I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

xwesx

texases said:

So either bad advice/research, or emotional attachment, maybe.

Must be a helluva lot of emotion to hold out for more than $1.1M. If he doesn't let it go, I suspect he'll be disappointed when he tries again. Plus, the guy said he was in his 70s.... how much more than a $1.1M payday does he really want/need?!

berri

Maybe he figures "let the estate take care of it" ...

Mr_Shiftright

Here's a recent sale of a 300SL, to give you an idea how badly informed the bidder and seller on BAT are:

1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing

Sale Details:SOLD at $1,380,000

Auction:RM Sotheby's, RM Sotheby's Monterey 2018 on August 24th, 2018

Lot #:144

SCM #:6877337

Condition Description
"Restored to perfection with dark green and red plaid seating. Refinished at an unspecified time in black and well maintained since. An authentic restoration with fitted luggage and complete toolkit. About as good as it gets."

fintail

Surely you can get there from here for under 300K lol

fintail

A couple more from NATMUS - a long long car and a low mileage CV (a real museum piece):



And to keep on a 90s theme:

omarman

Lol! The seller may be misinformed but he still has a Gullwing after turning off his computer.

Mr_Shiftright

He should have sold it at that price. He was a fool to let that bid go. It's a rust bucket, too.

omarman

That's funny. Somebody on this forum suggested that putting a car up for auction with a ridiculously high reserve was a good way to test the market interest for whatever rust bucket you've got-whether it's really for sale or not.

Mr_Shiftright

That's true, and maybe that's what he's doing. Nonetheless, there was a 2nd part to that clever, brilliant suggestion that someone on this forum made---and that was?

If the person meets or comes close to your ridiculous reserve, then SELL IT! Is the seller waiting for the 300SL bubble to burst?

Guess what commodities take a vicious hit in a recession: That's right...TOYS.

omarman

Don't overlook the 3rd part: You don't gain or lose anything if there's no transaction.

The owner has lost nothing. He had a collectible rust bucket before the internet was invented and still has it after the auction ended.

texases

Well, he had a chance to make a killing, now that's gone, and with the market in decline such a chance may never repeat in his lifetime.

Mr_Shiftright

Exactly--he blew a Golden Moment that he may never see again. He's also selling in a declining 300SL market==20% decline in the last two years, and the bid was about 50% over market.

omarman

texases said:

Well, he had a chance to make a killing, now that's gone, and with the market in decline such a chance may never repeat in his lifetime.

BaT FAQ:

Can I buy a car that didn't meet reserve?

For cars that do not meet reserve, the seller receives the high bidder’s contact info upon close of auction as they have won the opportunity to purchase the car. From there, it is up the two of them to work out a deal. In cases where reserve is not met, we do not share other user contact info or broker deals after the close of auction.

I read posts from a Ferrari seller who confirmed getting the high bidder contact info when the auction did not meet reserve. But he added that BaT did not provide him with contact info from the other bidders. It ain't over til it's over.

omarman

Mr_Shiftright said:

Exactly--he blew a Golden Moment that he may never see again. He's also selling in a declining 300SL market==20% decline in the last two years, and the bid was about 50% over market.

Remember that "Golden Moment" in life when you sold a "rust bucket" for "about 50% over market" and pocketed a cool million in profit? Or not. If this particular BaT Golden Moment passed without a sale then maybe it's time to look on the bright side of life...

When the bids aren't high enough,
And the reserve is just too tough,

The cash and car may stay just where they are but, hey!

Always look on the bright side of life,
Always look on the light side of life.

fintail

Some men are Baptists, others Catholics…My father was an Oldsmobile man.

omarman

It's a clinker! I think that's a replica of the original movie car which is in Canada and now looks like this:

fintail

Son of a B would freeze up in the middle of summer on the Equator!

Now that I look at it, the sign doesn't say the car was used in the movie, and the car by the sign isn't a 1938 model at all. The movie car was a 1937 as pictured. Would be a shame if someone rodded a piece of memorabilia like that.

ab348

The green-painted Chevy rally wheels are particularly unfortunate.

fintail

I am not a fan of that type of rod/customl. At least make it a resto-mod, these rods just look like a 70s/80s trend to me. And to rod what might have been a famous movie car, I don't support that.

ab348

This is the type of older car to buy if you can find it. I think it is probably overpriced but the California lifespan and original paint do add to its value. Needs a full detailing/refreshing under the hood and elsewhere most likely, but the colors and style are just great. Too bad many of the photos are blurry.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/pontiac/catalina/2196024.html

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, it needs to be at about $9.5K--$12,5K range. Nice enough car, but engine bay is a mess and we don't know what it looks like underneath.

fintail

Pretty Pontiac. From what I recall about number sequences, those plates could be original to the car - a big badge of honor in CA.

