 1985.

Solvang was founded in 1911 on almost 9,000 acres of the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata Mexican land grant, by a group of Danes who traveled west to establish a Danish colony far from the midwestern winters. The city is home to a number of bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many of the façades and buildings reflects traditional Danish style. There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen. A replica of Copenhagen's Round Tower or Rundetårn in the scale 1:3 was finished in 1991 and can be seen in the town center.

Mission Santa Inés, one of the California missions (National Historic Landmark), is located near the center of the town, at the junction of State Route 246 and Alisal Road.

Tourism

Thanks in large part to its unique half-timbered architecture, Solvang has become a major California tourist attraction, with over one million visitors per year. Tourists were initially attracted to Solvang by the visit of Denmark's Prince Frederik in 1939. But it was in 1947, following a feature article in the Saturday Evening Post, that they began to flock to the town. In particular, today's visitors appreciate the Danish windmills, the statues of Hans Christian Andersen and The Little Mermaid replica, the half-timbered houses, the Danish rural church, the Round Tower as well as Danish music and folk dancing. In addition, several restaurants and pastry shops serve Danish specialities. A replica of a 19th-century Danish streetcar, the horse-drawn Hønen ("the hen"), takes visitors on sightseeing tours around downtown Solvang. Partly as a result of the 2004 film Sideways, which was set in the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley, the number of wine-related businesses in Solvang has increased appreciably, attracting oenophiles to the downtown area.

Danish Days

Since 1936, Solvang has celebrated Danish folk traditions at its annual "Danish Days" event, usually held during the third weekend in September. Led by a "Danish Maid," the program consists of æbleskiver eating competitions, music, dancing, and processions through the downtown area with floats, marching groups, marching bands, folk dancers and singers. A Danish Days breakfast on Sunday morning features medisterpølser, a spiced pork sausage recipe of Danish origins, and æbleskiver.

Festival Theater

One of Solvang's attractions is the 700-seat open-air Festival Theater, which was built in 1974 following the success of a makeshift performance of Hamlet in 1971 in the town park. Strong support from the local business community, Donovan Marley (director of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts), and Earl Petersen (a local architect), allowed the structure to be completed in record time. Recent productions have included West Side Story and Les Misérables. The style of the exterior is reminiscent of both Danish and Elizabethan architecture.

Royal visits

On April 7, 1939, Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Ingrid visited Solvang; at the time, a large number of the town's 400 residents were Danish immigrants. They drove through the grounds of Atterdag College and attended a Good Friday service at Bethania Church. The crown prince spoke of their reception favorably: "To find out traditions in our fatherland in new surroundings makes them only more beloved to us. We have been bathed in sunlight ever since we began this memorable day and now we have driven into a bit of Denmark tucked into this beautiful California."

On June 5, 1960, Princess Margrethe of Denmark paid a visit which included a reception at Palacio del Rio, lunch at Bethania Church and a tour of downtown Solvang. She returned on May 23, 1976, as Queen of Denmark together with her husband, Prince Henrik. After a formal luncheon in the Parish Hall, the couple visited Bethania Church and the Solvang Lutheran Home before greeting residents on Copenhagen Drive. Shortly after her visit, the queen awarded Solvang developer Ferdinand Sorensen the Order of the Dannebrog for strengthening ties between the United States and Denmark.

100th anniversary

Solvang celebrated its centennial in 2011. The first event in this connection was a visit by the Danish ambassador to the United States, Friis Arne Petersen, on July 11, 2010. Mr Petersen took a walking tour of downtown Solvang and visited the Mission. The mayor, Jim Richardson, greeted the ambassador with a private reception at the Elverhøj Museum. "I wanted him to see the people of our town, and the Danish community in particular," he explained.

The program for the centennial year started with the official launch on January 7, 2011. Centennial plans also included Christmas and New Year celebrations, including the proposed Julefest Parade on Saturday, December 3, 2011. Among the highlights were the Tour of California Time Trial on Friday, May 20 and the visit of the Aalborg Police Band for Danish Days during the weekend of September 16 to 18. Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, visited Solvang on June 11 which also happened to be his own 77th birthday. He was accompanied by the Danish ambassador, Peter Taksoe-Jensen, and Torsten Jansen, the cultural counselor at the Danish Embassy in Washington.The prince helped dedicate Solvang's Centennial Plaza, unveiling two bricks bearing the Danish royal monogram. He spoke of a relationship between the United States and Denmark "based on respect and common values and ideals" which was forged by individuals "who have made a new home without forgetting the old nation of their ancestors."

Nearby attractions

The Chumash Casino Resort is located some 5 miles to the east of Solvang in the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation near Santa Ynez. Opened in its present form in August 2003, the casino consists of a 94,000-square-feet  gaming area with slot machines and table games. A 106-room hotel and spa opened in July 2004. In 2006, the Casino estimated that there were 2,894,561 visitors to the Casino and 34,049 guests in the hotel, nearly all of them from Southern California. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians have stated that the casino brings in some 6,000 patrons per day.

Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's 2,700-acre former home, lies ten miles to the north.

Nojoqui Falls are located in a county park of that name about 7 miles southwest of the city, on Alisal Road.

Bicycling

Solvang is a popular destination for bicyclists, and has been featured as a race location on the Tour of California. The surrounding countryside and variable terrain provide a variety of conditions useful for training. Two annual amateur bicycling events are held in Solvang: the Solvang Century (held in March) and the Solvang Prelude (held in November).