|
|
Barrett-Jackson Auction Chevrolet Camaros - Bidding WarsCamaros are still the hot ticket at Barrett-Jackson Orange County From the October, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by Courtesy Of Barrett-jackson
|
|
How do you like your Camaro?... How do you like your Camaro? If you like it a bit custom, then the ’68 Coupe (lot #68) might get your attention. Powered by a worked-over 350 and overdrive trans, it had less than 500 on the clock since being completely restored. Final price came in at $29,150. A Barrett-Jackson auction is like a circus for those bitten by the automotive bug. And while their Scottsdale auction is the most known, they’ve also been successful with events in Palm Beach, Las Vegas, and most recently, Orange County, California. Since the O.C. event is in our backyard, we thought it would be a good idea to pop on over to check out the Camaro action. One thing you quickly discover about a Barrett-Jackson auction is that it’s like a car show with a catch: you can have any car for your very own provided you have a bidder card and enough cash. The real drama of the event is on the seller’s side because Barrett-Jackson is a “no reserve” auction. Well, technically they do offer sellers the option of having a reserve price set, but this is pretty rare and only available to the uber high-priced rides. The rest of the sellers are really rolling the dice because there’s no minimum that a car can sell for. Your $50,000 Camaro could bring in $70,000, or it could net $20,000. The good news for sellers is that Barrett-Jackson is typically thick with genuine buyers. And these aren’t just wishers and dreamers; each one has to pay hundreds of dollars for the chance to bid. Whether a car brings in the “big green” simply depends on if a car catches a buyer’s attention. Actually, a ride needs to be wanted by at least two bidders for the price to ratchet up.  If you’re more of a collector,...  If you’re more of a collector, then the ’67 drop-top RS/SS (lot #336.3) might be the ticket. Numbers matching with lots of options, this sweet restoration sold for $44,000. Seems that pedigree was worth a few bucks more.  This second-gen Z28 clone...  This second-gen Z28 clone was pretty clean and had a relatively low 44,000 original miles. The paint was nice, the interior clean, and the engine bay was tidy. The total sales price was $11,500, which couldn’t have made the seller very happy, but we’re fairly sure the buyer was all smiles.  More proof that it’s really...  More proof that it’s really a hobby and not an investment to customize new cars. This ’10 SS Camaro (lot #374.4) was designed by George Barris and is one of only two created. With 9,700 miles on the odometer, it’s pretty much a showroom-new SS. The final price was 33,000 bucks, which is a bit less than what it stickered for brand new and bone stock. Over 300 vehicles were auctioned off at this year’s event for a total sales number of around $14,000,000. It was also crowded with nearly 60,000 people milling about over the course of three days. That’s just a fraction of the number that attends the Scottsdale auction, but this venue has been growing and the SoCal area is heavy with hot cars looking for new homes. In terms of pricing, the numbers we use here are the final sales prices after adding in the buyer’s premium. For example, if a car had a gavel price of $100,000, then the buyer gives Barrett-Jackson $110,000 (10% fee) and the seller gets a check for $92,000 (8% fee). You can bid on the Internet for a few bucks more, and there are few other costs that are explained on their site. Also, you can get more information (and pictures) of each car by clicking over to the Barrett-Jackson website and entering the lot number.  No, CP wasn't looking to sell...  No, CP wasn't looking to sell off our project car fleet. We were asked to bring out Black Betty and Bad Penny to display at the Meguiar’s car corral. In addition to the auction, they had a host of vendors selling cool stuff and tons of automotive displays. There was even a drifting event for those that love the smell of molten tires. Even if you’re not looking to bid, consider just checking out the action.  Once again we had a déjà vu...  Once again we had a déjà vu moment with these two second-gens. The Pro Touring ’70 (lot #368) was one of our favorites and featured goodies like a 383 stroker, 12-bolt rear, worked-over suspension, Boze wheels, and sweet Wilwood binders. The final sales price of $66,000 seemed pretty fair considering it only had 250 miles on it since being rotisserie restored.  But what if it was a fully...  But what if it was a fully restored ’70 Z28 instead? This one had less than 25 miles on a ground-up restoration and included the correct “CTC” coded 350 LT1 engine. It was certainly nice, and you couldn’t pay to have it duplicated for the $36,300 final sales price.  Barrett-Jackson has also become...  Barrett-Jackson has also become a spot for charities to raise big bucks for worthy causes. At the Orange County auction, over $850,000 was raised to help those in need, and Barrett-Jackson doesn’t collect any fees at all on these sales. That means 100-percent of the cash goes to the group. This time it was for dibs on the very first ’12 “Honor and Valor” SS Camaro (lot #367.1) that GM will be producing. It will be built to honor America’s military and recognize Chevrolet’s 100th birthday and appropriately only 100 will be produced. The $100,000 gavel price will go to support Cell Phones for Soldiers. Which we think is pretty damn cool.  This ’67 (lot #35.1) was rockin’...  This ’67 (lot #35.1) was rockin’ the old-school Pro Street deal hard with an NHRA legal cage, powerglide trans, and an interior wrapped up in grey tweed. Sure, it was a bit dated, but the 490 Brodix-headed big-block under the hood had to be expensive to build. The Camaro only brought in $19,800 and we’re pretty sure you couldn’t come close to building it for that.  OK, so you buy a ’98 Z28 convertible...  OK, so you buy a ’98 Z28 convertible and in the ensuing 13 years manage to put less than 20,000 miles on the ticker. So, what is this automatic trans–equipped cherry fourth-gen (lot #675) worth? The answer was $13,200. We broke out our trusty Kelley Blue Book and came up with a value of $11,860 in excellent shape, so this looks like it was a fair deal for both parties.
|
|
|