VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Barrett-Jackson/Phoenix?!

My Christmas present from my wife was a 10 day trip to the Southwest including tickets for two to the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction at Scottsdale. Are any of you going to be there?

We will be there on Monday and Tuesday (17th & 18th) only since I am not planning on bidding on anything. I noticed there will be a stock '35 3 Window Standard for sale which I hope to look at closely since it is almost identical to my '34.

If any of you have been before and have any suggestions to help maximize our visit, I would appreciate it!

Check the newspaper daily. Lot of people over the past years have listed their cars there to avoid the auction. You'll see lots of cars at the auction. Lots of neat stuff. I probably don't have to say take a camera. Enjoy....Joe

Joe,

So people bring their cars to Phoenix/Scottsdale and place an ad in the local newspaper? I thought I was a cheapskate but would have never thought of that. But I will be buying a newspaper!

Falcon,

Joe describes an "old trick" used by many....

If you go to the auction, when there's actual bidding going on, keep your hands in your pockets. Especially if you wave your arms around when you're telling a story or talking to a buddy, etc. etc. like I do.

That'll save you from embarrassing yourself when you didn't really mean to bid. Rule # 1 - Hands in pockets!!

Great present. Enjoy....

Bill.

They don't always bring the car there but do advertise their car for sale. Some are long distance phone numbers. Like Bill says also, hands in pockets during bidding. Have fun...Joe

We attend BJ every year and it is a hoot! It is as much a party as it is an auction. Only a small percentage of the people who attend actually bid on a car.

It is also a great car show since they let you get up close and personal and even get into most of the cars. The owners are often with the cars to answer questions prior to the cars being auctioned.

Some suggestions:

1)Use the valet parking. It costs about $25 and is well worth it. If you don't you may have quite a walk before you even get in.

2) Don't worry about keeping your hands in your pocket. You cannot bid unless you have been approved and have an identification card hanging from your neck. Bidding is only accepted from people in enclosed areas that only registered bidders can enter. The largest is in front of the stage.

If you managed to sneak into one of these, there might be a slight chance that you might be able to make a bid but the bidder assistants are usually pretty good at making sure you have permission to bid before they take the bids.

3) Be sure to buy a catalog when you enter. It has pictures and descriptions of most of the cars that are going to be auctioned. It also tells you when the cars will be auctioned.

4) Be sure to wear good walking shoes as most cars are under tents on the grounds and are spread over a number of acres.

5) The collector car auction does not start until around 2PM on Tuesday so you will have plenty of time to look at all the cars if you are going Monday.

6) The auction is actually in Scottsdale, not Phoenix. It is at the Westworld horse center on Pima just off the 101 Loop and north of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. There will be plenty of signs to direct you to parking.

7) There are at least 5 other collector car auctions that week in the Phoenix area. The one with the most expensive cars is usually held at the Biltmore; Russo-Steele has one at Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road; there is one that weekend at the casino on the Ft McDowell Indian Reservation on HWY 87 just east of Fountain Hills.

8) There is a very large and free car show at McDonald's in the Pavilions shopping center at Loop 101 and Indian Bend. It starts at 3PM every Saturday. This is another car-buff party.

9) There is a free car show behind Sears in Fountain Hills every Sunday starting at 1PM.

One last piece of advice. Take your time and keep hydrated. While it is not usually hot, this is the desert and humidity is low. It can catch up with people who are not used to exercise in a low humidity.

David,

When are you going to be there? It would be nice to meet you. We're going to be there all day Monday & Tuesday. If you're going to be there those days, I'll PM you my cell phone and maybe we can get together. We are headed to Sedona, the Grand Canyon & Vegas on Wednesday.

If you do raise your hands,be kind and show us what you bought....lol

Would love to get together, however, we usually go later in the week and the weekend when the better cars are offered.

If you are coming in Sunday perhaps we could meet for a cup of coffee that day. Let me know by PM and we'll set something up.

If you have never been in the west be aware that weather is often a function of elevation and how close you are to mountains, not just latitude. The higher up you go the colder it gets. We are at about 500 feet in Fountain Hills/Scottsdale and tomorrow it will be a high of 64 and low of 44. In Sedona, which is at 5500 ft, it will be 44 and low of 27; in Grand Canyon city it will be a high of 31 and a low of 1; and in Vegas it will be 46 and 30. So, if you are driving you will want to bring some very warm clothing. As we say out here you are one broken fan belt from traveling as they did 100 years ago. It is also good to carry a gallon of water in your vehicle.

Also, keep a close eye on the weather. When it is raining in Scottsdale it is probably snowing in Sedona and Grand Canyon and on some of the passes to Vegas. They have closed I-40 near Flagstaff several times this year and also I-17 from Sedona to Flagstaff.

Have a great time at Barrett-Jackson, it is a great show.

