Ridiculously low prices on Barrett Jackson auction today

[Seafoam65]

           I will never understand why someone would give away their beautifully restored car at Barrett - Jackson DUE TO THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING IS NO RESERVE AND EVERYBODY IS TOO BUSY BIDDING UP FORD BRONCO 

S-boxes and VW buses to pay  attention to gorgeous Buicks. BJ is never going to get their grubby hands on anything from my car collection.....I would set fire to them and bury them underground before I would let them get anywhere near a Barrett-Jackson no reserve auction. Honestly  I wonder how many sellers leave there on Suicide Watch. A gorgeous red/white deluxe interior 65 Riviera GS that was frame-off restored and very correct except for a few small details sold  for less  than 70K, another very very nice

exquisitely restored 65 Riviera base model sold for 8 year old Hyundai money, and a magnificent seriously seriously nice 53 Skylark sold for around 70K (half what a 66 Ford Bronco

sells for). Any suicide prevention counselors on the forum need to report immediately to the BJ complex.....your services are needed ASAP. Why do people let BJ steal their car when they can stay at home and put their car on Bring a Trailer with a reserve on it?

 

 

[rocketraider]

Any more BJ is more a social "be seen" event than real world.

 

I wish I could explain tastes and trends in the car auction world. They change yearly it seems, or sometimes every auction.

 

Look at it this way. It keeps desirable cars affordable while the cool kids fight over whatever's the current "must have" vehicle.

[XframeFX]

3 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

BJ is never going to get their grubby hands on anything from my car collection.....I would set fire to them and bury them underground before I would let them get anywhere near a Barrett-Jackson no reserve auction.

My thoughts exactly, every word!

 

For me, BJ events are spectator eye candy and socializing.

At the last Scottsdale 2024 auction I connected with many Owners. I followed up on many. Some actually did well, a few not.

One in particular had his whole collection of 5 there and needed $$ for escrow conditions at home. The winning bid on his original California 427 Implala SS got a smoking deal at his expense.

 

I am perplexed why consign into a no reserve deal?

I've setup young buyers (teenagers, early 20s) with some of my muscle cars for reasonable prices in the 70s, 80s & 90s, no regrets. Someone got me started that way with a solid 1970 442 w/M22 for $300.

It's a passion, not a business.

 

[alsancle]

Lots of factors go in to the final sale price of a car at auction.  Timing, luck, and the actual car have a lot to do with it.

 

Never judge a car at an auction that you haven't gone over with a fine tooth comb.   They are not all alike.

 

I love the 53 Skylark,  but the days of getting 200K are long gone.

[gungeey]

If it was such a great car at such a low price you should of added it to your collection

[Turbinator]

7 hours ago, XframeFX said:

It's a passion, not a business.

 

John, the channel used for exchange of goods and services is most important. The Auctioneer loves No Reserve because potential buyers know the item will sell. Sellers know the item will sell.

 

I attended the Hershey AACA swap meet. I drove my 64 Chevy SS Impala for fun. Many folks were complimentary and asked the selling price. I said not for sale. Not one person persisted for a selling price. No feelings hurt,  the car is not for sale.

Edited Sunday at 01:37 PM by Turbinator (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

In the earlier days of the BJ auctions, it was the premier auction that everybody knew about.  Then came tv coverage!  So the empire grew into a "gotta be there" event for many buyers and spectators.  Buying a car there had an aura about it, having been "touched", it seems.  That it is "no reserve" is a guarantee for the seller, a guarantee for the buyer, and a guarantee that BJ gets their money, past the "floorplan fee" of admission.

 

About 10 years ago, maybe closer to 15, a guy who cashed-out of the fracking business he and some partners started, took some of his money and went to BJ and bought about 35 cars.  We went over them afterward.  It was a diverse collection, from teapot-carbed Early T-birds to flathead Cadillacs, to some street machines.  Every ONE of them needed work before they could be street driven reliably.  Even the 1970 Z/'28 rotisserie-resto car had incorrect bolts on it, hardware stuff!  The street machine cars had lots of trendy parts on them, but the cars were not well-tuned to make everything work as it should.  Looked good on paper!  So what might look great on the outside might well NOT be that way otherwise.

 

We might presume that a "rotisserie restoration" is the highest level of things, but within that spectrum, there can be things done to a particular standard as other things are glossed over.  Different levels of execution under the same umbrella.

 

As always, just depends upon WHOM shows up for each auction as to what sells and at what price point!  Too many of the same car model and year show up, not a good day for them.

 

I do enjoy looking through the auction listings before and during the auction.  Some neat stuff and some things OTHERS obviously perceive as "neat".  In many cases, I suspect many "baths" or "haircuts" are endured by the sellers as the buyers apparently get a good deal, but can take more investment after they get the car to make it all it should be.

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[alsancle]

Keep in mind this is their October sale, not to be confused with Auction week in January.

[Turbinator]

Gents, With auctions conducted by phone, computer, and live leaves me out. Im in” the blind” with auction by phone, by computer, and live. “ In the

blind” means you cant see all the bids.

An associate can serve as an extra pair of eyes. Even then your head must be fog free. Auctioneers are trained to extract every dollar they can from buyers.

Turbinator

[trimacar]

I had an elderly lady come by my space at Hershey, when she found I own a Cord she was despondent.  Said her husband died, she sent some cars to a B-J auction, one of which was a Cord sedan.

