Anybody goin to the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction?

I watched a few minutes of the auction on the internet. I must say they do things differently in the mid-West. All the auctioneer people on the back of a flat bed truck, bellowing out bids on a PA system, driving up and down the isles of cars and trucks with thousands of people crowding around. The only thing that was missing was cows grazing in the field. I wish I was there.

 

Watching day 2 live here http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130929/CARNEWS01/130929807

 

I'd like to watch it too. Nothing there was of interest to me, but it should be interesting to watch. Bob

 

How about some photos with the sale price for these treasures? Bob

 

Even the guys from Barrett Jackson are embarrassed by those prices!

 

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/Catalog.asp?aid=68561&p=5&sort=0#cnTb

 

live http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130929/CARNEWS01/130929807

past / proxi https://www.proxibid.com/asp/Catalog.asp?aid=68561

 

Too bad the guy didn't take better care of his property. Then he really would have had some stuff to sell!

 

TFeverfred's review:

I watched a taped broadcast of the auction last night, on the History Channel. It took a strong stomach to get past the 3 yahoos that were hosting the show. Those guys were corny, useless and it's like they found the dumbest, people to interview. Were those the idiots from the American version of "Top Gear"? The version that sucks? Then, I saw what some of the cars were going for and it was crazy. People weren't bidding on vehicles, they were bidding on the idea of being there. It was like the Lambrecht's were historical figures or major celebrities. The hoarders have a new god.

A 4 door '64 Impala went for $23K and then a '63 Impala SS with a 327 4 spd went for $5,100! $140,000 for an Apache pickup in shitty condition!? What I witnessed was an immediate increase in the price of every rusted piece of shit in someone's backyard. For a long time, people with crap were ridiculed for asking Barrett Jackson prices. Now, those same people with crap will have this auction to validate their pricing.

That auction was a perfect example of what media hype can do. When you can get people to fly in from Australia to pay double for a rusted piece of shit, you've mastered the art of the big con.

So now, everybody with a mid 60's C-10 can slap a $3,000 sign on the window and wait. This show just killed it for a while.

That's what I saw. Another hour back, I'll be asking for on my death bed. sigh.......


Next month, the guy that bought that Apache will tell someone and they'll say, "What the hell is a Lambrecht?"

 

I agree with your review, stuff is gonna go up for awhile. Thankfully I have a backlog of projects if I feel like getting in to them.

 

Not in the business for sure but my best guess is that along with the auction company doing one hell of a good job of presenting the sale and pushing the online bids a lot of buyers got caught up in the low or no miles bit even though all too many of the cars weren't in pristine or even survivor shape.

I've got a feeling that two months from now there are going to be a whole bunch of people who overpaid for cars from that auction crying in their beer when they wake up and figure out that they are still going to have to fully restore the cars from the frame up.

No doubt some of the more desirable ones will show up at Barrett-Jackson in the next couple of years all spiffed up with their very low miles and window stickers prominently on display.

Not a bad return on their money for the Lambrecht family though. The majority of the cars sold had sticker prices under 5k when new and the cost was less than that. The Camino was probably damaged on the transporter before it got to the dealership and was an insurance write off.

 

tfeverfred,

I could not have described it better. Glad I didn't go!

 

500 get 550 .....ye haw...
live link
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130929/CARNEWS01/130929807

 

They showed a few cars in the woods with trees growing through bumpers and engine bays. Kinda looked like some car you would run across in the woods while hunting or whatever. They were showing Barrett Jackson auction at the same time. Didn't know which overpriced auction to watch.

 

Just as I thought...

So I didn't spend a minute of my time on it...

Its amazing to me how many people will get themselves caught up in any kind of well designed maelstrom of hype.

And that includes a good portion of the people on this Thread...

 

Inflated hype, that is what this society has become. All that was missing was a drunken doped up crowd chanting USA! USA! in the back ground.

