69 sprite sport-BARRETT JACKSON AUCTION

[zimmy]

$16,000....ya 16 thousand! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[tdskip]

How well restored was it?

 

[hottvr]

Watched about 3 hours of BJ last night from Palm Beach and saw only 1 foreign car, a 500 HP Mazda RX7.
Rick

 

[George Zeck]

I happened to see that. The car was immaculate !! I still can't envision $16k. I then turned to my wife and said "Do you still want to complain about me "always buying British Car parts". For the guy who bought it; One born every minute .....

 

[jlaird]

Hmmm, sounds like LBCs are moveing up in the world.

For a Bugeye I would suggest that no rust.


Daily driver 6-7K
Rebuilt driver 9-10K
Restored driver 10-12K
Concourse 18K- 20K

Now of course it depends on the quality of the work as well etc, etc, but from what I have seen these prices are not way out at all. There is no question in my mind that they will go up, it is just a matter of how fast and when. Hang on to your Bug folks.

 

[drooartz]

One of the many reasons I'm glad I pushed to get my Bugeye now. Not that I think Barrett Jackson is really an indication of the general market, but prices are going up, at least a bit. It was a stretch to get in now, but it will be harder in the future. I don't forsee a huge jump in prices, but a steady up trend seems likely as other interesting cars get out of reach.

Bugeyes seem to have been "discovered" already, but I'm figuring that soon the later Spridgets and cars like Spitfires will see some decent price jumps. I'm sure happy I've got the Tunebug safely in the garage (and the basement, but who's counting).

 

[adam70]

case in point. I paid 2K for my midget in 1997, and I'm confident she could fetch at least 5 now, and she doesn't run, but you figure the cost of buying a car that isn't falling apart, or has had covered up wreck damage, its a good deal. of course I will never sell my midget. heck, I spent too much just storing it over the last 8 years to not pass it up.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

The problem with increased value of a particular type of car is that they often end up with people that buy them for investment purposes. It takes them out of the hands of people that want to enjoy them. First generation cameros are now priced out of sight of the average guy that just wants one drive around for fun. I personally hope midgets stay cheap cars that are rapidly passed from owner to owner. That way more people can enjoy them. I don't want to get the money back out of my car. If I ever need the cash I will part it out so that somebady can have fun rebuilding their own midget. If I sold it as a complete car and found someone willing to pay what I have invested, he probably wouldn't want to drive it for fear of loosing so much money in an accident. ...but I digress
BTW anybody got a 2 inch light deflector for a smiths gauge? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[tdskip]

For what it is worth (not much), Barrett Jackson seem to get a 25% to 50% premium over normal sales. Witness the big Healey prices going for $100K+ (not that they aren't worth it).

By that standard the $16K is not a big premium over what I see well restored Bugeyes sell for on eBay and CollectorCarTrader and others.

In any case, I hope they all get driven!

 

[jlaird]

Except for real musuems all cars should be driven kind of weekly anyway. Keeps the seals and bearings lubed. To put a vehicle into long term storage takes special preperations. I have done that for the military, four years and we started em up and drove em away.

 

[Matthew E. Herd]

Jack,

I totally agree! I changed the head gasket on mine (blew in late September, I think). I just fired it up. At first the tachometer and other electronics were on the blink, and the singals didn't work at all. After some test drives (while working out a cooling system problem), now the tach and other electronics work just fine (and all I did was spin the fuses in the holders) and the signals work intermittently (they worked fine before the long storage). Proves that driving makes thing work, even if for no apparent reason!