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Barrett Jackson 2014

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SaxMan

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I'm not a huge fan of the Barrett-Jackson auctions -- I think the prices seem high for cars that you could probably find at a fraction of their auction price with a bit of footwork. However, it does make for some entertaining (if sometimes boring) viewing with the variety of vehicles and seeing how much they fetch on the block. Nevertheless, it looks like the LBCs are becoming more and more active on the B-J docket. Of particular interest to me are the two Mark IV Sprites. I definitely want to see where these end up...it does give you a "high end" of what your LBC may be worth.

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/app...cket.aspx?aid=525&sd=01/14/2014&ed=01/19/2014

Here's the link to the full index:

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/app...cket.aspx?aid=525&sd=01/14/2014&ed=01/19/2014
 
The shop I used to work at built Corvettes for a fella who sold them at Barrett every year. He told us the atmosphere there is insane. The buyers are plied with free booze, the guys working the crowd are very high pressure salesman, and when you are there he said it all goes so much more quickly than if you are watching it on T.V. They create a perfect storm of bilking these rich guys out of money.
 
waltesefalcon said:
The shop I used to work at built Corvettes for a fella who sold them at Barrett every year. He told us the atmosphere there is insane. The buyers are plied with free booze, the guys working the crowd are very high pressure salesman, and when you are there he said it all goes so much more quickly than if you are watching it on T.V. They create a perfect storm of bilking these rich guys out of money.
Click to expand...

Sometimes you do see that on camera, where the bidder people are "talking up" the car to a potential bidder who may be on the edge of bailing out. "C'mon! You know you want it...". It would be nice to have that kind of disposable income where you simply don't care about being bilked like that.
 
I believe that the buyers attending the show are savy bidders. As many are collectors they know the value of the cars; I
doubt they can be "manipulated" into unrealistic bids.
 
Been there, done that! The pressure thing only works on buyers off the street, so to speak. Regular buyers know what they will pay for a particular vehicle before the auction even begins and the high pressure salesmen have very little effect on them, if any. There is a top price that you never go over. I will admit that a car can go over the top if a bidder has a feeling for the car, such as owned one new, had one in school, etc, etc. But normally there is a cap that you never exceed! Most cars auctioned at Barrett Jackson are in pristine condition and truly demand a higher price. PJ


.
 
I think even the most savvy of us can get caught up in the moment. If you think "Hey, I'm not going to pay more than $50,000 for this car", but then at the moment you think "Okay...so maybe the car really is worth $60,000, and I want it..."

I'm not arguing that the cars at the B-J auction aren't spectacular...they certainly are. I would argue that if I was looking for a particular car, I could probably do better price-wise if I put in the leg work. However, I can see the advantage of being able to go to a nice location at a nice time of year (Scottsdale as opposed to saying, having to go to North Dakota) and having the cars brought to you. I guess that kind of convenience does warrant some degree of concession for a higher price.
 
We attended it a few years ago (for 3 days I think) and I was surprised at how interesting it was. The auction is just a part of the festivities - there were lot of fascinating trade booths, good food, and of course interesting people. We got to meet a few well known automotive writers before the auction started while we (& they) were evaluating the cars out in the tents.

We got a good bargain on a metal bending machine (with free shipping!) and they let us try it out for about a half hour in the booth. We got to dream a bit sitting in a small twin-jet airplane and in million dollar car transporters.

Some of the auction results are strange, for sure, but I suspect most of those folks can afford to spend a few extra bucks. I was surprised at a few of the results because they were so low - mostly on the first day.

I expect we'll go again, just for the show.
 
One of the '67 Sprite Mark IVs went for $19,800, while the second one went for $9,900. A '67 BJ8 pulled in $85,800. Wow.
 
That $19,800 Sprite has regular wheels in one photo and Bugeye wheels in another. I wonder why?

~LINK to $19,800 car~

~The $9900 car~ was high but not a real bad deal. I think the black wheels make it look "dull".
 
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