Anybody have experience of selling their car at auction?

[anothere21323i]

Hi all,

Like it says in the title, has anybody on here got any experience of selling a classic car via one of the big, well-known auction houses (i.e. Bonhams, Coys, etc)?

I've got a LHD 55k (km) from new 1980 3.0 SC that is in lovely condition. It lived in Japan for nearly all of it's life so it is in truly rust-free condition (they don't salt the roads there, plus the car was stored for 16 years). It had a full suspension and brake rebuild as part of the recommissioning when it arrived back in the UK in 2008 and has had a recent top end rebuild by Mike Bainbridge. It's on twin 40mm PMOs and brand new SSIs.

It occurred to me that because it is LHD, Europe would be the best place to sell - and in particular, one of the big classic car shows (Techno Classica for example) where there is a large concentration of classic car enthusiasts, would be the right environment?

I really want to gain as much as I can from the car, and I don't feel that the UK is the place to do that, despite the fact that the car has a really fabulous non sunroof shell.

But I have heard some horror stories from people who have entered their cars at such auctions - does anybody have some positive experience?

I do hope so as it seems to me to be the best way to do it?

Thanks in advance!

[anothere21323i]

Nobody?

[richkaz]

I did it once with Coys. Never again.
The only auction house I would trust to do a good job is Barons at Sandown Park.I've bought from them and they are genuine and fair.
Auction sale rates look low just now. H&H used to sell more than 85% .They don't now. At least Barons keep the commission low.
Your car is an old Porsche so why not sell it here ?
When I advertised my last 911 on DDK, most serious enquiries were not UK based and it eventually sold to abroad.
Good luck

[Mick Cliff]

Your car is an old Porsche so why not sell it here ?
When I advertised my last 911 on DDK, most serious enquiries were not UK based....

Similar experience
Try IB's as well?

[anothere21323i]

I did it once with Coys. Never again.

This is exactly what I've heard elsewhere - why was the experience so bad? If you'd rather not say publicly, if you wouldn't mind PM'ing me it would be much appreciated!

Your car is an old Porsche so why not sell it here ?
When I advertised my last 911 on DDK, most serious enquiries were not UK based and it eventually sold to abroad.
Good luck

I think what I had in mind was capturing the most amount of enthusiasts in one place - it has always struck me when I've visited events like Techno Classica for example, how much higher the asking prices are for the cars offered for sale. So why not tap into that? The car is LHD so it's the perfect environment?

I suppose I haven't considered advertising it in the UK because of the asking price I have in mind, which will attract the usual 'it's just an SC, don't be silly' comments. Have a look at these links - I'm not going to be asking anything like these amounts, but it gives you an idea of what's going on in Europe:

http://www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=v4bgiabwtccg

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... geNumber=2

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... geNumber=3

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... geNumber=4

You get the idea!

[Nige]

I'd definitely put it on Impact Bumpers, LHD or RHD doesn't make much difference, though there are many members within Europe and many UK owners with LHD. The right price, good pictures and plenty of well written information should see it sell pretty easily.

[anothere21323i]

I'd definitely put it on Impact Bumpers, LHD or RHD doesn't make much difference, though there are many members within Europe and many UK owners with LHD. The right price, good pictures and plenty of well written information should see it sell pretty easily.

I'm on IB and there is quite a long thread on the car there too. I'm out of the country at the mo till January so I can't really do anything till I get back, so don't want to advertise it just yet.

But am just bracing myself for abuse and derision when I state how much I want for it!!

[Nige]

Thing is all those links are dealers, you just have to look at what dealers want over here for low milers. So effectively you want a dealer price for a private sale, provided you don't want a quick sale then go for it.

Why not try the website above that your links are from?

[anothere21323i]

I think what I was trying to demonstrate with those links (and yes, agreed, they are dealers) is that in mainland Europe, there doesn't seem to be the same stigma attached to SCs that we have here. Like I said, I'm not going to be asking that sort of money - it would be naive/unrealistic. But I do want to tap into that European marketplace, hence my question about the various auction houses - and I thought that perhaps DDK members might have more experience of that than most.

Perhaps a well written, factual advert with decent photos on Mobile.de and Autoscout in English, German and Italian might do the trick?

[964RS]

Is the mileage 100% proveable? I tend to find anything from japan is not usually.

I sold my 67S through Coys at the Techno Classica at Essen couple of years ago. They actually sold it outside the auction. They were ok I suppose apart from telling me I'd get my money on Friday (this was on the Monday) and then telling me on the Friday it would be 6 weeks. Then paying me by cheque which after opening a euro bank account they kindly stopped for no apparent reason....

Other than that they were ok, not the brightest buttons to deal with.

It was LHD but don't think they got more than it was worth over here tbh, just saved me having the hassle of selling it.

Why not give it to a euro dealer on SOR if you think it will achieve so much more in euroland?

I have a feeling you may not be being very realistic about its value though (even though I've no idea on what you think it is) just based on your posts and I'm not sure the europeans view the SC as maybe you are hoping they do?

But best of luck anyway and hope you achieve what you want

[anothere21323i]

Why not give it to a euro dealer on SOR if you think it will achieve so much more in euroland?

True - a good option.

I have a feeling you may not be being very realistic about its value though (even though I've no idea on what you think it is) just based on your posts and I'm not sure the europeans view the SC as maybe you are hoping they do?

Maybe you're right - I had in mind about 25k Euro (roughly 22k Sterling) which may well be too much for a private sale. At the end of the day, a car is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it, so I do want to set a realistic, achieveable target that takes into account the condition of the car as well as what has been invested in it (not that I'm expecting to recover much of that!).

But best of luck anyway and hope you achieve what you want

Thanks!

[Nige]

All you can do is try, personally I think perceived stigma attached to SC is disappearing and it's the overall condition of Impact Bumper that determines the price as more buyers seem to interested in rust issues rather than 915 v G50 or 3.0 v 3.2. So long you can back the condition and mileage up then just maybe you'll see a better price than just your usual SC. Only problem I see is when a premium price is requested the buyer usually wants full history, proof and factory fresh originality. Now those PMOs could be your problem as with almost any mod on any car no matter whether it improves the overall package doesn't always add to the value.

Take Anthony's car, almost perfect for most buyers once he put the standard interior back in. Sold within a few weeks, even though it's RHD that's what you're up against and you've got to get across why yours is worth more:
http://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/inde ... opic=18854

I know good LHDs seem to fetch a premium in Europe, but I'd try and sell privately out there rather than through auction.