Event Coverage MECUM Auction

Great episode

 

Be it Mecums or Barrett-Jackson the earlier in the week the car sells the less it brings normally. I'd have to say some of the factors are not being as good as they look on TV or in the photos, a big one is non traditional builds being seriously outdated. = high dollar build done between the 80's and early 2000's with paint, interior design and wheels that show those in the know that the car was built in 1988 and you remember what issue of Street Rodder it was featured in but now it won't even get a second look at car shows unless you take it far enough off the beaten path the guys putting on the event have never seen it before. That Orange Riviera might be a prime example there. Hot lick car in it's day but orange paint on a Rivera might have been the deal killer for a lot of guys who were seeing an extra 15/20 K going out for a repaint when they were looking at it. The Blue 40, From what I have seen 40 Ford buyers are real particular on all the details on the cars they buy or they don't spend the money on them. A buddy of mine took a real beating on a 40 sedan he took in trade on a roadster pickup and I even posted photos of it in the classifieds here and never got one response even though it was a pretty traditional build.

 

Thanks for the update !!!

it is not a gender reveal party Don

 

^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^

 

That's how my little Ranchero was. Story was a local guy bought it at some Mecum auction (alcohol may have been involved?) for something like $15k, I got it for MUCH less (although its the most i've ever paid for a car). It looks good from 20 feet but when you get up close, to the trained eye its definitely amateur. Fiberglass fenders, fresh quarters slapped over the old ones (that are already rusting), high dollar one piece floor replacement but never pulled the smugglers lid to fix the rust under there (or replace the ORIGINAL shocks), brakes would drag out of the blue for no reason, hideously ugly and uncomfortable crossover SUV seats. Just alot of nickel and dime shit that if you were paying someone to fix it, it would not have been worth it. Good thing I'm my cheapest labor It's good enough as a daily driver for me, I'm too poor to have nice cars.

 

How would you like to be making payments on 1956 chevy or a 1940 ford not me.

 

There are no end of stories about Mercum and how they represent cars and bikes going over their blocks. Not just quality and condition of cars but issues with bidding processes and Titles. If I was to buy from them I would want to be there and do my own inspections.

 

And a 70s 4x4 can bring well over 100k
Just visited a shop that the average 4x4 from the 70s was low to mid 300s
Maybe 35/6 fords will get cheap enough

 

"How would you like to be making payments on 1956 chevy or a 1940 ford not me."

I would rather make payments on an old car i can fix myself and hopefully might go up in value than make payments on a new car that you cannot even fix yourself and watch it depreciate at a fast pace. Just look at the repair shops at the dealerships, they are overrun with newer cars needing work. I cannot believe how busy they have gotten the last few years.

 

Market is weird lately. You are seeing a exodus of folks dumping classics they bought as "investments" due to economy being down, yet probably have a vehicle note for a depreciating asset in the driveway.

Some cars are dumb cheap, and others are like giraffe pu$$y high.

 

Bad argument. Dealerships were overrun with new cars needing repairs in 1956, too.

I’m not getting in my 59 F100 or 36 Ford , or 65 Falcon tomorrow morning and driving 2100 miles to Tucson, but I gave no qualms about doing it with the 24 Maverick or even the 18 Ram.

 

People who watch these auctions make me not want to ever build another vehicle.

 

I hung together some absolute junk to make a yard art 31 roadster and I've had guys see pictures of it in the background of other pictures and insist they want to buy it. I tell them that it's a great example of why you never want to buy anything from a picture. I won't sell it for that reason. If someone actually came by and looked it over and let me tell them everything that is junk about it then I'd let it go but it would need to be cheap.

 

I've done bodywork most of my life, and I'm always shocked to hear about the cars made of cardboard and duct tape or whatever, because it's really difficult to make bodywork look good over the top of shitty sheetmetal. I'd like to know who these guys are, who can make a car look good, shiny and straight without doing any proper metalwork underneath.

As for Mecum, I was there in Florida in January and I think I bought the cheapest thing in the auction, this Trico hose rack thing. I like it, it was fun to bid and fun to watch in person. Some of the cars I saw were top notch, I think you're only likely to get "taken" if you don't do your pre-inspection homework.

 

I need one of those guys to work on my fairly decent metal.