RS Auto Austion Car Damage - 70 Judge in the mix
 

The weather collapsed all of the tents at the RS auction. Tent poles were flinging around along with the tents on top of the cars. The tents were eventually blown out of the auction area.leaving the cars exposed to the weather all night. Car owners weren’t allowed in until the place can get secured/stabilized. Here are some pictures:

https://sites.google.com/a/allclassi...steele-damages

WOW! Sad site....wonder how the insurance claims work out and who's would pay(R&S or owner of car?)...Owners must have been devastated..some of these cars have
extensive damage (GT500 in particular, with roof damage)...Dumb question maybe, but couldn't they predict the extremely bad weather and cancel that/those days???

I wonder if thats an original Judge? Check out the interior.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tjmyers7...23049011065042

http://picasaweb.google.com/tjmyers7...23020661289106

If it is a true Judge, it is missing the RAM AIR hood.
It's sickening to look at those photos. Especially kinked roofs and pillars.

Thats sad!

horrible I was going to go out to Scottsdale for Barret Jackson glad I skipped this yr. weather was worst in many yrs. wonder how that damage will affect the titles? if at all.

Wow... it just goes on and on. I had no idea so many rare/valuable cars were damaged so badly. Very tragic.

Very sad. I read one board that said "One of 68 Untouched...." Mr. Norms Hemi Cuda, too.

x2. I knew there was some cars damaged, but no idea it was that many. The orange Torino convertible & the Blue Cuda covertible, both with smashed A pillars looked bad. The '64 GTO with smashed roof was sad, too. All of them make me sad. It's like looking thru a salvage yard from the '60's & '70's. :(

Likely the end of RS - not sure how you can survive something like this. Regardless of whose fault it eventually is - their reputation is now damaged. It will affect every similar auction as well - will you ever take your car to a show/sale like that and let them store it in a tent - now that you've seen these photos?

I would bet that RS contracted with a company that specializes in tent rentals, or trade show/event management to furnish and set-up the tents. RS will file a claim through that company's insurance. They will claim "act of God" and deny the claims. Lawyers will start suing folks and before you know it - it will be a couple of years before it is all sorted out and many folks will lose a lot of money. I predict this will cause our collector car insurance premiums to go up as the industry absorbs the cost of this damage. The insurance industry will take note of this event and adjust their rates accordingly - they always do.

I really feel sorry for the owners affected by all of this - very unfortunate.

BJ

Holy cow... Never seen so many vintage cars destroyed or damaged in a single shot :( :(. How in hell can someone put priceless cars like that in the open, outside, and leave them unnatended in the rain with the tops down all night long???

Come'on. That's ridiculous... With so much money in their hands, they should at least, had an disaster/emergency plan of some kind. Car covers, I don't know...

That to me, is a total lack of care... Sorry, no pity for the owners. They should have known better.

Come on now - No Pity for the owners. They should have know better. How? - can they predict the weather? Do they know the strenght of the poles holding up the tents? Did you not see the first post in the thread that said the car owners could not get to their cars. The pictures make me sick. I feel bad for the owners of those damaged cars. This is a horrible accident that will have a pretty big fallout. I wouldn't be surprised if the auction house closes. This will affect all auctions now. And after these cars are repaired, will they be properly represented - the Hemi Cuda - probably. Low production # cars are easy to track. But some of the others - who knows....

I was talking about the aunction owners, not the car owners!! I feel so bad for those car owners. And the fact that there's nothing they could do. They must have felt so hopeless...

Can they predict the weather; not always. We know weather forecast is not that great. But a storm like that? God, I would be quite surprised if nobody saw it coming. It's not like they didn't at least, had a little time to put the tops down.

Strenght of the poles; if you don't know the strength of the poles that's holding a tent with millions of dollars worth of cars under it... Shame on you. When I have a doubt, I go overkill. Better be ready than sorry.

Damn, my camping tent can hold winds stronger that that.. Just kiddin'. But I just can't believe that...

Just wondering - does seller maintain ownership till hammer falls? Were these cars waiting to be sold?


Mesca - I'm with you. I don't feel bad for auction house. With putting on a large event, you need to plan for any and all scenarios

I couldn't imagine selling my car. That's bad enough. Now it gets damaged waiting to be sold. Damn

I've been thinking about that also. It depends on what language is in the documents that the consigners and bidders sign when they consign a car and register to bid respectively. I also imagine that the winning bidder agrees to additional language when signing the paperwork on the auction floor immediately after the hammer falls. Like I said in my post above, I'm betting that by the time the lawyers get through with all the lawsuits it will be a couple of years before the true total cost and impact of this incident is felt by the industry.

I can't imagine what went throught the minds of sellers and buyers alike as this storm was unfolding and in the immediate aftermath. As a buyer, imagine making the trip out there to buy your dream car, finding it, and then winning the auction - only to have your prize destroyed before you even get the chance to drive it. Then imagine the horror as you realize that you are on the hook to pay for it, and you haven't even got it insured yet. Now imagine the seller's point of view - hey, I sold it fair and square - pay up! There will likely be a lot of individual lawsuits between seller and buyer over what each is liable for. Add to that the fact that RS will have an opinion about exactly when their commission was "earned"....and you start getting the picture about just how convoluted this whole thing will become.

Now consider Barrett Jackson, Mecum and other auction companies. How will this affect their policies and contract language on future auctions? Their insurers will run their rates through the roof and that will affect the commission they charge as they pass that cost along. Consider the fact that many sellers/buyers will look to other venues for selling/buying collector cars now rather than run the risk of getting caught up in the middle of something like this. We may be witnessing the beginning of the end for this type of auction venue. There will be hundreds of stories emerge from this, good and bad - all of which will leave an idelible mark on this hobby.

BJ

Just move the auctions to a more stable state (weather-wise)...:D:D

I'll take our winters over hurricanes/tornadoes/earthquakes anytime

And under a more stable roof...

Seriously, I totally agree with that what's being said. It's a big mess. We'll get the big picture when the dust clears off..

BJ I completely agree with everything you said in both your posts albeit from a pessimistic view. It's a real shame how this will undoubtedly change the landscape of collector car auctions and insurance coverage. The sad part is the insurance companies will find a way to wiggle out of the claims. Even though I go down the road and buy a 10 year old truck on a Saturday and on the way home it gets totalled out before I call my agent Monday morning to put coverage on it, I'm still covered on the truck. Do the buyers have that same benefit from Hagerty, Grundy, et all?

The car enthusiasts who were selling and buying the damaged cars are the ones who truly suffered here. A sad day indeed but it could have been worse. Luckily, no persons were injured that I know of. If a tent pole can crush a Chevelle A pillar what would it do to a 24 year old trophy wife's head?

Just think how fortunate many Concours GTO owners were at the Covention last year that the Saturday weather was just an annoying steady rain instead of a severe storm that ripped up the tents that those cars were stored under. Maybe the GTOAA and POCI should consider those potential consequences in planning future events. I personally never gave it a thought while at the Covention, just struck me reading this thread.

Amazing no one was hurt.

The 67/68 dark colored Camaro looked like it had been sandblasted.

Jeff