Barrett-Jackson's Auction - Scottsdale, 2011

[XDCX]

Well, I've decided to take the rest of the afternoon off and head for Barrett-Jackson's Auction in Scottsdale.

I've been there once before (last year) but never really had much time to check everything out. This time I've got the rest of the day open and I'm looking forward to checking out all the cars and the vendor displays.

If you want to check it out, Speed TV has extensive coverage of the auction and even offers a live feed so you can watch cars sell while they're away during their commercial breaks.

[JoeRocket]

Jealous as hell.. I watch it every year.

[steve_biegler]

Originally Posted by JoeRocket

Jealous as hell.. I watch it every year.

Ditto.....

[possum]

Thats just wrong!!
I have always wanted to go, and WILL someday. I watch it all I can. While you are there pick up a nice little AMC investment!

[lsx only]

a big block 67 corvette for me with a 427

[steve_biegler]

Well X-man did you buy anything????????????????????????????

[JoeRocket]

I think that was him drooling over the red Crosley. heh

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Well X-man did you buy anything????????????????????????????

I had an absolute blast but didn't spend a dime on any new cars.

I spent about nine hours on property and still didn't see everything they had to offer. I stayed until they sold their final car last night - the crowd got pretty thin as the night wore on and there were some bargains at the end.

I'll add more details to this thread once I get caught up.

[possum]

I see a Forum Road Trip !

[57years]

Boys, don't ever get into the holding of old cars. When I was a dealer, I held from trade or purchase 3 Corvairs, 3 Jeeps CJs, a late build Monte Carlo SS, A big body Monte Carlo, '66 Corvette Coupe, '63 Corvette coupe, '68 454 Impala Coupe, '72 Corvette 2 top convert, '54 Chevy Sedan (my Dad sold New),and lastly '68 VW. I couldn't display them properly, they sat in barns for years and deteriorated, I would get one out--fix it -- drive it a couple weeks--and return to barn. I sold all but 5, and weep with the constant maintenance of those. I'll keep them and worry about the theives who steal small parts every time I turn my back.
I suggest to you all, if you want an investment, buy CD's at the bank or pay off debt on your floorplan. Cash will be a better investment than buying a car for the privledge and fun of owning it!

[possum]

Prices on Sunday seem to be down. The cars are not as nice as Saturday, but better deals.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by possum

I see a Forum Road Trip !

That would be awesome.

In my opinion the Barrett-Jackson is a "must-see" for anyone who loves cars and automobilia. I spent over 10 hours on property and still didn't see everything.

The vendor displays were very interesting. Barrett-Jackson must attract a lot of high net-worth people because there were two plane manufacturers on-site and a helicopter manufacturer.

I thought the ride and drive area was very cool and the displays of new cars from Ford and GM was impressive. GM had the Chevrolet Volt available for test-drive and they also had one on static display. I thought the new Volt looked awesome.

I went on a Thursday and if I had it to do again I'd probably go on Wednesday. There were so many people there on Thursday that it's hard to walk around without being "elbow to elbow" with lots of other people. I can't imagine what it must be like on Friday and Saturday when it gets really busy.

Concerning the auction itself, I prefer to watch the Speed TV broadcast with Tivo. The auction pace is very slow and I miss not hearing the commentary from Speed's on-stage crew.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by 57years

I suggest to you all, if you want an investment, buy CD's at the bank or pay off debt on your floorplan. Cash will be a better investment than buying a car for the privledge and fun of owning it!

Great comments.

The one thing I noticed about attending Barrett-Jackson in person was the quality of most cars wasn't as impressive as they looked on TV. (The Pontiac Ambulance that was purported to have carried President Kennedy had a really poor paint job.)

Even cars that were never driven and stored in climate controlled environments had deterioration issues.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by possum

Prices on Sunday seem to be down. The cars are not as nice as Saturday, but better deals.

I thought the prices were pretty soft too.

I mostly follow the Chrysler E-Bodies (Cuda and Challenger) and it seems like that market is still falling. There was a numbers matching 1970 Hemi Challenger with 26K miles that was fully restored and it only sold for $170K.

There was also a 1970 Cuda with a non-matching 440 Six-Pack that sold for $55K.

I also thought it was interesting to see how small the crowd was near the end of the day on Sunday. I'd hate to have a car headed for the block with No Reserve if there was a sea of empty seats in the bidder's area.

[possum]

The '07 new Corvette, NBA All-Star Special, with all the autographs, and the custom paint brought only $27000. That was shocking. The seller should have just bid it himself.