Anyone like or hate Barrett-Jackson? (muscle car, race, buy, sell)

[Deez Nuttz]

I think I more the less hate them.

Seems if it weren't for them exposing to the world how much cash people are willing to fork over for an old car, all these classic cars would still be affordable to the common man.

Now if you want a hot rod and don't have much to work with you are forced to find alternatives. And most of the time those alternatives end up being something everyone else and their brother has or something that is difficult to find parts for. Or worst yet something that would otherwise be "illegal".

Of course to a sellers market, they get on their high horse with what they see the fools at Barrett-Jackson paying for old iron. The sad thing is this once great hobby is now seen as a financial gain.

[doc1]

Entertaining to watch but like you, I don't like what it's done to the car hooby.

[exhdo1]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

I think I more the less hate them.

Seems if it weren't for them exposing to the world how much cash people are willing to fork over for an old car, all these classic cars would still be affordable to the common man.

Now if you want a hot rod and don't have much to work with you are forced to find alternatives. And most of the time those alternatives end up being something everyone else and their brother has or something that is difficult to find parts for. Or worst yet something that would otherwise be "illegal".

Of course to a sellers market, they get on their high horse with what they see the fools at Barrett-Jackson paying for old iron. The sad thing is this once great hobby is now seen as a financial gain.

It's not only the car market. Almost anything that is collectable and in limited supply will demand a price. One of my hobbies is collecting watches. I have been doing that for nearly 30 years. The prices of collectable watches over that time has grown incredibly.

[burdell]

I think good or bad the auctions just reflect US culture, a belief that you can keep score with 'stuff'.

Automotive wise, on TV it looks as if many of their cars are just too overdone for my taste, assembled to a condition far beyond that which they left the factory in.

It's winter entertainment but for an 'event' I'd much rather attend a vintage race week-end where I can see, hear, smell fine old race cars in action.

[momof2dfw]

As exhdo said, it is not just the car market. My husband started collecting Hot Wheels about 14 years ago. He did not want the new ones but the old Red Lines like he still had from when he was a kid. Those went nuts too. Someone heard that people were paying big bucks for Hot Wheels and they would be trying to sell one in their garage sale or ebay for a couple $100 bucks just because it was a "Hot Wheels". What they did not realize it was only certain ones that could get higher prices and they BETTER BE in MINT condition.

We collect cars too. Hubby went to Barrett-Jackson and we have watched it on tv for several years. Because it is a no reserve auction there are some steals that can happen. Just depends on what your looking for. I saw PLENTY of cars roll across the block this year that went for FAR LESS than what I would have paid for them. If I'd been there I would have bought them. LOL!!

Oh, another item that got "hot" several years ago is antique fishing lures. There are TONS of things out there that have goen thru the roof just because someone has one in their "storage" or whatever and they heard someone paid big bucks for one from someone else. That is just how a free market works. Not much we can do about it.

[sunsprit]

I like it. It's brought a lot of exposure to the real world value of this hobby.

Without it, folks were dealing "blind" in their local circle of car clubs, regional shows, and private sales. Many buyers were getting taken advantage of because they couldn't see what was available to compare at various price points.

An auction is a great place for "true price discovery", and several auction houses are now giving the sellers (and buyers) the exposure they deserve.

This is not a "new" trend, by any means. I worked for several car collectors in the 1960-late 1980's era who'd been collecting cars, building up hot rods, and otherwise storing and restoring many valuable cars. In the early days, they were collecting top line USA built marques ... Dusie, Auburn, Cord, Packard, Lincoln, Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow, Kissel, and many other fine cars ... and collecting 212, 250, & 275 Ferrari's ... along with other exceptional Euro cars. You hardly see these cars at the auctions anymore, because they've all been "collected" ... so, the auction marketplace moved on down the line to others, like '60's-70's USA muscle cars. You, too, could have bought these for very low dollars back than ...

I knew folks that built up custom "hot rods" from Model T's and Model A's ... as long as they could find a rolling chassis, when there were lots of them around. And lots of parts to build them up with, too. Put a small block chevy motor and a jag rear end and a wild "big daddy roth" paint job and a custom interior and custom oversize wheels ... it was almost a formulaic exercise. Most did it for the fun, they didn't make a lot of money off of it. By the time you buy all the parts and put all the labor into it today, you still may not make any money off of it. We saw a lot of cars go through Barret this year bring a lot less than the exhorbitant amount of money spent on them ....

A quick glance at old Hemming's will reveal how long this car hobby has been a big bucks industry in the USA. I recall seeing folks in the 1960's-1970's searching through all the old boneyards for certain cars and marques of NOS parts from closed out dealership auctions. Going to all the small towns in the country, looking for the storage yard out back at a lot of farms ... one fellow I knew flew a Piper Cub, low and slow, checking out all the farms and ranches. He'd buy what he could and have his partner with a trailer pick up the stuff. If you'd met the owners of those cars and parts bins off the farm, they'd tell you nothing was for sale .... it all had family history, or was going to be saved for "someday", but showing up on the farm firsthand, he could make deals on stuff.

I'll bet there's still a lot of collectible stuff in barns and garages and storage facilities all over the country .... you just have to go find it and be in the right place at the right time to buy it.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

I think I more the less hate them.

I've been hitting The Barrett-Jackson Shows in Scottsdale for about 15 plus years now and LOVE 'EM.

Watching the auctions on TV does absolutely nothing for the shows. It is one of those "gotta be there" type of situation in order to enjoy the ambiance of the experience.

[Drover]

It seems your complaints are misplaced and should be directed at the people who are paying these outrageous prices for cars rather than at the people facilitating the exchange.

[1970pelle]

Drover hits it on the head.I find watching the show on tv to be very entertaining.Which is what its ment to be.To get the real feel you would have to be there in person.I don't recall the number given about the sale of cars for 25k and under.But it was surprizing.A lot of cars.

[Deez Nuttz]

Actually my comments are more directed at both, but face it, Barrett-Jackson has exposed how much some of these people are willing to pay, which in turn makes anyone who is watching think that rusted out not running old car in the back yard is worth a gold mine.

Back in 1990 we bought a 1969 Nova 2 door that was running and drivable with minimal rust for $800. Now the same car in the same condition couldn't be had for less than $4k.

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Without it, folks were dealing "blind" in their local circle of car clubs, regional shows, and private sales. Many buyers were getting taken advantage of because they couldn't see what was available to compare at various price points.

I don't feel the sellers were not being taken advantage of if the car they were selling sold for what they were asking. Remember, it's only worth what the buyer is willing to pay, and what the seller is willing to sell it for. And at Barrett-Jackson, people get tied up in a bidding war hoping to beat the other guy.