[DeTomaso] Monterey auction results

[Asa Jay Laughton]

I used to be a member of a local Mustang club that had the honor of
pushing cars for Mitch Silver of Silver's Collector Car Auction locally
in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.  He did a few at Hot August
Nights in Reno as well but we never worked those auctions.

Being in the Mustang club we had plenty of members who -knew- concours
original quality stuff.  Every now and then we'd find an example like
this Pantera.  Not strictly stock but looked the part; described as
totally stock, unmolested, all original, etc.  We could pick it apart
from 50 feet, yet it was those kinds of descriptions that would boost
the selling price of a car; it nearly never failed (sometimes it did,
but rarely).

Being pretty much an as-is auction, it doesn't matter if the buyer later
finds out it's not all it was described to be, especially in the
originality department.  They buyer is usually someone who doesn't know
the brand like we do; someone who saw one as a kid and has always wanted
one and can now afford one... hoping his or her mechanic will be up to
the task of fixing it.  They know nothing of original details, only that
it's the car they have to have because it was described as "the one"
they were dreaming of.

I sometimes wonder if those buyers ever really realize they sort of got
suckered?  Not in a big way mind you, and they probably recover.

Still, any way you want to look at it, the large prices paid for the
cars usually only helps the rest of the market, until the next
downturn.  I read recently that the classic car market might have
peaked, but then you see an old Ferrari sell for millions.  Who knows
when it will really peak?

Asa  Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************     
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism


On 8/18/2014 9:20 PM, Mike Scardina via DeTomaso wrote:
>    Did anyone here attend the Mecum auction in Monterey and see the 1974
>    GTS Pantera in person?  It was described as follows:
>    "To this day it remains virtually untouched and beautifully preserved,
>    including the original tools, space-saver spare and inflation canister.
>    As one of the best of its kind in the world it has enormous value as a
>    reference car for restorations and would be a premium addition to any
>    collection of world-class sports cars."
>    From the photos it clearly had replacement mirrors and the black hood
>    and deck lid appeared to be gloss black instead of the proper charcoal
>    metal flake.... hardly a proper reference car for restorations.
>    The auction estimate was $150.000 - $175,000, but the $120,000 bid
>    seemed to me to be all the money. Yet, I'm happy to see the Pantera
>    holding its own.  Have our cars recently taken a giant leap in value or
>    was this just an auction aberration?
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2014.0.4745 / Virus Database: 4007/8041 - Release Date: 08/15/14