[tigergto]

BTW, I never did see who bought the car (I may have missed it). They always show the final bidder of a high-priced car signing the papers.[/QUOTE]

I believe it was the bidder in the sky box that was the winning bidder. He also was the one that put the bid in when Spanky Assiter's arm was grabbed by whom ever was sitting to his right. I could be wrong but I don't believe it was Graig Jackson.

[Alvin]

Interesting personal experience that goes with this thread theme:

==> I was asked to drive a later model Orange MACH 1 through the block at the end of the last day of an local auction after the cameras were long gone. While I was sitting in it one of the independent broker reps came by and commented to me:

==> "This one bid up to $20,000 yesterday was gaveled as supposedly sold on camera." At this point he rolled his eyes. He continued: "...it'll be interesting to see what it bids for today and if it really sells this time!"

To say I was surprised would be an understatement, as it appeared to be a nice vehicle with no issues. I had no prior knowledge or experience with that vehicle.

==> It was bid up to $15,000 and was a "no-sale".

[Father&Son73T/A]

When I seen a 1981 Y84 turbo car with 19k miles sell for 63k on BJ..........I knew it was full joke time now.
That said,I attended the 40th anniversary of BJ in Vegas a couple years back,it's one big event.but designed for big money people.
You should see it once in person.Would I buy a car there?,hell no.
The quality of cars I seen there were no where near the prices they were selling for.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

It seems rather odd that I was able to buy a brand new RA3 goat while earning only $1.50 per hour, but now, 40+ years later, I couldn't touch a clean example of that same car.

American musclecars were built so that most any young buck with a job could buy one. Now they are reserved for rich guys, with lots of play money.

I think this is a very interesting observation.

K

[Cliff R]

Barrett Jackson has been good and bad for the hobby.

These days anyone with a $3000 barn find thinks it's worth $30,000, when you can barely get that for the same car after a $30,000 restoration.

Keeps the NOS parts market strong, for those of us selling rare parts.

One of my customers a few years back had a very BAD experience with them. Something about miss-representing one of his vehicles and selling it cheap, only to have the buyer "flip" it quickly for nearly twice as much money. I can't remember the details, but the buyer who flipped it had a direct association with the company, so they figured he was in on the deal.......Cliff

[Deadhead]

The whole thing looks shady to me, but you can/could get deals there. A local here moved to Scottsdale for a few years and then came back. I saw this really nice but weird colored car in his garage and asked about it. He told me about going to BJ with a friend. Auction started, and they noticed nobody was bidding on a VERY low miles 1 owner 50s T-Bird that had this weird color that made it a single digit production deal. He bid first bid, 4 seconds later they slammed the gavel, and he owned this totally original car for almost nothing. I am sure the owner was not real happy being the ice breaker. This guy said, "Did we just buy that car for that?"

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

The whole thing looks shady to me, but you can/could get deals there. A local here moved to Scottsdale for a few years and then came back. I saw this really nice but weird colored car in his garage and asked about it. He told me about going to BJ with a friend. Auction started, and they noticed nobody was bidding on a VERY low miles 1 owner 50s T-Bird that had this weird color that made it a single digit production deal. He bid first bid, 4 seconds later they slammed the gavel, and he owned this totally original car for almost nothing. I am sure the owner was not real happy being the ice breaker. This guy said, "Did we just buy that car for that?"

This reminds me of the restored "Ramchargers" drag car and SWAG from several years ago...that the owner(s) claimed it was "fast gaveled" "short saled"...IIRC their were even special interviews of CJ and restoration owners broadcast. Went to court and IIRC the original owner sellers lost in court...got ugly. Seller "chained the wheels of the car" to prevent delivery to buyer; BJ sued for defamation, etc.

"First they kick Keith Martin out now the're sueing their customers." http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...n-lawsuit.html

http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506452

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...uesch-lawsuit/

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...&Number=285401

[Blue'69]

Would I ever sell one of my cars "no reserve" ? Hell no. My theory on BJ auctions is that if a higher dollar car doesn't make the money they think it should, they miraculously go to a phone bidder or an internet bidder and the seller just takes his car back home minus the 10% seller premiums for the auction house. Too many commercials and charity cars to be interesting anymore.

[67rstbkt]

I agree with pretty much everyone else's opinion, cars are overpriced at these things. I think some just get carried away, others have more money than they know what to do with. I wonder how many of these "buyers" are actual car people? It seems that many of these restored or original rare muscle cars just get passed from one garage to the next and never get used for the purpose they were designed for. I'd rather drive my muscle car and work on it - I think most of the buyers at these things are basically art collectors.

I saw the green GTO in person (I live in Reno) on Saturday. I looked it over for a few minutes and it was basically a show car. Super straight all over and looking probably 100 times better than the day it left the showroom floor. I was not there when they sold it, but out in the convention center, it did have the decals on the fenders. I wish I would have taken a picture or two of it for you guys to look at.

