A data analyst could easily compile average prices from the top 10 online car marketplaces, or whatever lawmakers want to set as the baseline. More likely they would just use blue book and maybe weigh it against the market area.
But that's ignoring certain aspects. If some blue collar fella had spent his free time and money fixing his dad's old Camaro, a car dad bought for 4,000. Now it's still well maintained, numbers matching, original paint, etc. now it's worth 30,000, 40,000 maybe.
Then we have some other c-suite exec in a Tesla of similar market value.
Parking fines based on vehicle value is going to penalize one person much more than the other. Fines should be based on income or total net worth, not the value of a particular piece of property.
That was difficult to type with sticky BBQ fingers.
It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing. If you try and go for perfection, nothing will ever happen.
In your scenario you could easily just have a process to appeal the appraisal, showing it only cost that amount. Rich people wouldn't spend the time to do that, but these hypothetical poor people with fancy cars they repaired themselves would.
Hypothetical poor people? You think people don't repair their own cars?
People can't afford to defend themselves in courts now. So, now you're saying they also have to deal with an appeals process? So, not only is a vehicle value approach short-sighted its also onerous.
Unless there's some state level tax implications or a car that's sensitive to rust in the desert that makes the car more or less valuable. I don't see why the national average can't be used?
There's an argument to say a state with a lower average income should have lower fines, but really then might as well have fines based on income / networth
I guess it depends on how heavily it would be weighted in the ticket price. It would suck to get a ticket 3x more expensive, because Geo Metros became retro and your 2,500 shit box is worth 8,000 in your hipster market.