Thanks for the offer on Sunday but we are flying in that day & my wife has a couple of places she wants to see in the Phoenix area that day. She is a travel agent so these trips are "business trips" for her as well as pleasure trips. We are aware of the weather variation where we will be traveling. It makes it a bit of a challenge in packing a suitcase.

I wish we were going to be there later in the week also but she planned this trip as a surprise Christmas present and had the itinerary and reservations already made. Anyway, I always wanted to go the B-J Auction and probably never would have on my own initiative so I am very thankful to have such a great wife (43 years).

OK. You two will have a great time.

I have ordered weather that will be sunny and in the low 70's here in Scottsdale while you are here. It doesn't get better than that for Barrett-Jackson.

If there is anything else we can do to help you please do not hesitate to ask.

David,

Looks like your good weather order was filled. We left 8" of snow and temps in the teens Sunday and have enjoyed the clear sky and mid-70s temps here in Phoenix. The Barrett-Jackson Auction is way more than I expected. It's almost a mental & visual overload. I feel like I am in car heaven. There were some real bargains the first hour or so Tuesday. Some real nice cars went for way less than they were worth. Then the crowd woke up and prices were more realistic.

I knew you would have a great time. It is like no other car show and/or auction I have attended (including the Goodguys show at the same venue).

Hope my advice proved to be of some use, especially about buying the catalog. I have mine for years back. I use them as a resource when I want to see what a car of a particular year looks like.

We ran into Craig Jackson last Saturday at the McDonald's car show I mentioned above. He was there with his mega-RV to promote his auction. I asked him about prices and he said he felt they had a special group of cars this year and expected they would set the bar for this year's increased prices for "good" cars.

There were a lot of nice looking trucks last night. I can't wait to get there to see the cars and trucks in person.

My wife and I took our afternoon Starbucks and dropped by Ft McDowell Indian Reservation where they will hold the Silver auction this weekend at their casino. They were unloading a lot of very nice cars, more classics than rods. Looks like a good week for car buffs in the ole' Valley of the Sun.

Enjoy the rest of your time in AZ.

David,

As part of my Christmas present, my wife ordered all three 2011 publications by B-J. I needed the whole flight and a couple of hours more to go through them. They were a big help and will be a nice souvenir to look back at later.

If you or anyone else sees the '35 Chevy Standard (white walls, red wheels) go across the block, please note what it sold for. We are in Sedona headed to the Grand Canyon and may not have access to the Speed channel. I think it sells tomorrow (Thursday).

I will watch for it, however, you can get the sales price yourself for any car once it sells. Just go to the website: www.barrett-jackson.com; click on Auction Car List; than either put in the lot number (in this case 699.2) or click on the day of sale and go down to the car. Then click on the car.

When you click on the car it will give you the sales price (which includes the buyers commission). The on-site buyer's commission is 10%, off-site is 15%. Unfortunately, the selling price does not indicate what the buyer's commission was; however, most sales are to on-site buyers.

At the most your adjusted selling-price would be off about 5%.

Your car,Lot 699.2, sold for $31900 (including buyer's commission) or approx $29,000 if the buyer was on-site.

Wow! I would have never thought it would go for that. The car had a decent paint job and nice interior but the engine area needed a lot of cleaning, detailing, correct paint, and had several incorrect parts. There were a lot of other things that were not correct including fiberglass running boards, rear fenders, & tank cover. The wiring was not period in many places, and many of the rubber grommets were missing.

But it did look sharp with the red wheels & white wall tires. I think the seller did really well.

You may want to double check on B-J website to make sure it is the same car you were watching, but I think I have the one you described. I got that figure off the website. I did not actually see it go across the block.

I see it is 17 degrees at the Grand Canyon right now (7:52AM), you must feel like you are at home. But it will be 51 and sunny so that is pretty good for this time of year. It will be 71 in Scottsdale, another great day and weekend for Barrett-Jackson.

You've got the correct car. The '34 Standard was number 699.2 as you said.

I personally feel that these auctions ruined the auto market.Everyone seems to think they are sitting on a lump of gold,or that anyone interested in buying thier car most likely has a personalized front row seat at Barrett Jackson !

The inflated prices of the vehicles has totally gotten out of hand,I'm afraid anyone slightly interested in getting into this hobby will be scared away,once they see what these cars cost to own.

I agree that certain vehicles are priced out of reach for most collectors or enthusiasts. That was the case when I got into the hobby 40+ years ago and will be 40+ years in the future. However there are plenty of perfectly collectible and drivable vehicles that are reasonably priced. In the past couple of years I purchased several nice looking drivable or nearly drivable Chevys. I will never purchase and over restored or resto-rodded "show car" at at Barrett-Jackson. Really nice cars and trucks are out there for sale if you bother to look.

I also agree Chipper. When ever someone talks to me about these auctions, I have to explain to them that BJ and such does not represent what the hobby is all about.

Granted these auctions are entertaining, but in reality they represent a very small group of investors that could care less about make, model, or time spent restoring the vehicle. The end "profit" is all that matters.