So,any of you guys catch Barrett Jackson?

[NYLIBUD]

I gotta say,of course,there were some nice rides....However,I noticed that Mopars were practically being given away at Barrett.Im a Mopar fan,and I cannot believe how cheap some of the prices were on some really nice Mopars (even Hemi's)..Whats going on?Just seems like prices are falling through the floor...Too many Chevys?

[High octane]

I gotta say,of course,there were some nice rides....However,I noticed that Mopars were practically being given away at Barrett.Im a Mopar fan,and I cannot believe how cheap some of the prices were on some really nice Mopars (even Hemi's)..Whats going on?Just seems like prices are falling through the floor...Too many Chevys?

Prices falling on Mopars? Don't see that happin' to the Mopar prices at www.carsonline.com.

[espo]

I noticed some great bargains also. '50's and '60's trucks people are paying "stupid money" for and there are just a ton of clones. I think it all has to do with your "Fantastic Economy."   

[Xingu]

I think the fact that Barrett-Jackson (and others) have so many auctions now, that the big spenders are very selective of which events they attend. There were also deals in the automobilia auction (just not for the Porsche sign).

[Ace-Garageguy]

Anybody who's followed the old car market for any appreciable length of time should have noticed that car 'hot items' run in cycles, and "investors" typically follow each other like sheep to buy whatever is the latest-greatest up-and-coming whoopee-ride.

Then, after everybody who has the money to pay stupid prices gets one of whatever it is... the bottom drops out.

It happened to Ferrari Daytona Spyders, Mercedes 300 SLs, early Porsche 911s, etc. 

Folks who payed in the multi-millions for Daytonas can only expect a fraction of that if the cars are sold today.

Using the same misguided reasoning that caused the housing market bubble that trashed the economy, people seem to think that prices for "investments" are going to keep rising rapidly forever, and they're somehow surprised when a saturated market suddenly goes cold.

There just aren't that many people who can or will pay a million bucks for a Hemi-Cuda.

 

[CometMan]

I agree with Bill. The prices of items in any hobby are very cyclical. With most high-end collectors chasing the latest hot item, and the "investors" trying to "get rich quick". After those folks either have that item and have moved on to the next "gotta have" piece, or have cashed-out, the market for that piece either becomes dormant or collapses. Some times that item gets hot again somewhere down the line, or more often, it becomes much harder to move from one owner to the next. Besides, with many of the famous collector car auctions having taken on an almost "reality TV" type of format, I have become very bored of seeing so many Mustangs, Corvettes, and Tri-Five Chevies cross the block (some times even the same car) from auction to auction that I don't keep up with them like I used to.

[Tom Geiger]

Heck, on a small scale that happens on eBay. Two guys will duke it out for a rare kit and it will sell for a huge amount.  The next week everyone who saw that sale pops theirs onto eBay and they sell for nothing!

[iamsuperdan]

It's always an interesting mix, and there's no rhyme nor reason to the prices people pay. I remember wa coupel of years ago when that VW 23 window bus went for almost $300k. You find those two guys that want something and get out of the way.

 

A few vehicles that I found odd. The main one being one of the Thursday night ones; an early 90s bright red Chev crewcab duallie. Not customized, just a clean example of a truck that is commonplace around here. Beauty truck, but not something I would have deemed Barrett Jackson worthy. Not yet anyway.

I've been talking with wifey, and within the next couple of years we'd like to go down, get the bidders pass, and see if we can find something interesting on a Thursday night. When the cars are still affordable, and we could take home something I wouldn't be afraid to drive. The ultra restored cars on Saturday night are beautiful, but they're so over done, you'd feel bad driving it for fear of scratching the inner rails of the frame, because they're finsihed just as nicely as the body.

We had a BJ car here in our showroom last year. It was a Chevelle SS clone. The guy bought it for $66k US. Once it got back here, it needed almost $20k worth of work to make it a good car. Good from far, far from good. The car was very obviously thrown together and given a quick paint and polish to look good on tv. Needed a lot of mechanical work, and nothing in the interior worked. Panel fit was horrendous. Like anything, buyer beware.

 

[Lunajammer]

Anybody who's followed the old car market for any appreciable length of time should have noticed that car 'hot items' run in cycles, and "investors" typically follow each other like sheep to buy whatever is the latest-greatest up-and-coming whoopee-ride.

Then, after everybody who has the money to pay stupid prices gets one of whatever it is... the bottom drops out.

It happened to Ferrari Daytona Spyders, Mercedes 300 SLs, early Porsche 911s, etc. 

Folks who payed in the multi-millions for Daytonas can only expect a fraction of that if the cars are sold today.

Using the same misguided reasoning that caused the housing market bubble that trashed the economy, people seem to think that prices for "investments" are going to keep rising rapidly forever, and they're somehow surprised when a saturated market suddenly goes cold.

There just aren't that many people who can or will pay a million bucks for a Hemi-Cuda.

 

[GT4494]

The other interesting observation about the classic car market. When the stock market tanks the car prices are pushed up by speculators that try to make their ROI on cars.  when the market is up the car prices go down as the speculators go back to it.

Upside is that many cars that would have been scrapped were restored due to the perceived value when the last market crash happened.

[Tom Geiger]

It's always an interesting mix, and there's no rhyme nor reason to the prices people pay. I remember wa coupel of years ago when that VW 23 window bus went for almost $300k. You find those two guys that want something and get out of the way.

Understand that there are people who have millions of dollars and spending 300K is like us spending $1000.