Thread: Barret-Jackson

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And Ron Pratt bought this year's Shelby Mustang for $575K---with Carroll Shelby donating the proceeds to Muscular Dystrophy (I think, but if not that specifically, to a charity anyhow).... Hot Rodders sure do like to give money to something worthwhile, don't they????????

True, while the cameras are off the regluar and obtainable cars are sold for more reasonable prices most of the time. But when they put anything remotely odd or slightly rare the bids get crazy even for trailered 100 point cars.

Paying more than the extablished market value is for anything is just plain stupid. It hurts our hobby! Simply because the market will bear one ridiculous bid in a pissing contest doesn't mean that is now the accepted price.

I watched two guys with more money than brains get into a fight over what would be a $15,000 Mustang in the real world. No Shelby, no famous ex-owner, just a nicely restored 65 Mustang notchback. It ended up 75 grand. Certainly that one auction does not automatically set the going price for dime a dozen Mustangs.

Here's what evaluators base prices on-

"IMPORTANT PRICING CONSIDERATIONS
Pricing is derived from many different sources in the North American market. Many factors can affect the value of an older vehicle. Some guidelines:

Pricing sources: Auctions, sales reports, Value-Track® database, classifieds and the general market (contacts, shows, etc.).

Regional factors: There are some minor regional differences in prices, mostly for vehicles under $20,000 in value. Prices tend to be highest in the northeast and on the west coast. Very expensive cars operate in a global market.

Show cars: Perfect cars are pretty rare. These vehicles have been treated to a very expensive concours quality, frame-off, no expensed spared, nut & bolt restoration and do not get driven. They command higher prices than standard #1 value.

Originality: All pricing assumes original, numbers matching engine. Deductions vary for engine swaps and can (but not always) be substantial -- be careful! Clean, totally original cars usually carry a premium relative to equivalent published prices. Original documentation is a big plus, especially on muscle cars. Having said that, there is a trend towards "upgrading" collector cars to make them drive and perform better than when they were new while retaining stock appearance. These vehicles generally suffer no value loss and in fact we have seen plenty of instances where they can bring more than a pure stock example.

High Option Vehicles: Car & trucks that are highly optioned and/or accessorized with items such as visors, continental kits, power seats, tilt wheel, etc. usually command a premium. Figure an extra 10% or so depending on equipment.

Imports: Pricing for imported cars is for US spec., left-hand drive unless not available in that configuration. Right-hand drive carries a price penalty on most cars, especially later models. Later standard-bodied RHD Rolls-Royce and Bentley models are particularly difficult to sell in the States.

Trucks: Small departures from originality do not affect the value of trucks as it does cars. Engine swaps or upgrades, mild customization in the form of wheels, tires, and accessories can enhance value. Make sure you use the Truck Equipment Table

Street Rods: Due to varying degrees of quality, parts, workmanship, etc., these are extremely difficult to accurately estimate market value. Many rods reflect the specific likes of the owner, and these don't always translate well to potential buyers. Monetarily, it is usually very difficult to recover the amount of money put into it. They are are strong and vibrant part of the marketplace, however.

About Auction Results: Auctions are just one part of the collector car marketplace. Many collectors get the impression that if they see a 1957 Chevy sell for $70,000 at a major auction, then theirs must be worth that, too. This is a misconception. Auctions often bring above market prices for very nice cars. The reasons are many: there's money in the audience, egos come into play, bidders can get caught in the moment, and sometimes the cars that show up to an auction such as Barrett-Jackson or Pebble Beach are just stunning, one-of-a-kind, mega-buck restorations.

Unfortunately, all is not always as it seems at an auction. Sometimes prices are bid up with "phantom" bidders, cars are declared sold that aren't, and even the bidding can be completely fabricated. In addition, dealers may bid among themselves soley to create the illusion of both interest and high values for specific cars.

This doesn't mean that you should always avoid collector car auctions. Go to a few and observe what goes on, get a feel for how things work and decide for yourself. If you do decide to bid, ask the seller a lot of questions. Sellers with good cars will be more than happy to talk to you.

Finally, our auction editors tend to be conservative in their condition estimates. Take this into consideration when viewing auction results and the sale or bid price."

So as they mention, one sale at one auction does not appreciably affect prices. What should bite most of us is that when we are buyers we hope to find bargains but when we sell we want prices to be high.

When we're buying we're told we're looking at a rare and exotic example. When we want to sell it we're told it just an old car.

I been watching a few hours each day, but so far haven't really seen any stratospheric prices. A lot of nice cars going for way less than $150k. Prices look down from last year, street rods still under priced. Very nice chopped Merc went for $35k, probably cost more to build it. The Chevy engine probably killed the higher sale. Could have at least used a Ford or a Lincoln engine.

Got to watch some football now, may catch some BJ in between the games.

I saw one of the (TV series) Batmobiles in the staging area the other night. Did anybody see what it sold for?

If I rember, it went for over 180K. It was built out of a 73 or 74 Lincoln......crazy.

Yeah, not really a car you can drive around in every day...

Maybe somebody knows better than me and can verify or clarify, but if memory serves me... there were either two or three of them built. They were originally 1956 or '57 Lincoln concept cars that were built by George Barris. When the Batman series was conceived in 1965, the studio went to Barris for a suitable Batmobile. He pulled the Lincolns out of mothballs, added the twin bubble tops, made a few other changes, painted them and delivered them to the TV studio.

I saw it (one of them?) at a car show in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1967 or '68, again in Indianapolis with "Batman" Adam West and "Robin" Burt Ward in about 1975 (with "fuzzy" flocked paint that looked like crap! ), and again in 1979. At the '79 show it was shiny and looking good again and Adam West was appearing as Batman again. The last I heard, one of them was in a collection owned by the same guy that owns the R&C Dream Truck...

Hmmm... I should have looked first. Here's the story on the FOUR Batmobiles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batmobi...V_series%29%29

The Batmobile sold is a copy/clone/fake. it was only recently built.