Classic car auction report

[meggersdog]

On Saturday I attended Anglia car auctions quarterly classic auction.With over 100 lots the place was quite busy,not as packed as when Top Gear filmed there last year (Thankfully).

Pictures courtessy of here http://www.angliacarauctions.co.uk/31447/146459.html as my camera batteries were flat.

First lot of the day is often a bargain at auctions,not here though, a Mercedes 190E 2.6 in good condition with nice slightly worn black leather.Strong money I thought at £1600 plus 5% + vat buyer's fee

Next up (for us anyway) A very nice Volvo 240 estate effectively one owner.Bought new by a funeral company that was later taken over by the Co-op.The rear seats had been put back in but it still retained some strengthening on the boot floor.Peter Simpson was there and this was his sort of thing but even the great Volvoman stopped bidding at £850.It went on to make £1300 plus fees.

One of the vehicles I was interested in is next (lot 9).Peter said he could see me in this.A Renault 4 F6 van.1986 and taxed and tested.Looked like it had been resprayed in a small single garage,in the dark,with the door open whilst a farmer was combining nearby.It really needed painting again only properly.I started the bidding at £200 and stopped at a generous £440.It went on to make £680.Plus fees that's £740 out the door !

A pub landlord special (lot 14) is next.1988 Jaguar xj40 with 44k miles and history looked a good buy for £750.However it was a 2.9 with cloth seats,digital dash and still sitting on metric rims.

I really wanted this one but at the moment it was all it's money.One lady plus the supplying dealer owned.58k original dealer plates and stickers with a slight ripple on a rear door and scuffs on the rear bumper.It was a very nice Renault 9 Boston I started the bidding at £200 again and was the under bidder and sold for £480 plus fees.

A scruffy Porsche 944 with silly stickers trying (unsuccessfully) to hide the filler was my next attempt at buying something.Haha,I tried to start the bidding at £300 but the auctioneer took three fingers to mean £200.I soon dispatched Paul from Classic car weekly in this bidding war and very nearly got this 126k mile taxed and tested machine for £650.I made the eventual buyer pay an extra 50 quid as I slipped a last bid in just as the hammer was about to fall.Finished at £950 + fees.

Straight after the Porsche was a fantastic looking Royale with pimptastic burgandy velor trim.2.8 auto 58k miles,history and almost a years MOT.Everyone seems to shy away from starting the bidding on cheaper classics but I was there again with a rock steady £200 opener.Jeez it was like a Mexican wave with this one.I walked away on my final bid of £900.These carb fed Royales seem to be worth half what a Monza will fetch.The lucky buyer paid fifty quid more.

 

Well that was it for me and I left empty handed but stayed until the end.Ford Capris seem to be on the rise.There was three here yesterday,a 2.0 S and a 3.0 S both making two grand and a tatty 2.8 with dents,rusty scuttle and wings and declared having a noisey gearbox selling bang on the lower estimate at £950.The sporty Ford to watch seems to be the XR3i.The 1983 one here was in very good order although it has had some paint but matched well.73k miles and been in storage possibly in need of stem seals as I noticed a touch of blue smoke.I looked at this car before the auction started.The header tank was low on water and still retained a bit of pressure.With the low water light glaring from the dash it didn't deter the "remembering my youth" brigade from bidding it up to an eventual £2300 selling price.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I must say, all of that lot looks horribly salty to me!!! Unless that merc has a detailed service history or supa low mileage or something, I would say its a £700 car on eBay.

[pogweasel]

I agree, assume most of these buyers must have been private garys as you'd make the square root of f*ck all on most of that.

 

Though there's a chance the Merc may turn up with a load of waffle in one of the glossies, always loads of comically priced three-point-stars in CC/C&SC etc.

 

XR3's seem to make decent coin now, another of those motors I wish I had invested in a few years ago. Twatbags.

[meggersdog]

I agree 97k with history would be a grand tops on the bay.You can sometimes pick up the odd bargain ebay fodder there but not this time.One of the E types was bought from BCA Peterborough a couple of months back for 15 large provisionally selling here with nothing done to it for £18500.Nice work if you can get it.

[Mr Lobster]

R4 van would make a nice thing with a repaint. That ones been round the 'bay a few times and I don't recall the listing mentioning the paint...

 

Still, you could throw a decent few hundred on paint and probably get your money back or at least not really lose much as values do seem to be going up. (Good).

[meggersdog]

Being held on a Saturday meant there was alot of private buyers.I did see a few local traders but I think they were selling rather than buying.Mr Simpson sold his Minx convertible but was cagey about what else he entered.The chap who entered the E.type sold five cars the last time and probably entered more than just the Jag.There was atleast one classic car dealer,even at those prices he bought four.ACA are on to a good thing with 4 quid entrance fee and private buyers mean higher prices so more commission for the auction.

Thought I'd write the report as prices seemed high for what appeared to be mainly average looking cars.

[Rod/b]

I've been to the last few classic auctions at ACA and the prices some of the stuff goes for is astonishing. What's more, i'm surprised half the stuff get any bids at all; if you have a even a half-close look at some of it, you can see the bodge and fresh paint as clear as day.

[FredTransit]

Jeezuz those prices are astounding! I thought auctions were supposed to be cheaper, not more, than market value.

[Polystratus]

Jeezuz those prices are astounding! I thought auctions were supposed to be cheaper, not more, than market value.

Bit like eBay sometimes, some of the bidding isn't genuine and is done to hike the price up, of course then the bidder's get carried away, a lot people think auctions are a way to get things cheaper, sometimes it's not.

[AnthonyG]

It's rare for a classic auction to be held on a Saturday, so there were lots of private buyers there. Most are held on weekdays.

 

I wnet to have a look at the blue Mercedes 280 saloon, turned out to be a bit of a shitter with rusty sills and the engine smoking like Dot Cotton.

 

I liked the 1960 Mini, it went for a reasonable £2500 considering what early Minis go for these days.

 

That XR3 had a nice hole behind the plastic sill cover on the drivers side, lots of rust flakes on the ground underneath it!

 

I was surprised by how much the Mercedes 190 and the Volvo estate made.

[trigger]

The results are online now.

 

 

This sounds cheap for £1050 with 11 months mot.

[meggersdog]

That mini was declared a CAT.C write off in 1999.Can't believe the Royale is still available.That A40 did appear to be the only bargain of the day.I was stood next to Peter Simpson when it went through and he thought it was a bargain too.

[Guest]

That A40 is a grand too cheap at current prices, soon to appear on ebay perhaps?