[T A 70]

Originally Posted by 67rstbkt

I agree with pretty much everyone else's opinion, cars are overpriced at these things. I think some just get carried away, others have more money than they know what to do with. I wonder how many of these "buyers" are actual car people? It seems that many of these restored or original rare muscle cars just get passed from one garage to the next and never get used for the purpose they were designed for. I'd rather drive my muscle car and work on it - I think most of the buyers at these things are basically art collectors.

I saw the green GTO in person (I live in Reno) on Saturday. I looked it over for a few minutes and it was basically a show car. Super straight all over and looking probably 100 times better than the day it left the showroom floor. I was not there when they sold it, but out in the convention center, it did have the decals on the fenders. I wish I would have taken a picture or two of it for you guys to look at.

I had to miss it this weekend unfortunately. My buddy told me last Wednesday a few real Yenko's were there but I haven't spoken to him. Did you see any?

[67rstbkt]

Originally Posted by T A 70

I had to miss it this weekend unfortunately. My buddy told me last Wednesday a few real Yenko's were there but I haven't spoken to him. Did you see any?

I did see a few Yenko cars, but I'm not certain they were all real. The Nova I looked at said it was a "Yenko reproduction" on the description. I was only able to spend about 2-3 hours total looking at the cars and checking out the wealthy spend their extra cash .

I do wish I had more time to spend there, especially since it was $22 per person to get in, but the wife wanted to go to dinner and then check out the drag race thing at the Nugget in Downtown Sparks.

[Keith Seymore]

So - how do the other auction houses compare to BJ?

Are they all the same, or are there any that are known for being pretty straight up?

(I'm wondering about Mecum specifically).

K

[T A 70]

Originally Posted by 67rstbkt

I did see a few Yenko cars, but I'm not certain they were all real. The Nova I looked at said it was a "Yenko reproduction" on the description. I was only able to spend about 2-3 hours total looking at the cars and checking out the wealthy spend their extra cash .

I do wish I had more time to spend there, especially since it was $22 per person to get in, but the wife wanted to go to dinner and then check out the drag race thing at the Nugget in Downtown Sparks.

Thanks. 2 years ago there was a '69 Blue Camaro Yenko clone very well done at the Convention Center auction. Big block car (454) in the $33k range. I should have bought it, nothing left to do but drive it.

[GT182]

I just caught the 66 GTO convertable, on the rerun of B/J Reno, with the Chevelle type stripes. Good price price of 58,000, but the stripes weren't all that great on it. Different yes, but not really necessary. The 2 narrow 'old school' racing stripes across the trunk and rear quarters, or the 2 narrow 'old school' racing stripes the length of the car, would have looked better.

[zeebo]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

Did ya'll watch the auction from Reno? A '70 455 ragtop goat sold for over $100k. That's probably what, over 25 times it's original cost? But a black '65 3x2 ragtop goat only brought $42k.

That's still more cash than I have on hand, but seemed low as compared to the 70 model. I reckin I'm just not up on the auction scene. But it seems like it would be fun to be able to sit around and buy any car you happened to like when it comes thru. It seems rather odd that I was able to buy a brand new RA3 goat while earning only $1.50 per hour, but now, 40+ years later, I couldn't touch a clean example of that same car.

American musclecars were built so that most any young buck with a job could buy one. Now they are reserved for rich guys, with lots of play money.

yup..this is what sucks about today and also why i lament not being born 20 to 25 yrs earlier..anyone in the car hobby wishes that IMO....

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

So - how do the other auction houses compare to BJ?

Are they all the same, or are there any that are known for being pretty straight up?

(I'm wondering about Mecum specifically).

K

Keith, Perhaps you could get the answer you are seeking by talking with Jim Mattison who is often seen at auctions (such as MECUM) as a buyer and seller.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Keith, Perhaps you could get the answer you are seeking by talking with Jim Mattison who is often seen at auctions (such as MECUM) as a buyer and seller.

I could do that but it doesn't normally come up. I'm interested in all y'all's perspective as well...

K

[MikeNoun]

Well, Mecum Auctions has dog and pony shows too. They're all the same. Shill bidders, money exchanging hands behind the scenes, phony reserves, cars hammered down as "sold" when they don't sell, it's all part of the auction circus, and with TV cameras rolling, it sometimes becomes a scripted reality show.

[bluebird455]

I like Mecum a lot more than BJ, more regular stream muscle cars, no charity car every other car, and from talking to people attending the car corals, lots and staging lanes, there seems to be a lot more real car guys that have been in the hobby a lot longer, and have more knowledge about a wide variety of cars. I went to the Reno Auction, and to be honest, there was a lot of over paying on a lot of the cars, hell, you could have gotten a lot better buys just going to the cars shows on all the casinos, there was lots of high quality cars with for sale signs, some with very good prices.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Well, Mecum Auctions has dog and pony shows too. They're all the same. Shill bidders, money exchanging hands behind the scenes, phony reserves, cars hammered down as "sold" when they don't sell, it's all part of the auction circus, and with TV cameras rolling, it sometimes becomes a scripted reality show.

Thanks, Mike. Sorry to hear that.

It looked like they (Mecum) did a nice job with Randy William's stuff.

K