Mr_Shiftright

Yes the plates look like the real deal.

omarman

If I were ever tempted to buy a an old "collectible" hobby car it might be a 1977 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz as shown in this youtube video tour. Not too pricey these days. But I'd need a place big enough to store it. And a big enough place to drive it when not in storage. Still it has something from the 70's that you just can't get today: A 2-door personal luxury car with 4 interior door release handles - 2 for the front occupants and 2 more for the imaginary rear seat passengers - and a wood-trimmed door pull on each door. Now that's luxury.

tjc78

If I was going 70s Eldo it would have to be convertible

fintail

Merry Christmas again from the MB Museum/Classic Center:

berri

He traded that one in on a red coupe with a dog

explorerx4

@berri,
That commercial is pretty cute.

andre1969

texases said:

Pretty common 'look' in the mid-'80s:

Whoever thought the '78 Malibu coupe would be such a fashion plate

benjaminh

From the first 1914 issue of the Saturday Evening Post....

fintail

I wonder if GM was influenced by the sharp lines of the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2. This car is a 1974 model:

benjaminh

benjaminh

benjaminh

benjaminh

Adjusting for inflation the $4850 price of a top line Packard in 1914 would mean something like 120k today....

benjaminh

benjaminh

benjaminh

benjaminh

All of these advertisements are from 1914 from the Saturday Evening Post....

benjaminh

An illustration of the massive stamping machine in the Overland car factory.

benjaminh

According to this 1914 ad, 90% of Studebaker owners work on their own cars....By the way, you probably won't find these ads elsewhere on the web. I just subscribed to the Saturday Evening Post for $15 as a holiday present to myself which gained me access to their archive, and then my son the computer programmer wrote a custom program just for me yesterday that made it possible to download high rez images from it. The complicated nature of these ads seems to respect the intelligence of the reader more than many ads today imho.

benjaminh

8-cylinders was clearly a big deal as Cadillac introduced its new car in September of 1914...."Bad roads lose much of their terror" in the new Cadillac.

benjaminh

As the 1915 model cars are being announced in the pages of the Saturday Evening Post, which was the biggest circulating national magazine in North America at the time, there's of course page after page of reporting on the war in Europe. These are all high rez images, and if you double click on them you should be able to read the test, which talks in sorrowful ways of the disaster unfolding as trench warfare begins and already a million or so had lost their lives....

benjaminh

benjaminh

As the Post has an uncharacteristically grim cover painting of a dead horse and Turkish solider fighting in the Great War in Europe, Studebaker is expanding its vast factory in Detroit....

benjaminh

As a woman watches an airplane with binoculars (and articles talk about how parts of the war will take place in the air), inside an article informs readers that the previous truism that an army travels on its belly (because soldiers have to eat) has been modified by the reality that an army must travel by gas-powered vehicles of various kinds. Ultimately they will be "Waging War With Gasoline."

benjaminh

As the baby new year tries vainly to sweep away the military hats of the Great War, the new enclosed Cadillac for 1915 is introduced that has aluminum panels and real silk curtains. The ad says that you travel in ease "almost oblivious to the mechanical means that give you motion." The Indian motorcycle rider is clearly seeking a different experience. I've never heard of Indian motorbikes before today....

benjaminh

As Winston Churchill is extolled as one of "England's Amazing War-Makers" in a 1915 article, which details how he goes into submarines, airplanes, etc., readers in the Americas can choose their latest flashlights, and get a box of SunKist oranges and lemons delivered by train and the postal service to their homes.

benjaminh

In 1915 the great opera singer Caruso could be heard on your Victrola, the first cross-country highway—the Lincoln Highway—was being built, you could see a quality Paramount movie at your local Paramount theater, and GMC would sell you an electric or gas truck for your business....

benjaminh

In 1915 Hudson was flying over all obstacles....