Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

[Philip P.]

Have I missed something is values "
One owner 1954 corvette 24K miles called a survivor $65,000
1963 FI roadster $72000
1972 survivor 16,000 miles $41,000.
Very hard to believe the 1954 went for that price
Glad my base 1960 is not for sale may have to give it away.
Just my view anyway
Phil

[Tom R.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

Agree, when I saw that 1954 One-owner (family) car go that low, I couldn't believe it. Especially when you usually see the B-J crowd bid things up in these classes. Although I have to say there was very little provenance offered for the 54 and one would think if it had truly been in the same family since new, they would show you just enough to give you a taste of what was in store for the new owner. Who knows what the real story is.

[Steve B.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

It is impossible to determine how nice a car is by watching it on TV and listening to the talking heads that spew misinformation makes things more confusing. Bottom line is you have to be there to know for sure.

[Floyd B.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

One of my hobbies is following the late muscle market. I read CCMR and Hemming's from cover-to-cover every month, monitor the auctioneer websites (RM, Mecum, Kruse, Russo...) for results, keep records for cars of interest, scan Craig's list, ebay, Auto Trader, etc. weekly...

I'm fairly confident I have a good handle on the market value of late muscle. I DO NOT include Barrett Jackson in my analysis. IMHO it is the worst barometer of classic car values. It has become a celebrity event where people with more money than brains buy cars so that they can be seen on TV buying a car while standing next to Reggie Jackson.

That said, even Barrett Jackson has suffered from the market correction since the peak of 2006. The fact of the matter is, all these cars are worth 25-40% less than they were in January 2006. The point about being there is also an excellent one. Think of it this way; would you really bid on a car you have never inspected in person?

-Floyd-

[D S.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I always advise people to not go looking for a collector vehicle just after a Barrett-Jackson or Mecum auction. Suddenly there are sharp price spikes in otherwise mundane vehicles that "look like" the ones on those two auctions.

[Philip P.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I was taking this a face value I have no idea what the car(s) conditions really are, that being said it sure seems to me that these were execptionally good purchases all else considered. I think that a survivor 1954 would go well north of $100,000. I don't imagine there are many out there.
Phil
Oh I do have to confess I do like the guy in coveralls buying just about every type of car there is. Almost makes you think ethanol farming is really paying off...my opinion only.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I was taking this a face value I have no idea what the car(s) conditions really are, that being said it sure seems to me that these were execptionally good purchases all else considered. I think that a survivor 1954 would go well north of $100,000. I don't imagine there are many out there.
Phil
Oh I do have to confess I do like the guy in coveralls buying just about every type of car there is. Almost makes you think ethanol farming is really paying off...my opinion only.

The main problem with buying a original unrestored Corvette is the cost of a restoration. Even at 65,000 one would have to spend another 50,000 to have a NCRS top flight car. You can buy a done top flight for That ckind of money & none of the grief
Ken

[Dick W.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I was taking this a face value I have no idea what the car(s) conditions really are, that being said it sure seems to me that these were execptionally good purchases all else considered. I think that a survivor 1954 would go well north of $100,000. I don't imagine there are many out there.
Phil
Oh I do have to confess I do like the guy in coveralls buying just about every type of car there is. Almost makes you think ethanol farming is really paying off...my opinion only.

You can buy a Top Flight '54 for well under $100k today. You could easily spend North of $75k restoring a car.

[Paul J.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

One of my hobbies is following the late muscle market. I read CCMR and Hemming's from cover-to-cover every month, monitor the auctioneer websites (RM, Mecum, Kruse, Russo...) for results, keep records for cars of interest, scan Craig's list, ebay, Auto Trader, etc. weekly...

I'm fairly confident I have a good handle on the market value of late muscle. I DO NOT include Barrett Jackson in my analysis. IMHO it is the worst barometer of classic car values. It has become a celebrity event where people with more money than brains buy cars so that they can be seen on TV buying a car while standing next to Reggie Jackson.

That said, even Barrett Jackson has suffered from the market correction since the peak of 2006. The fact of the matter is, all these cars are worth 25-40% less than they were in January 2006. The point about being there is also an excellent one. Think of it this way; would you really bid on a car you have never inspected in person?

