Mecum Auction Harrisburg PA Aug 2-4th

[TerryB]

Going on now in Harrisburg PA.  Supposed to have 1000 cars.

[greenie]

A few antiques there and more than a few cars with AACA badges. Was a good place to escape the rain for a few hours. The cars are spread throughout the complex, segregated by the day the will sell. Make sure you explore all the different sections to see all the cars. There are not enough seats in the auction arena, so walk in spectators may not be happy with the seating arrangements. We spent 4 hours there today looking at the cars; and then drove home and watched the auction in the DVR!

[John Byrd]

There was a pure stock red 50 or 51 Stude truck sold for 18K so far this morning.

[TerryB]

I just finished watching on TV.  More on TV tomorrow @ 7 PM.

[Paul from PA]

I sold a 1967 Mustang fastback yesterday at mecum at no reserve.  Car brought a fair price. My personal thoughts on the whole process as an individual seller. I don't do this for a living, just a hobby. Everyone at the Mecum staff  was professional and got back to me quickly from the first day I contacted them about consigning a car. The staff at the home office is very knowledgeable. We got the car to Harrisburg around noon on Wednesday and were instructed where to drop it off. One of the mecum employees drove it to it's location for the Thursday cars. We went in to the office to finalize the paperwork and were left to look over the place and view the vast array of vehicles. The office staff treated us well and made us feel welcome. We could walk around pretty much were we wanted to go. Not many folks in that day. They did have a shuttle service with people driving golf carts through the  hallways.  Four of "us" guys were traveling together and we all received  3 day guest tags so as not to wait in line to get in on auction days. I as a consigner got a bidder number with my name on. Thursday, the day the Mustang was to be auctioned off the place was filled with people, lots of people which is both good and bad. Good, more prospective buyers, bad because these folks were everywhere and The "please don't touch " signs would have been of no use. Prospective buyers look, feel and touch all you want but the spectators? The Mustang was ready for auction and went  to the pre stage area I noticed a chip of paint on the center of the passenger side door, We had touch up paint with us but...... I made note to one of the Mecum employees and they commented that they could not keep and eye on all of the cars all of the time and I understand that. The cars are insured through us not them. I wasn't a big deal in this case but If I had a high dollar car? People were everywhere and I wouldn't want them that close to my wife. Overall a good experience, glad I did it. I was up on stage when the car sold and got to converse a bit with Dana Mecum and his son. Would I do it again? Probably not. Again these are my thoughts from just one guy who wanted to see what it was like to sell a car at a large popular car venue.

[gpfarrell]

I saw a ‘66 Mercury Cyclone GT Indianapolis 500 Pace Car edition sold for $82,000... seems like great big money for one of those! (I own one).  It had been light modified with a 5-Speed and air conditioner...did anyone see what made it so special to bring that big money?

[Bhigdog]

 

"did anyone see what made it so special to bring that big money? "

 

 

Boozed up bidder with a hot chick on his arm saying "Oh sweetie we would look soooo hot in that car."  ???????.............. Bob

Edited August 7, 2018 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[Guest Mark McAlpine]

Marion & I attended the Mecum auction in Harrisburg.  We had registered to bid, but didn't buy anything.  (We weren't in the market for a car yet and the automobilia we were interested in went for more than we were willing to pay.)  We enjoyed it very much and will attend some other Mecum auctions in the future, but as mentioned above there were some minor burbles the first day--not enough seats for bidders (regular or gold), people reserving seats all day for phantom "bidders" or guests who never showed, and free beverages for gold bidders consisting of small glasses of water.  We were also surprised that we as pre-registered bidders we still had to pay for parking (unlike at Barrett-Jackson auctions).  We spoke to a very helpful rep from Mecum who explained that their Harrisburg auction is a different animal with people arriving up to 2-hrs before the doors open and then rushing for seats.  The rep was apologetic and very helpful (she even offered us bottles of water), and I don't think it was a coincidence that there were more seats set aside for gold bidders on Saturday and free drinks now included soft drinks and draft beer.  It seemed like there were fewer bidders on Saturday because there were always some open seats (at least in the gold bidder section).

 

The Mecum Harrisburg auction seemed to have fewer original/unmodified cars than most of their other auctions.  Most of the cars we saw were either mildly or highly modified.  (There weren't many pre-war cars--probably less than 50 of the approximately 1,000 vehicles--and most of them were modified.)  That said, there were many nice cars there, both unmolested and modified (including the beautiful 1936 GMC pickup and 1937 Buick Century shown above by Greenie).  There were a couple GTOs and Corvettes that were particularly attractive, and Lee Iacocca's personal 1955 MG TF, but Marion restrained me.

 

The auction was very well organized and everyone we encountered from Mecum was very friendly, helpful, and professional.  It would've been nice if the automobilia auction on Saturday morning hadn't overlapped with the car auction (you can't be in two places at the same time), but understandable because it would've been an extremely long day if they had started the automobilia auction even earlier or delayed the beginning of the car auction.  (The automobilia auction started at 9 AM and lasted until at 11 AM.  The car auction started at 10 AM and lasted until after 6 PM.)  We'll probably attend the Kissimmee and Indianapolis auctions next year and hopefully have room for another antique car by then.  For anyone who hasn't attended a major car auction, it's definitely an experience and something you should do at least once.  Even if you're not in the market for a car, you'll enjoy it.  

[Guest Mark McAlpine]

Here are some photos from the automobilia auction at the Mecum auction in Harrisburg and of cars being sold from the prior George Barris East Coast Representative Collection.  (Some of these were not the original cars, but reproductions made later for publicity appearances and promotional purposes.  Per the information provided in the auction listings for each car, the Munsters' "Dragula" hot rod was built for the TV show and then reportedly restored to fulfill a wish by Al Lewis--"Grandpa Munster"--to drive the car again before he died.  The car was restored in three months and brought to Lewis' home for an interview, but that time Lewis was too ill to drive it.  Lewis died on 3 February 2006.  The "Monkeemobile" was car #3 and used on the show.  The "Mach 5" car was custom built to replicate the computer-generated car from the 2008 movie "Speed Racer."  The "Batmobile" was one of five built by the Barris Group and used for promotional purposes.  The Scooby Doo "Mystery Machine" van was a reproduction inspired by the cartoon show.  The "Jetsons" car was originally built for the "Donny & Marie" Osmond TV show, but not completed due to the show's producers deciding not to use it, then offered to a production company that was going to make a Jetsons movie, but never completed the movie.  It has no drive train or interior.  The DeLorean DMC-12 "Back to the Future" car is a promotional vehicle built to replicate the car in the movies, licensed by Universal Studios and used by them for promotional purposes for release of the "Back to the Future" Trilogy, and for promotional purposes by both Universal Studios, the late George Barris, and George Barris' East Coast representative Andy Perillo.  The car also reportedly was modified and used in the 2011 remake of the movie "Arthur"--I've never seen the remake, so I'll take their word for it.)

[Joe in Canada]

Here is day three encase you missed it.