Since January is here it is not only the start to a new year - it's the start to a new auction season! January has traditionally been "auction heaven" when it comes to collector cars, and the last ten years have been predicted for muscle cars! Here are a few puny tips to get understand the process of an auction......and how if you can particiapte!
Selling at auction:
Sell Car
If you are a fan of the auction process, selling a car at auction can contribute an predicted thrill. Why? Well, the best way to get a good price when selling a car is to drop your sustain Price (the bottom price point you'll sell the car for) at just the right time. You're taking a gamble that the crowd is excited and that the people bidding on the car will stop at nothing to have it. They'll feed off of the crowd, be caught in the moment, and buy your car at a high price.....or will they? It can just as in effect go the opposite way, so it's always a gamble! (Just as a side note - if the car does not sell it's quite base for a deal to be worked after the fact between the seller and an interested buyer).
If you pick to go the auction route (and many people do) go in with your eyes open to the process. get ready your car ahead of time and bring as much documentation on it as possible. The inherent buyers will have the chance to scout your car prior to the car going over the auction block, and many times the real "sale" is made then! If you have a minimum dollar price you'll sell the car for, get that determined up front - don't guess at the last second when emotions are running high. Then all that's left to do is run the car across the block and cross your fingers! Go for it!
Buying at Auction:
When buying a car at auction it's best to go in prepared with a few things:
Knowledge of the cars advent across the block
Knowledge of the buying/selling prices in the manufactures for that make/model
A settle to walk away....without the car
Knowledge of the cars:
As mentioned above in the Selling section, you will have the chance to scout the cars ahead of time. This is your big chance to get the history on the car and find out those puny things that you'd never be able to guess by only looking it cross the auction block once. Peek under the hood. Look underneath. If the owner has documentation on it, it'll be there to report - you can count on it!
Knowledge of the buying/selling prices:
In just the same way you wouldn't buy a used car without looking up it's Blue Book value, you can do quite a bit of research on the auction prices that cars have been bought/sold for. There are many resources ready for this, but one of the slickest ready is Keith Martin's collector Car Price Tracker (which you can get a free one month subscription to by signing up for the newsletter on our website). Use this aid to see what the car of your dreams has been going for recently... And be sure to correlate apples to apples when doing so (i.e. Rough cars vs nice ones, true cars vs clones, etc.). Allowable preparation ahead of time will forestall you from paying too much... Which leads us to our next topic!
Be prepared to walk away....without the car:
It is hard to not come to be caught up in the emotional moment of an auction... But try to think more with your head than your heart when doing so, unless you're in effect wealthy and buying a muscle car to you is like buying a dozen eggs. You need to be prepared to walk away from the auction without the car you came to buy. Stick to your set price point and don't deviate. If you don't you're roughly guaranteed to spend too much, and if you're buying the car as an investment that can be the kiss of death!
If you're buying a car because it's what you've always wanted (maybe that Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am you wanted since you were 15 years old), you still need to go in prepared with a price point in mind. Now is not the time to mortgage your house. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If not, there is other muscle car out there somewhere.....and that was the one you were supposed to be with anyway.
Not Selling or Buying....just there for the show?
All of that being said, if you're just into the spectacle of auctions but have no interest in buying or selling, they'll all let you in for a small marker price... Or good yet, you can watch them on Tv! Barrett Jackson is typically on the Speed Channel, and Mecum is on Hd Theatre. Either one will offer you hours of watching gorgeous muscle cars in the full glory of High Definition. Be faithful though as watching those auctions is like a moth to a flame - you won't be able to take your eyes off of it!
- Robert Kibbe
TheMuscleCarPlace.com | Muscle Cars for Sale