 

Just proves how many stupid people are out there

 

Ya know this may have a plus side to it. If your town has a "Blight Law" or thoughts about enacting one it could turn that parts car in your yard into art or a great investment. Bob

 

$600 for a yardstick???

"1953 Chevrolet Corvette AMT/ERTL promotional Model 1/25 scale" $400

"45rpm Record of Corvair Baby by Paul Revere and the Raiders" $150

 

Yup our hobby more impossible for young kids to get into, due to crap like this on tv! I saw one of these sell for $4000,000.00 I only want $2000,000.00 for this clapped out POS!

 

We came, we saw, we went.
Must have been about 20,000 people there. Over 5000 bidding numbers and almost 3000 online.
Long lines to get in, use the restrooms and buy food. Lots of mud from the rain. Lots and lots of money floating around. I watched the replay on History Channel this morning and saw myself and a friend on camera - just the backs of heads near the Cameo when it sold. The guy who bought it, from New Hampshire I think, said he would leave it as is - damaged from the falling in of the dealership roof.
None of the cars ran, none were cleaned up, the MSO cars were project cars at best, most the vehicles were missing the radiators and tailgates. Never having enough money to spend it like these guys did, I wonder what they are thinking. It will be a while before we see what this auction does to the market but I think things will settle down once the new owners see what they have - just a piece of history.
Funny part of the day was cruising into Pierce and nearby towns and seeing all the cars and trucks for sale in people's yards. Must have been a couple hundred.
We only had the drive from Iowa so it was not a big deal. For the people we met from the coasts and everywhere in between, getting there, lodging, buying a vehicle, the 5% buyers fee, and getting it home all add to the initial cost of the purchase. Good luck.
All in all, we had a really good time - mingling with other car guys and gals and watching them shake their heads in disbelief. You can see the prices paid on the auction website. Check them out - you will be amazed!
As I said in a previous post, $400 for a recent issue 53 Corvette promo that you can buy on ebay for $25 or less - that's what kind of day it was but I would go again just to see the sights.
$700 for a set of NOS hubcaps? $225 for a yard stick? $29,000 for a project truck? Wow!

 

amen, just made the hobby even more unaffordable!

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Ron White said it best "you can't fix stupid!"

 

an older version of that saying
“Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid.”
― John Wayne

 

Some of you might be a little hard on these guys. Did they pay too much? Probably, but who would have thought that the 31 Ford Victoria I bought at an auction in 1972 for $75 would be worth what it is today? Take a look at the Classifieds. Who would have paid that kind of money 30 years ago? In hind site, wouldn't we all have gladly paid $1800 for the 32 Ford Coupe advertized in the 1960's Hot Rod magazines?

 

I'd be happy to chime in. It is called Auction Frinzy. It happens when a large crowd gathers at a largely advertised auction, and people get all worked up. It especially happens when they think they might get on TV. People become fools, and throw all common sense to the wind, just to be part of it and have bragging rights. I'm an Antique Dealer, and I stay away from heavily advertised auctions, because people become idiots, and run the prices up dramaticly. Case in point: $600 for a yard stick.

 

Someone just paid $1700 for the '54 DeSoto sedan. Around here that would translate to "Someone just paid $1700 for a locked Hemi and a grille with a '54 DeSoto attached."

 

You complainers sound like a bunch of old bags. Did the buyers overpay? Sure they did but let's face it, you guys wouldn't be complaining if that money was going into your pockets.

 

No.

We are not.

The rules of the HAMB prevent me from being more clear about what I think has happened here.

And what I think of the people involved...

 

Also, please keep in mind that some of those people paying big $$$$ are locals literally buying back a car that they or a family member traded in to Ray Lambrecht 45 yrs. ago.......they are getting back their high school cruiser.

Also consider, many of the locals.....Nebraska....S. Dakota....Colorado.....Iowa.....Kansas are paying outlandish money for cars.......all the while farming or inheriting farms that were originally purchased from the government for $1.50 an acre and are now selling for easily $10,000 to $15,000 an acre.......slowly ponder that and factor it in to this whole equation.