Barrett-Jackson

[Guest]

I have been glued to the Speed Channel all afternoon watching the Barrett-Jackson auctions. Good Golly, some of those cars go for fortunes! Have any of you ever been to Scottsdale to attend one of these. I am impressed. One year maybe. Didn't notice if any or many LBCs went on the block but it would be very interesting to see the response. Of course the bidders all seem to be very well heeled guys, many with trophy wives (lucky devils), who mostly were impressed with cubic inches and hemi-heads. What is the latest report of the rising value of LBCs now that us baby boomers (of which I am the oldest - 1946) are trying to recapture their youth? I knew I should have bought lots of Microsoft and Walmart way back when....now I just cruise with Windows and shop at the devil's store. Oh well...

Bill

 

[LastDeadLast]

That reminds me when I was back in college... my finance professor told us to buy an unknown stock. He said it was a sure thing. Of course we all thought he was a nuts.

He was referring to Cisco Systems.

Of course I didn't have any money back then anyway.....

 

[jaybird]

Is this a repeat? I have it on too, and I recognized one of the buyers, guy in the red shirt, baseball cap that bought the '61 Chrysler 300 convertible a few cars back. I remember he also bought that '57-59 Oldsmobile concept car along with several others (guy has a car museum in Colorado or something)

 

[Guest]

If you watch the auction you'll see that they are experts in the art of selling. Watch the bimbos (and I use the term jokingly because most definately they are not) near the guys with the money. Whenever one starts bidding, they start encouraging him - along the lines of "you don't want to lose it now do you". A lot of these middle aged gentlemen end up overbidding.

It's actually quite entertaining when you see it in action...

 

[jaybird]

I bought Cisco. Right before the bottom fell out of the tech market. (sadly NOT years before) Lost my rumble seat on it, along with a few others like Sprint, EMC - but we won't go there.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jaybird]

"Bidders assistants." They definitely keep things going and keep the bid from stalling out I think. Wonder how they get paid, commission - a percentage of the sale price?

 

[vettedog72]

Barrett-Jackson had a ’74 TR6 scheduled as #23 and a MG TD #36. I don’t know if they went by the registration # or not. Any body see these two cars go through?

Glad to hear the TR6 improvements are on the road.

 

[TRTEL]

Our local VTR club has worked a yearly auction (Kruse) for a dozen years. And every year you see the same ten or fifteen individuals, who, I don't know, are either front men or shills, take your pick. And most have the same females hanging on one arm. And they look at the same lead sleds. I suspect I would recognize a few. It's a strange crowd. Barret Jackson is probably one of the few where LBC's make anything and with the percentages they take you'ld probably be lucky to break even.
Tom Lains

 

[sammyb]

What you're seeing is a repeat of last year's auction. This year's is in a few weeks.

Every year many LBCs go through. Jaguars do well -- usually XK120s and E Types.

Last year: 2 Allards, 9 Austin Healeys (low: $25,920 for a bug-eye, high:$97,200 for BJ8 PHII,)12 Jaguars ($9180 for a XJS to $226,800 for a XJ220) 6 MGs ($49,680 for a TD!?!?!) $77760 for a Morgan racer, $16,280 for a Spitfire 1500!?!?!

Personal feeling: More money than brains, since many of the cars are just as misrepresented at B-J as on Ebay. A Z28 selling last year for $130K with "factory disc brakes" sold the year before without them as "factory correct."

Barrett-Jackson's dirty little secret is that they have shill bidders and also own many of the cars they push through. Now that the bulk of the cars are mass-produced muscle cars, it's easy to hide many 'Cudas, Coronets, Mustangs, Corvettes in there.

The guy who owned that Olds concept car lives up here in the Northwest. Ole' Gordon Apker actually offered that car up for sale for a couple hundred grand (according to the grapevine) to the museum here. Over $3M was just a joke. And you'll notice this year's auction features the Pontiac concept.

