Im taking a car to the auction for the first time.

Well, time has come for me to change my collection a bit and I am going to part with a car for the first time. Keep in mind, im a buyer not a seller , so a lot of thought went into this. The car is going to be one of the prime time stars at Dana Mecums spring fling auction at Indy in May. I set a reserve so I don't lose my ass, and I really just wanna break even on it to buy something else. The car is a 1 of 5 1969 black on black original 426 Hemi Roadrunner.. Im hoping it does well.. The mecum photographer will be here in a week for a photo shoot so it can be put on the internet and in their showcase catalog... It should be a nervous next couple of months... Eric
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Sweet Road Runner! I just drove a numbers matching 69 383 4/spd a couple days ago. Best of luck with the auction!

 

Looks great!!

Good Luck, we'll all be watching on TV!!

 

why not BJ ?

 

Figure out your number, because they are going to beat the crap out of you to drop your reserve on the block.

 

Got a feeling your right. My net is in the 80's. If I get it then its gone.. I don't really want to bring it home but, I don't lose money on cars.. I will keep it if I have too...

 

+1 eloquently expressed!

 

First good luck on you pending sale. I think you are wise to set the minimum price you will take for your car prior to the auction, In this way you will be conditioned to walk away if the price is not what you want.

I also think the economy will be better , maybe much better shortly and you may get a better price for your car.

I plan on selling 3 of my cars at Mecum in a few years. I have bought 4 cars from them at auction and they are wonderful to deal with after the sale.

I bought a turbo 911 from them and when I got it home I was not able to register the car untill the title came. This meant no license plate and no driving.

Mecum corporate took care of me and sent by special mail a temporary plate l, So now I was legal to use my new toy.

They got me a regular plate within a week with registration a few days later. I was impressed.

Lee

 

Lee, Ive been nothing but impressed with mecum as well and I have only been to the florida auction in January where I bought my 355. I still will have the jitters im sure as it rolls across but Im pretty sure it will not be coming home.. Im not unrealistic with my price, nothing worse than a dreamer. I just want to move on to something more valuable and fun. Honestly, I never liked driving the Hemi, its a DOG!!! Eric

 

Eric best of luck ... I just sold a couple of cars at the Kissimmee auction and one of them was second highest of the auction and I will tell you the advice that I was told and that is have an educated reserve (vs emotional) and stick to it (don't be fooled by bid to prices on cars only sold prices count ).. either Frank or Dana will immediately start trying to get you to lower the reserve , in my case they got me all of what I wanted and then some so no problems (I stuck to my reserve) ..... anyway it was a long week and in the end it was an F chatter that was the underbidder and a fellow that I met on the first day talking at lunch that bought it.. all in all it was a good experience ... and the best part of MECUM vs BJ is they cut me a check for both cars within an hour of the second car selling (they were prime time about 10 cars apart )...
Another thought which is what I did was I added a second car that I owned and wanted to sell they put it right behind my car and it also bought very nice money..... (more then it might have otherwise )

 

Larry, my plan is similar to what you just explained. My number in my head is set, and I dont care how they get it.... Cutting the reserve or cutting the juice. Eric

 

Best of luck! I had zero success with the Mecum sale in Anaheim. I spent the $1,000 prime time on tv slot for my 1970 Super Bee 440 V Code 6-pack, #s matching. No money and there was a commercial when it went across the block. But you never know.

 

That sucks Jay, what did it hit and where did you want to be at??? Eric

 

It actually didn't hit any money. There were 2 other cars with the same specs as mine, no saled in the $80's. I had a $60k reserve that I lowered to $50 when it hit the block

 

Here she is, all advertised and ready for sale....

1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner 426 CI, Automatic for sale by Mecum Auction

 

Good luck with the sale. The very first car I ever road in was a Road Runner. A 1974 to be exact on the way home from the hospital after being born. Here is my old '70 Road Runner at Barrett-Jackson. I can't believe it brought this much money for a 383 car!

1970 PLYMOUTH ROAD RUNNER Lot 75 | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

 

That is great money. Especially for an auto. That FC7 color made that dollar amount for u. Well done. I hope the black and the 426 boosts mine...

 

That is great money. Especially for an auto. That FC7 color made that dollar amount for u. Well done. I hope the black and the 426 boosts mine...

 

Unfortunately I sold it in 2000 for $5500. Of course it wasn't this nice at the time. I was shocked it brought so much since they made some changes. The car was one of the most documented cars I have ever seen. Two build sheets and a window sticker that looked like it was just printed, every receipt since it was new and virtually nothing changed on the car. It had a larger cam but the carb, exhaust manifolds, distributor were all correct to the car. It was highly optioned with buckets, console, A/C and the lights in the hood. The big problem was it was some ugly vanilla envelope color from the factory and it had 14" rallye (road) wheels, it was also a stripe delete car so the factory color would have really been bad. It was repainted lemon twist yellow when I had it and then changed to Plum Crazy with the Magnum 500's later on. It sold at an auction in 2004 for like $45k which I thought was a lot considering it was a 383/AT car but I was shocked when it brought this much at Barrett-Jackson a few years later. I was planning to hack it up and put a HEMI in it but I couldn't do that to a car so documented so I am glad it is in this condition now.

 

Eric;
How did you make out .. did the car sell ....
LarryH

 

No sale $67,000

 

I had my old truck at Indy auction and didn't sell. On line I'll bet 55% of cars sold, a rather low #. I was so disappointed with the whole show and weather. I paid 1k for a prime spot according to Mecum and I went off 4 cars from the end of the show and everybody already left. Maybe the bar tender would buy it?? I think they really are a bunch of used car salesmen full of hype and little else.

 

What is the general feeling about these auctions for "run of the mill" cars?

Are the auctions a place to get a bargain, or does stuff go for more than it is worth, due to the auction's atmosphere?

 

crapshoot

 

Update, damn thing fell 8k short. I needed 75 to be even and unfortunately I was on dealer day. Every yahoo with a flashlight and a muscle car website was there on Thursday, not collectors like me. Fun experience though. I actually did get a bit pissed cuz I had so much time invested into the car and transport. So, I bought this out of anger....LOL
Image Unavailable, Please Login