quote:
Originally posted by DOES 200:
... Auctions (especially Barrett Jackson no reserve) typically suck ...
The "auctioneers" are nothing more than used car salesmen. Please think about that for a moment, let it sink in. It kinda changes your perspective ... and expectations. I've dealt with them behind the scenes, and they've taken me when they had their chance. Their morals, like the morals of any used car salesman, are not to be trusted. The public auctions are heightened emotional venues for the auctioneers to reap profits above what a car may be truly worth. The sale prices of these public auctions cannot be trusted to represent the true value of a collectible automobile, and should not be quoted during private negotiations.
The folks who sell their cars at these auctions are speculators. They hope to make "above market value" even after the auctioneers take their cut. I don't recommend public auctions where one person is bidding openly against another. If you must bid on an auctioned car, I would hope the bids are private, in which each bid is concealed. The best way to buy a car is for two well meaning people to get together privately and hash-out a price that is acceptable to both of them. Unfortunately we seldom hear about those prices, but that's just the way it is. The value of a used car is based on supply, demand, condition ... and the amount of time the seller is willing to wait for the right buyer.
-G