Dear Classic Car enthusiasts, friends and followers,
It was an interesting start to March, with the big boys out in force on the US auction scene, and intriguing concours meetings taking place at the same time.
Let’s have a look at the numbers: many auctioned cars were offered with no reserve, but what does that mean in real sale terms?
Out of 394 cars on sale over three days and three auction houses, 89% (349) found a buyer, but out of that 89%, over half (54%) were offered with no reserve.
Is the ‘no reserve’ status a way of getting buyers through the door, or are there other reasons? Drilling deep further, 70% of those sales went under the estimate and only nine went over the estimated guide figure (results’ source, K500).
Back in the UK, we have seen a few auctions suffer a little, starting with the attendance figures, which are down with more online bidding taking place. Perhaps, with so many auctions today offering over 300 cars at any one time, the prospect of sitting through a few hours of that is not appealing, but that drop in physical attendance is starting to have a knock-on effect on sale figures.
The so-called experts reporting on the classic car market, however, are just feeding off the back of auction results to judge the current state of affairs.
The biggest concern is the number of on-line auctions still starting up, PLEASE PLEASE be careful, as sometimes these are not what they are cracked up to be. Some are indeed doing well and achieving some good results, but be aware that there is a lot of ‘smoke and mirrors’.
True reports from the dealer network show that sales are up, and good cars are selling – well done lads, long may it continue! – but, as always, only good cars are selling well.
Surprisingly, we have received reports of some events being cancelled for a number of different reasons, which is a shame. From recent outings we have seen a downturn in attendance, just like for the auctions, so here’s hope that this does not become the norm.
Evidence of a potential trend may be found next month at the Essen Techno Classic, which will be a good benchmark. Perhaps some of these events have just had their heyday? We will soon see.
Just a heads-up… we have witnessed a few back-street ‘experts’ working from their armchairs, recently offering cars which do not exist and/or selling some quite poor restoration examples.
As the great Red Adair once said, “if you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do a job, wait until you hire an amateur”.
If you are thinking of buying a classic car, or selling one, we are here to assist.
If you have a restoration project in mind, please do let us know.
Happy and safe motoring
Keith
keith@classicmobilia.com
+44(0)7889 805432
+44(0)1908 270672
www.classicmobilia.com
About Keith:
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