Lived in Arizona for 38 years, and went to the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction every January. I remember when it was a 2 day auction, $ 5.00 admission, and a couple bucks to park. Over the years it has become a very rich man's hobby, and the days of the average car nut / hobbyist are long gone. Watched it on the History Channel last night, and WOW!! Its now a multi-million-dollar hobby for the rich and famous that lasts close to a week.

I watch it for the girls that put the Sold stickers on the windshields , I was surprised how much the customized chevy trucks went for. Didn't see too many older ford trucks (other than Broncos). Never been to one in person, but it is on my to do list, just far enough away that I would get a hotel instead of 6hrs of driving time.
Prices certainly are up big time.

I had been planning to go to Mecum in Indy until the last several years prices are crazy.
I'll get a classic but I don't need a frame off restoration for 80 grand.

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
I had been planning to go to Mecum in Indy until the last several years prices are crazy.
I'll get a classic but I don't need a frame off restoration for 80 grand.

Ohhhhh, Yes, you Do!

Yeah, what one used to be able to pick up for $10-15K is now going for $50-75-100K. Hagerty has my Mustang at $72K and I bought it for a fraction of that. Great for me, but it kind of sucks for those wanting to get into the restoration hobby.

It's kind of sad, really, as I love seeing the old classics on the road, and we've got quite a few folks around here that drive classics. But, unless you've got a decent back account or are really handy with a wrench and can bring a beater back to showroom condition (or even drivable), you're out of luck.

For both auction houses the prime-time weekend broadcasting always shows the most expensive rides. If you look at the stuff earlier in the week, you can still get stuff for <20k.

I enjoy watching the different cars they have and what people have done to them. As far as ever buying one, not a chance, at least not for the money they are getting. I like cars but I am not in love with my car.

I just live about 10 minutes from Westworld, where they hold the BArrett-Jackson, and get over there just about every year. My two favorites last night were the charity auctions... One for the American Red Cross, the 2025 ZR1, VIN 001 Corvette that went for $3.7 Mil and the one for Mike Rowe's foundation, a 1962 Dodge Power Wagon, that went for $1.5 Mil. Very cool!

I've been to the auction, and watched parts of it on TV since. The auctions earlier in the week have some more reasonably priced vehicles..

It’s funny, I watched the Barrett-Jackson auction religiously for years. Then I moved to the Phoenix valley and have never attended in person. The last few years, Otto Car Club holds a cars & coffee type event on Saturday morning that coincides with the big Saturday at B-J. There was likely more dollar value and fewer cars at Otto than went across the block at B-J.

The Thursday and Fridays has some deals but nothing like it used to be.
You're better off buying a car someone else put their blood sweat and tears
and MONEY into! A lot of peoples cars auction for way less than what they put into it.

Loved going when I lived in Phoenix. Walking the grounds and getting to see cars I had only read about was incredible. Was there the year they sold Carroll Shelby's personal 427 Cobra Super Snake with dual Paxton superchargers for $5.5 million. I did see it grow and change over the years from being a car guy thing to more of a social event, but was still amazing for a car guy.

I was always amazed at the cars that sold on Sundays. Some extremely nice cars that went for what seemed like very little money. Probably around 2004, saw a 1969 Camaro Pace Car coupe with 396, 4 speed and Mario Andretti's autograph on the glove box door sell for $18k. Right next to it was a 69 Mustand Mach 1 428cj with factory drag pack for $21k.

I go every year for about the past 15 years. The vehicles that get auctioned on the first two days and on the last day (Sunday), you can get some good deals. This year I saw a Triumph convertible in great shape, that had all the mechanicals serviced prior to being auctioned, for $2700 dollars, a low mileage convertible Jag from when Ford owned them for $3000, and an all original 1963 Cadillac convertible with 14000 miles on it for $40k.

Are there some vehicles sold on Friday and Saturday for stupid money? Absolutely. But you get to see vehicles you would never see otherwise.

Mecum and BJ have affordable classics, you won't find beaters in need of restoration unless it's a original barn find 65 Shelby Cobra 427 or some rare vehicle.

The prices this year are higher at both auctions, but you can find some deals.

I can say if you are planning on a 10 year restoration of a classic muscle car, buying one that's already done in most cases will cost you less money. There are plenty that come across the block and sell for well under the cost of the restoration.

Much of the older cars you see on the Friday/Sat auctions are the high end restomods, big money rare classics, and supercars.

Record it and watch the Mon-Thur auctions and it's a bit more reasonable.

For those that enjoy these, also subscribe to the YT pages for Goodings, RM and Bonhams. They broadcast their auctions live and in some cases they are also available for replay.

GREAT cars at those events.