Often repeated at auction sales and in the broader world of collectibles is the adage ‘Quality Costs’, to which we can add ‘Quality Sells’. Or usually it does.
The past 18 months have seen buyers taking a tougher stance when compromised cars reach the market. Vendors might still be asking top dollar, but if their vehicle needs paint, trim or mechanical fettling it will likely remain unsold until a realistic and substantial price reduction is offered.
The reverse can apply where a car is utterly exceptional and a queue of potential buyers quickly forms. Take one of these to auction and despite current tough times, bidder reluctance suddenly gets thrown through an open window.
Such a situation occurred at the Burns & Co auction of Classic & Collector Vehicles in mid-February, where prices paid were generally muted and good cars looked unlikely to break any records. Then came an EH Holden described as among, if not the best sold in recent memory.
Previously, the acknowledged top price paid for an EH Wagon (also a Premier) had been $92,000. That stood for around four years and looked set to last even longer until obliterated by a winning bid of $122,000 which, when the Buyer Premium was added, climbed past $134,000.
Two weeks after the EH Premier record was reset came a similar car; not quite in the league as the earlier one, but still exceptional and looking likely to make $100,000.
For reasons best known to potential buyers whose attitudes, in the space of a fortnight, had changed, this Premier would eventually reach a hammer price of $79,500. Even at that it topped the list of successful bids at a generally disappointing Single Vendor clearing sale.
Such are the contrasts encountered when valuing cars in a market riddled with inconsistency.
As the Burns sale demonstrated, it is possible to park three cars very similar in age and condition just metres apart and sell them within minutes of each other at prices that vary by more than 30 per cent.
The sale began with a reluctant $23,000 paid for a decently presented 48-215 Holden, followed several lots later by a similar car with correct trim at a disappointing $31,000. It was then followed by an FJ that looked better overall than the dearer 48-215 but only made $26,000.
The EKs and FBs were more consistent, with an excellent and very rare windowless van making $50,000, an automatic EK sedan of similar quality topping $45,000 and a good FB selling at $38,000. However, buyer interest fell away once anything post-1965 reached the rostrum.
Burns during recent sales has seen excellent HR Holden Premiers exceed $60,000 and the scarce manual example offered on March 2 looked likely to get it there as well. It didn’t, missing by a wide margin and knocked down to a lucky bidder for $32,750. That price even fell below the $35,500 achieved by an equally good Special.
Worse was to come, with a very presentable 50th Anniversary HX Premier wagon bid to $24,000 and failing to reach reserve. Then there were two decent looking 1970s Holden utes, an HQ and HZ, that sold but made just $25,000 and $23,000 respectively.
Consistency in a market influenced by human emotion is never guaranteed. Nor is the ability of some humans to walk away once someone else’s determination to win the contest has been demonstrated, although it would be nice if sometimes they did.
The rise of ‘time certain’ online auction has brought with it an anti ‘sniping’ convention, intended to stop people bidding within the final few seconds and leaving rivals with no time to respond.
Should this happen in the current online auction world, each new bid extends the sale duration by a withering two minutes and this can occur 20 to 30 times until all but one hopeful gives up.
Surely 30 seconds would provide sufficient time for an underbidder to respond and whilst duels of attrition might entertain those with a dog in the contest, they can be frustrating for those of us who need to record each result and move on.
Equally irritating is the growing trend of keeping final, non-winning bids confidential. While this no doubt aids the process when a lot is re-offered, it obliges observers to keep our eyes glued to the screen until each lot reaches its bitter end.
Luckily, the recent past has seen some interesting cars that did sell, some at very enticing prices, on Collecting Cars and Trading Garage. Plus, we did manage to be watching when a couple of others achieved bids that didn’t meet owner expectations.
Sales included on Trading Garage a rare AMX 390 with the ‘Go Package’ that was let go for an astonishing $31,000 and a tidy Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV on the same site at $50,500. That’s about $20K less than similar cars were worth 18 months ago.
Collecting Cars joined in with an E30 BMW M3 that squeaked past $100,000 and an ultra-rare Subaru WRX 22B that surprisingly was sold at only $261,000.
Amongst the No Sales on Collecting Cars was a snazzy Daimler SP250 Sports that was referred at $54,500 but likely did sell, plus an imposing HQ Monaro GTS two-door in Orchid Metallic that was returned to its vendor at $93,500.