-Floyd-

I agree, although my observations were over the last 18 months and I felt the devaluation was more like 12-14%. Maybe Dick will chime in. Prices at this B-J event are right in line with Mecum last week.

Now if the parts market would get in line.

Paul

[Dick W.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I agree, although my observations were over the last 18 months and I felt the devaluation was more like 12-14%. Maybe Dick will chime in. Prices at this B-J event are right in line with Mecum last week.

Now if the parts market would get in line.

Paul

Car prices are all over the board. Just when you think they are in the dumps, there have been two 1970 Boss 429's sold, with buyers premium, for almost $250k. One of them I know for a fact is a real sale, I appraised it and followed it thru the auction. Camaro's seem to be in a funk, real '69 Z, fresh resto for $60k, Corvette's..... recent sales tell the story. Good cars ALWAYS bring good money, when times are good the mediocre cars bring pretty good money, but when times are like they are now, mediocre cars take a big hit. Plus I think that a lot of buyers are way more street wise than they were four or five years ago. I am getting twice, maybe three times the calls about cars that I was a few years ago.

[Loren L.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

With regard to the '54, you could back to BJ results (6(?) years ago and find the 2 or 3 cars that SUDDENLY went to the 80K level. Prior to that I'm aware of a '54 owner (Duntov/BG/Triple crown, etc) who ran an ad in Hemmings for 6 months offering the car at 42K - six months and NOT A CALL. Suddenly the 80K auction $$ meant you could restore the car and recover at least most of the money.
The boom of 4 or 5 years ago took a LOT of Corvette owners out of RED ink. It's receded, but the mental cap is now higher - the excellent driver mid-year CV that used to be thought of as a 25-30K car is now looked at as a 40-45K car.

[Steve D.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

Prices are all over the board. But there is also another reason in my estimation after watching BJ for decades. Believe it or not each auction draws different crowds. Although in Vegas, certain buyers just do not seem to bid on certain car types. The Vegas show is known for old trucks and resto-mods. Also I have seen basically identical Vettes sell at the Palm Beach location for a fair bit below what an identical one more or less went for at Scottsdale. The venue can have an effect on prices. As far as survivvors selling for less because of future restoration cost`s, some buyers may not ever intend on a restoration. Survivor status is the grail for some. So the prices may not be as depressed as you think do to future expenditures.

[Kenn S.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I live near Auburn, Indiana, and I went to this fall's auction. Kruse no long does the auction, by the way. Auctions America bought it from him (he had legal troubles).

The sheer number of Corvettes there was jaw-dropping. There were 6 or 7 LT-1's out in the rain on Saturday because there was no room for them inside with the other cars. Amazing.

I mention it because of the prices. I fell in love with a green '67 427/435, and spoke at length with the owner of a '66 427 convertible. The '67 didn't sell, with the high bid coming in at less than $70K. The '66 sold for something like $72K.

Now, to me that's a king's fortune, but I know that for these cars those prices are very depressed. I recall seeing some '67 427/435's north of $300K for a time there, and not just the L-88's (there are what, two of them?)

But get this. There was a '53 there, and the high bid was $120K. Didn't sell for that. $120K for a Top Flight '53. You know prices are down. Here is the results link if you're interested. This link starts you at the Corvettes, but some nice Camaros are there as well as a beautiful '73 SD 455 Trans Am. Heck, all the cars were amazing. The link:

http://www.auctionsamerica.com/events/all-lots.cfm?SaleCode=AF11&search=&category=&collection=&order=alphabetical&noreserve=&page=14

[Philip P.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

I think many of us will not or are not thinking of selling our cars, I just cannot believe the price of the 1954 selling for that. I have a car that is not even close to that collectable (very happy with it however), but that car is probably one of a kind if the history can be verified...real inexpensive.
Phil
I also do my own work on the car that I can with my talents...I guess some may say my talents are limited but all the same..
Phil

[Clem Z.]

Re: Barrett Jackson 2011 so far

the days of workers with a GED making $70K+ a year are gone forever because we are now in a true global economy and people in this country are only going to be payed what the job is worth. VW is opening a new factory in the states and when they needed 2000 workers at $14/hour they had 85,000 applications. the days of paying stupid prices for houses and cars are over except for the very wealthy.