BJ Palm Beach Auction

[LoPro67]

Is anyone concerned (besides me) about the very, VERY cheap prices that cars were being sold for on Barrett Jackson this past weekend?

Once again, cream of the crop cars were across the action blocks, but it was definately a buyers market this time. For $100k you could have gotten 2-3 smokin' deals.

Is this a barometer of the state of the economy?

[Blaster11]

The prices seemed low to me also.

[LMDGUY]

Ya they do seem low. My friend from AutoCore had a customer sell a really custom Colorado for $30k. which was about 3k more then the BelAir right before it that was really nice.

[BA.]

Agreed, Especially Thursday and Friday up until mid-afternoon. From there there were not quite as many deals IMO.

There were SEVERAL 1930-1949 era cars that seemed to go way way under what they should have. Lots of work and money in some of those cars.

[gsxrken]

Is anyone concerned (besides me) about the very, VERY cheap prices that cars were being sold for on Barrett Jackson this past weekend?

Cheap compared to what? January? Unless you are trying to make money on old cars, I don't see why you would be concerned about what Barrett Jackson is getting for prices. I'd like to see the auto hobby return to the hands of the average guy, and see the "money" stick with Wall Street.

[LoPro67]

Okay, I'll bite.

Compared to January as well as compared to the amount of money spent on restoration/ customization, etc.

Even the commentators were commenting on that lack of strong money being expressed on the 67 'vette 427/435 and other benchmark cars.

Those " car investors" that you speak set the prices for this industry. For example the HEMI cars, 69 Camaros, Tri-5's, etc. As those cars continue to rise in price, it directly relates to whatever is in your garage.

[JV69z/28]

Agreed 2 very nice and correct '67 427 Corvettes - one a 435 car the other a 400 went in the 100K - 105K range. That is way off from those 150K to 175+K where they always seem to be - even on Ebay.

[LowBuckX]

I noticed it also. I wonder if it more had to do with that flaming article and the other source of shill bidding accusations. <(spelling) Not sure on the source for the shill bidding story and I have no opinion of it but the low prices compared to the last auction raises some questions

[ProdigyCustoms]

The quality of the cars was down a lot. Everyone that owns a car thinks ever example is worth the record price, so they are taking they to the auction to cash in. We cannot see it on the TV, it is hard to tell what the quality really is. Also, we do not even know if they are matching numbers or not. My friend took 7 cars and hit it out of the park including the $295K Super bird.

Now the cars that are still getting hair cuts are street rods and hot rods that are killer cars, but yesterdays news. The Fusia (sp) color 37 street rod that went though on Friday evening had more then the $50K it brought spent on it in the few weeks before the sale. That car had a Mike Adams Chassis under it that is $25K +. but it was built in 1992 I believe and it was Fusia!

NOTE: let this be a lesson if you paint your car a fad color!

I am still stunned that a 1 of 20,000 production 69 Z28 with a cross ram (added) can bring $100k in the drop of a hat. Seen that twice, white and green cars. 68 RS / SS convertible was encouraging.

Another acquaintance took a 69 Shelby 350 he bought there last year for $72K out the door and dropped it for $93K yesterday without ever waxing it.

the cars that seemed disproportionately down to me was the 2 TA Challengers for $50K and the 70 44 Drag Pak Challenger for $55K? those car seemed real cheap.

And I guess the shocker of the night was Foose car barely breaking $300K when copies are going to sell for $295K.

[69TAPoser]

My father and I spent a few hours watching it yesterday and our general consensus was that there were many deals to be had. I agree with Frank about the rods, WOW have they come down in the past 5 years.

Many quality rods were selling in the $40K range that would have been double that in the late 90s. I have to think that the abundance of fiberglass "kits" now available in the market have made it more afforable and "do-able" for an average back yard mechanic to buid a decent rod, which has driven the price down. Having built a Factory Five Racing Shelby Cobra in 2000, I fall into this category.

Phil

[barraza]

Is anyone concerned (besides me) about the very, VERY cheap prices that cars were being sold for on Barrett Jackson this past weekend?

Once again, cream of the crop cars were across the action blocks, but it was definately a buyers market this time. For $100k you could have gotten 2-3 smokin' deals.

Is this a barometer of the state of the economy?

I don't think it is reflective of the economy unless you just mean the car collector economy, then yes it is a perfect example. We tend to forget that most of these cars were produced in the 100's of thousands because we dont see them much. The prices of the last couple of years have brought out a lot of garage queens, and "recreated" lots of rare cars. Unless it has some rarity, a car is really only worth its parts and the labor it took to build it. Example, a 69 COPO camaro recreation, Is there any reason it would bring more than its build cost? Someone can only make money on it if they can cut corners that cant be seen when it sells.

I believe there is a relatively small number of true collectors willing to bid to the moon for rare cars, probably less of them than the speculators that make up a lot of the current auction buyers. I heard the commentators say how many of the registered bidders were first timers, I dont recall the exact number but I think it was more than half. If you are a true collector looking for a 427 vette, dont you think you probably already have an excellent one. If you are a speculator, you are looking for a second tier one that can be passed off as perfect. If you want one to drive, why pay for pedigree, a cheaper copy is fine. It must also be remembered that the award winning show cars that bring the super money cant be driven without quickly degrading them out of the show car money. If you doubt it, ask Bob how much work it took to get the Cuda back to show quality after a few miles.

Sometimes the labor is obvious and easy to figure the cost of, sometimes not. Of course labor that no one else appreciates contributes nothing to the price, example from the auction is the third gen f-body with the Star Trek murals, it needed money subtracted just to get rid of that crap. The case of labor for true customs is extremely hard to price, most are done for a particular owner and have a lot of time ($$$) figuring out how to do something new, and usually there is no rarity involved. Best analogy is custom houses, if you have the money to buy one, you are going to build it the way you like, unless you get a deal.

Am I concerned ?, not in the least. There is still some darn nice project material out there for reasonable prices. Besides, anything you build, even if you have to pay reasonable labor rates, will not loose more money than the first couple years of depreciation on a new vehicle.

[MuscleRodz]

Something else to consider i heard mentioned was over 50% of the registered bidders were first time buyers. I noticed last year that Palm Beach had a lower barometer as well. It may be the quality of the cars, the buyers, or both.

Mike

[vintageracer]

If Palm Beach is at ALL like BJ Scottsdale AND the other Arizona auctions in January, the prices reflect the quality of the cars presented for sale. The quality of cars at BJ Scottsdale 2007 was SIGNIFICANTLY lower overall compared to 2006. If you are a regular at BJ Scottsdale, the difference in car quality between 2007 to 2006 was very obvious.

Read Frank's comments concerning quality of cars. Lower Quality, Lower Prices!

Let's here someone's comments concerning the quality of cars presented for sale who was actually at BJ Palm Beach in both 2006 AND 2007 instead of those who watched it on TV. Everything looks good in pictures and that includes TV!

[vintageracer]

Concerning Street Rods, look at the age of most street rodders? Hell, there older than the Muscle Car guys. So, yes I expect the prices to drop as these old rodders lose interest, change hobbies and/or DIE!

Muscle Cars will be next in 5 years.