I'm not saying it's a bad event. More it's like a fashion show. You get to enjoy the scenery, laugh at the conspicous consumption, and feel confident that you could buy the identical cars for usually around 40% of the hammer price on any other day of the year.

Of course, if paying $16,200 for a $6,000 Spit, $130,000 for a $45,000 Z28 or $160,000 for a $55,000 Corvette Sting Ray is your thing, knock yourself out -- there's nothing wrong with it. I just find it more entertaining to pay less than the market value of classic, not more.

 

[Banjo]

[ QUOTE ]
I bought Cisco. Right before the bottom fell out of the tech market. (sadly NOT years before) Lost my rumble seat on it, along with a few others like Sprint, EMC - but we won't go there.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
When I started working at Corning Inc.Photonics (fiber-optic amplifiers)in 2000, Corning stock was at $300 some odd dollars a share.. It then split 3 ways to roughly $110 each and climbed to around $150 a share. Then came the Enron scandle and the telecom crash.
When I was layed off in a mere 2 years later stock was at $1 And Corning was on the verge of being dropped from the fortune 500 list.
I knew I should have bought stock then, but I diden't have any extra money (remember I just got layed off) cause now it's around $15 a share....
Oh well.

 

[Geo Hahn]

[ QUOTE ]
...Have any of you ever been to Scottsdale to attend one of these...

[/ QUOTE ]

I go up there with a few local club members about every other year. Indeed 2 of them narrowly missed getting crushed when that Lambo crashed into the Healey (or whatever) a year or 2 ago. Geez, and I thought the pits at Indy were risky.

For me the 'field' where all the cars wait for their turn is more interesting than the bidding area which, as you have seen, is a bit of a circus.

The local Ford dealer is offering free tickets -- not sure if I have to test-drive a Mustang or buy a Mustand or what -- but maybe I'll get up there.

 

[sammyb]

My friend used to valet park cars there, and another college friend covers the event as a journalist. Both said the cars are fun to see, and just walking around and interacting with the normal people is more fun than dealing with the actual auction circus, as Geo just said.

 

[MGA Steve]

[ QUOTE ]
My friend used to valet park cars there, and another college friend covers the event as a journalist. Both said the cars are fun to see, and just walking around and interacting with the normal people is more fun than dealing with the actual auction circus, as Geo just said.

[/ QUOTE ]One of my co-workers did the same--driving the cars from the auction tent to the "sold" area prior to the new owner taking possession. He said that his biggest thrill was driving a race-prepped Ferrari that some doctor with too much money had bought. The buyer really didn't know anything about the car, he just wanted a Ferrari for the status. My friend took him for a drive around the outside of the parking lot and floored it. Scared the buyer so badly that he sold it at the auction for $20K more than he had paid, without ever driving it himself. The final buyer was a guy who saw my friend stand on it in the parking lot and just had to have a car that could perform like that.

Money is no object at the B-J--the buyers seem to think that the more they pay, the greater the publicity and consequent status. Conspicuous consumption at its most conspicuous--national TV! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pukeface.gif

Of more interest to me--the same co-worker has a aftermarket parts business on the side and can get passes to SEMA. And he invited me to go next year!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[waltesefalcon]

Last year a guy I know named Terry took a 65 vette to the scottsdale auction. This year we have built three cars for him at the shop: a 65 fast back mustang, 289 triple carbs, black with red interior; a 62 Vette, fuel injected, numbers matching, fawn beige with matching interior, a 63 vette, 468 big block, late modle Z28 camaro 6 speed, late model corvette steering, power disc brakes all around, black with a red stinger and black interior. Both vettes this year will be running across on TV Thursday night. That is if we get this 63 finished today.

 

[MGA Steve]

The co-worker I mentioned in my post above just came into my office and announced he had just bought two cheap airfares to Phoenix for January 20-22. He'd promised his wife he'd find a babysitter and take her someplace warm this winter. Scottsdale--during the B-J! Actually I think he left out that last part--I wonder if she knows even now? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif