Bonhams Gstaad auction & results

$11 mil for the Enzo and the guy took a pass? What was he hoping for? If this was a real bid, he should have taken it.....twice (can you naked short a sportscar

 

you misread. 1.1 mil

 

Based on the auction's web site the 1974 365 BB (red) and the Lusso were no sale. Can any one confirm?

 

Ummmmmm. Not quite. One auction does not make a trend and some of these prices were very close to all time highs. STOP WISHING PRICES TO BE LOWER.

 

here is another observation...i was standing within 10 ft of some of europes more famous 'dealers', and none of them moved a pinkie throughout the auction, (except at the start of the boano when bonhams did not do the seller any favors by opening at 150k and nobody had said anything in a few seconds). otherwise, no movement. what i take from that is that they had no commissions to fill, their clients money is on the sidelines, their own money is on the sidelines, and prices have further to fall.

 

The only difference being that while 9/11 was driven by political uncertainty now the million-billion dollar party seems to have no end

 

NS Daytona @ 165k means that a lot more people will
Soon be able to afford great cars and that the speculators
Will have to find other bubbles to inflate.

All's Good.

 

Maybe not, but yesterday's market value for the cars which sold is absolutely defined by these prices. Of course Jim is correct, "chandelier bidding" is usually noted as an allowed practice in the bidders/sellers agreements.

 

You are in denial.
Stop wishing prices to be higher!!!

Welcome to Q42008!

 

Amen!!

 

Can some one talk to me like am I am a 5 year old. How does a NS Daytona at $165K translate: making it easier for many joint the hobby. That's going to cause quite a seen. Tomorrow's head line : Buyers exited with cash at hand ready to pull the trigger pronto for a Daytona coupe @ fire sale price of only < $165K!

Gene.

 

The 2+2s certainly seemed to be strong. I wonder if that says something about the market segments?

$150k for a GTE and $127k for a 330 2+2 are pretty high, IMO.

 

Political Uncertainty! Maybe in Switzerland, but not in the US and especially not in the Northeast. Business and travel ground to halt, the markets were closed for a week. The Fed unofficially took rates to 0%, while everyone criticizes Bush today when he told people to go shopping, that was in actuality is what probably prevented things from being much worse than they were, since almost 70% of the US economy is made up of Consumer Spending.

Which is what the 93% of the population that are employed today and the 94% of the people that are paying their mortgages on time should do. The US is still the engine that drives the rest of the world.

 

So No sale for the 275 GTB and the Lusso ?

 

It seems that this auction was mostly hindered by sellers with reserves set too high. I don't blame them for trying to get what they think their car is worth. It's just very unfortunate timing to be in this market as a seller. For my part it's kind of hard to be a buyer. I began looking for cars last summer as an enthusiast with cash. Then things started going south in the financial markets. I have put all of my cash in a safe place and will not even consider a purchase untill next summer, and maybe not even then. I have waited a long time to be in a position to purchase, but I want to be smart about it, so I will continue to wait.

 

Correct. The house bid to the reserve but there were no
Real buyers at that amount.

Buyers weren't even willing to go beyond 164k for a Daytona.

We're now at the point where restoration no longer makes
Economic sense.

As SCM says: Pay for the restoration, get the car for
Free when you buy many restored cars at auction today.

 

Says 'No Reserve". Matching numbers, original interior. In need of a full resto. That will be the most compelling auction to watch! Anyone want to predict a sale price?

 

That car came to the UK so assuming the owner was converting £-CHF to buy and CHF - £ to sell, the pounds collapse will have offset a good chunk if not all of the loss.

 

It depends where the cars were registered also. For any swiss registered cars a 15- 22.5 % import tax would be required if they were exported to the uk, or any other eec country (as ch is not an eu country). Don't know about taxes to get old cars to the states. Also probably zero British buyers as £ has dropped 25% to swiss franc recently.

No doubt that this was a bad sale though - reserves set to high and everyone keeping it in their trousers.

 

here is another observation...i was standing within 10 ft of some of europes more famous 'dealers', and none of them moved a pinkie throughout the auction, (except at the start of the boano when bonhams did not do the seller any favors by opening at 150k and nobody had said anything in a few seconds). otherwise, no movement. what i take from that is that they had no commissions to fill, their clients money is on the sidelines, their own money is on the sidelines, and prices have further to fall.

That is exactly right Ross, when dealers and agents do not bid that means they have weak order books and every one will be sitting on their wallets. I am surprised that prices were as high as they were. Reserves were way too high, more cars could have been sold if the owners took lower reserves. Things are much better here that at other auctions for American classics where many collectors are not buying at all.

I also hear that due to recent investment scandals there will be some very good cars coming on the market in 6 months. There may be some very nice 30's Bentleys available as an example.

 

US 2.5 percent import duty

 

In a nutshell, I think that all the info above and elsewhere point to the fact that there are really no buyers. We are in the initial phase of capitulation, where sellers gradually come to grips with reality and prices drift downward with few sales. Eventually, the prices will get down to the point where people who want the cars will buy them, but it won't be for speculation or investment- the saviors of this situation will be real buyers. I know everyone hates Ebay, and I am not saying that it tells all, but if one looks at the pages of recent completed auctions, all you see are pages and pages and pages of no sale, by far the majority with no bids.

We have met the Ferrari buyer of the future, and he is us. But not yet.

 

Can the fact a NS occurs on a certain car be perceived were sellers are holding strong and not giving in to the lowered demand ; equaling lower prices? That is one way to look at it. Another is a reality check has not occurred and after a couple of these high level auctions, the reserves will be set lower with reality sinking in. Maybe the auctions them self's will need to guide the sellers and in some cases stop accepting the consignments. That said, I still feel that there are those that will sell only if the price is in line with their expectations no matter how bad it gets out there. Those are the ones that do not need to sell of course and probably, as many of us do, have a strong connection to their beloved automobile. There will no doubt be the ones that must sell no mater what for various reasons, and that's when that Daytona will be had at Bonhams' NS price of $164K!?

Gene.
PS There is also the "scared sh*tless syndrome" in play. Where no one wants to part with their money no matter how good the price is. What if the price is going to be lower once again next Summer?

 

Hi Geno,
I think you are correct, there are definitely people that will not sell, and many of those probably will not sell regardless of price. In my post, I specifically said that "sellers" were coming to grips with reality. I'm certainly not a seller, and thus I hope prices drop precipitously. I will still have the cars I bought years ago because I wanted them (euro glass 308 and BB512 plus many other non-Ferrari) and I will have the opoortunity to add to my collection at fire sale prices. What could be better?
Frankly, I think any smart SELLER out there right now should drop his price below perceived market and make a sale, as it seems essentially certain that prices will drop further. Stocks or cars, wise investors get out quick in market meltdowns. Hopefully, the investors will go back to stocks and leave us alone to enjoy the cars we love at market values that are set by users, not speculators.
Jon