 

She said under 100k, B-J doesn’t allow a reserve.  Said her cars sold for about half figured value, she was  not happy.  She was negatively critical about B-J.

 

I don’t do auctions any more, just hearsay.

[NTX5467]

As for the "live" coverage, it has a time delay such that if you are on the phone with an auction rep, for bidding, you work with that person rather than watch it on tv.  So what you see "live" is actually several minutes old when you see it.

 

I understand the lady's frustrations, but the auction is dependent upon who shows up that day, what they are looking for, and how much they desire to spend.  Possibly a different auction might have been a better choice?

 

NTX5467

[cjp69]

I would have liked to have seen the trim tag on the red/white 65 Riv GS.  I am guessing that it wasn't white deluxe interior from the factory, as there were several big things that were the incorrect with the interior.  

 

Will be interesting to see how the $104,500 price on the 53 compares to the one on BAT right now.

 

When I decided to sell my 65 Riv,  the only BJ I even considered was their January AZ auction.  For Mecum, I considered Indy in May and FL in Dec.    All the rest are smaller auctions and seem to get lower results for our Buicks.  BAT is hot right now for Rivs so I listed it there, and I did't want to have to pay all the auction/commission costs with the other two. 

[Seafoam65]

 

 

The 53 Skylark on Bring A Trailer sold for $149,000. It didn't look as nice as the one at BJ that sold

for a tremendous amount less. This proves my point that it is insane to let BJ anywhere near your car. 

[alsancle]

On 10/13/2024 at 8:50 PM, trimacar said:

I had an elderly lady come by my space at Hershey, when she found I own a Cord she was despondent.  Said her husband died, she sent some cars to a B-J auction, one of which was a Cord sedan.

 

She said under 100k, B-J doesn’t allow a reserve.  Said her cars sold for about half figured value, she was  not happy.  She was negatively critical about B-J.

 

I don’t do auctions any more, just hearsay.

Dave,  I feel bad for the widow, but her cars sold for market.   Everything is worth 1/2 of what the owner thinks the car is worth including my own cars.  I've figured that out the hard way.

[trimacar]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

Dave,  I feel bad for the widow, but her cars sold for market.   Everything is worth 1/2 of what the owner thinks the car is worth including my own cars.  I've figured that out the hard way.

Yes, there’s a big nugget of truth in that pan.

 

The car I want to sell probably wouldn’t bring what I think it’s worth.

 

The two cars I don’t want to sell would bring fair value quickly, I think.

 

Oh well, never was in it for the money anyway.

[alsancle]

20 minutes ago, trimacar said:

Yes, there’s a big nugget of truth in that pan.

 

The car I want to sell probably wouldn’t bring what I think it’s worth.

 

The two cars I don’t want to sell would bring fair value quickly, I think.

 

Oh well, never was in it for the money anyway.

 

For guys that have been in the hobby for a long time it is tough to deal with a softening market.  There are buyers for good things, but not as many and not for what you could get even 10 years ago.

[dr914]

I would never say too "LOW" is ridiculous, but certainly too "high" could be

[1965rivgs]

  Is this the car being discussed here?

 

https://bid.barrett-jackson.com/lot-details/index/catalog/41/lot/25727

 

Tom Mooney

[cjp69]

43 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said:

  Is this the car being discussed here?

 

https://bid.barrett-jackson.com/lot-details/index/catalog/41/lot/25727

 

Tom Mooney

Yes Tom, or at least that is the one I was talking about, buyer paid $66k. 

 

There was also a green one for $86,900 (https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1965-BUICK-RIVIERA-GS-278532)

 

And here is the 53 Skylark for $103,500 (https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1953-BUICK-SKYLARK-CONVERTIBLE-278922).

 

 

[60FlatTop]

That is a lot of reassembly that apparently has not had much of a shakedown cruise.

 

When I was making restored cars start, steer, and stop I would tell the owner to add up all their receipts and figure they totaled 90% of what it would take to have a car they could toss the keys to their wife and send her into town for a gallon of milk.

 

Also reminds me of my High School days when I didn't wash the blue off my whitewalls to prove to the other guys that I could afford new tires.

Edited 8 hours ago by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[arnulfo de l.a.]

My $.02 , i dont think red is factory color based on the picture of the door panels ..looks like it was originally claret mist or what i call maroon. Same color combo as my 65 gs. Funny thing is that the previous owner also repainted mine red but in my case it was a very low budget paint job. In my opinion whom ever reupholstered the bucket seats did a HORRIBLE job!

[NTX5467]

To @anulfo de l.a. 's point, I started noticing in the 1980s, in Hemmings ads, that people (who apparently could not work on their cars OR if they might know how) would start to use the term "Professionally rebuilt" as to carb work and anything mechanical.  In reality, that meant they paid somebody money to do something for which they got a receipt.  No more, no less.  Allegedly supposed to mean it was "done right by somebody that knew how to do it", BUT we all know how variable that cian be.  OR they'd mention the name of the entity that did the work, as if that might mean something to somebody, as in added credibility it was done well.  Still variable as to whom in the shop did it, unfortunately.

 

Just some observations,

NTX5467

Edited 7 hours ago by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[EmTee]

I assume I'll spend another 15% of the purchase price to address issues with any used car I buy...