2019-06-01 Classic Cars

(Jacob Rumans) #1

16


C


lassicCarAuctions(alongwithitscloserelativeSilverstone
Auctions)seemstohavereallynailedholdingauctionsduring
shows at theNEC –somethingotherauctionhouseshave
struggled with in the past. Its latest sale, held alongside the
Restoration Show, saw 190 cars spread out across twodays
and brought an impressive result with 79.5% of them selling.
CCA does have the big advantage of focusing on sub-£50k
cars, which just happens to be where most of the market action is
happening at the moment. It didn’t even need to resort to offeringlarge
numbers at ‘no reserve’, and more cars went for above than below
theirestimates.Germancarsstoodoutasperformingbest.Highlight
wasprobablythe£29,082BMW325iSportpictured,a collector-grade
example with67k miles and fullBMW history. Butit’salsoabout
timing.Ayearagoitmaynothavereachedits£22-26kestimate.

1990 Mercedes-Benz 42 0SEC£21,
ClassicCarAuctions,NEC,March 23
Right, let’s tick some boxes. Range-topping 5.
V8? No. Super-low mileage? 64,000 is lean but
not outstanding. Cast-iron history? No, only
partial. This Merc relied entirely on bidders liking
what they saw and disregarding all else, so it
certainly passed that test, given its £12,000 top
estimate. It was a stunning car to behold, with
seats that looked barely sat in. Even so, it’s still
hard to see how it beat top 560SEC money.

196 4 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider£123,
H&HAuctions,Duxford,March 20
The £80-100k estimate was probably playing
it safe. It’s about correct for a 2600 Spider in
this condition. A rare UK-market car, it was first
owned by a mate of Fangio’s, had complete
history, a genuine 44k miles, and still glowed
from a bare-metal restoration carried out around
ten years ago. The ‘AR 100’ numberplate didn’t
hurt either. It doesn’t affect values of other
2600s; it was simply very special.

199 4 ToyotaSupra Turbo£132,
RMSotheby’s,Florida,March 8
Supras of all generations have become
hot property of late, against an otherwise
unpredictable market for modern classics.
However, this immaculate low-miler has taken
things to another level entirely. There can be
few about that match this MkIV’s 11,200 miles,
so it has plenty of ‘find another’ factor, but we
are still puzzling over the price paid, which far
outstripped its already upbeat £76-92k estimate.

Market indicatorsDifferentiating between outliers and new-normals is the name of the game in 2019

The rightcarsat therightvenueproducedanalmosttextbook auction
scoreforClassicCarAuctionsat theNEC.Themajority were landed within
estimate,butthere wasenoughaboveandbelowto maintain interest.

What a difference a year
makes – particularly when
you’re selling an E30 3 Series

chasing cars

Russ Smith’s market analysis

CCA shows sub-£50k certainty

Everyman classics do the trick at the nEc Practical classics resto show

not
sold

20.5%
sold
above
estimate

19.5%

sold
below
estimate

14.2%

sold
without
reserve

11.6%

sold
within
estimate

34.4%

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