Vintage Automotive, LLC

32^nd Annual Spring Carlisle Swap Meet & Collector Car Auction

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Email: bshook@dcdlaw.net

The 32nd annual Spring Carlisle Swap Meet & Car Corral are about to get underway.  Officially the event runs from April 21 through April 26, 2009, but large vendors are starting to arrive today.   Carlisle’s swap meet offers what might be the best selection of automotive treasurers of any swap meet in the world.  For the automotive faithful that make their annual trek to Mecca, the weather for this year’s Spring Carlisle looks to be better than most years, with forecasted highs in the low to mid 70s and clear skies!  I know, the diehards will be depressed … “What no rain, how can it be Carlisle without rain???”

A change for this year’s event is that the Collector Car Auction will be held on Thursday and Friday nights, April 23 & 24, 2009 at the Carlisle Expo Center.  Also new for Spring Carlisle is a cruise-in to be held on Sunday at the grandstands.  This follows last fall’s successful Sunday cruise-in.  I look for several hundred cars to attend.

As for the auction, there are several very appealing lots.  With more than 250 vehicles scheduled to cross the auction block, there is certain to be something that appeals to everyone!  See you in Carlisle! Http://www.carlisleevents.com.

Attorney Bryan W. Shook is a devoted automotive enthusiast, but is also an experience litigator who devotes a large portion of his law practice to helping other collectors and hobbyists understand today’s market.  Attorney Bryan Shook is available throughout the United States for consultation, advice, and information. If you’d like more information about this topic or would like to speak with Attorney Bryan W. Shook please email him at BShook@dcdlaw.net.

Bid with knowledge. Buy with confidence. – Vintage Automotive

Let’s Review:

Barrett-Jackson – Palm Beach 2009

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Email: bshook@dcdlaw.net

Well, it’s hard to believe but the 7^th Annual Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Auction is behind us. 

How did the stars of the auction do?

The top seller of the weekend was Lot Number 369.1 the Super Chevy Magazine feature custom 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS titled “Project American Heroes”.  The Camaro, which included parts supplied by over twenty five major speed parts producers and a legendary LS-series GM 427cu GMMG supplied powerplant, hammered sold for $500,000.00!  The proceeds from the sale of the Camaro will go to benefit the Armed Forces Foundation, a truly worthy cause.

Two other stars of the auction with their proceeds going to charity were Lots Nos. 655 and 655.1 the 2004 Ford Mustang GT Convertible concept car and the 2004 Ford Mustang GT Coupe concept car, respectively.  These cars debuted in January 2003 at the North American Auto Show and arguably started the current muscle car frenzy amongst the big three.  Many people believe that these two concept Mustangs are what raised the ante for General Motors and Chrysler to go all in again and give the public what they want, FUN muscle or muscle-type cars.  Ford let these two ponies out of their livery for Charity.  Both concepts sold individually for $175,000.00, each, a bargain, any way you slice it.  The proceeds from the sale of these two pieces of current American automotive history went straight to the benefit of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  After the bidding for the coupe stalled around $150,000.00, Barrett-Jackson, CEO, Craig Jackson and Barrett-Jackson, President, Steve Davis, big against each other with Mr. Davis eventually taking home the concept car for the very reasonable price of $175,000.00. 

The third historic Mustang that Ford auctioned off, was lot number 665, a 2010 Shelby GT500 coupe, the very first available for public sale.  The hammer price was $150,000.00 and the proceeds above MSRP for the car went straight to the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation. 

So, how did my “sleeper” predictions go?  Pretty well, but judge for yourselves.

1920 Chevrolet Model T – 1 Ton (open cab) chassis truck (Lot # 678) – Sold $37,400.00

1964 ½ Ford Mustang convertible (Lot #347) – Sold $51,700.00

1972 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne Short Bed pickup (Lot #32) – Sold $35,200.00

1976 Chevrolet C10 Silverado Long Bed pickup (Lot #330.1) – Sold $29,150.00

1994 Pontiac Trans Am 25^th Anniversary Edition Convertible (Lot #58) – Sold $37,950.00

1999 Pontiac Trans Am 30^th Anniversary Coupe – Daytona 500 Pace Car (Lot #616.1) – Sold $39,600.00

I think my sleepers performed very well considering that the lack of national publicity that other auction cars enjoyed and the current economic situation but they all sold at the high end of their respective value ranges, proving that good quality cars (and trucks) will always command higher prices. 

Closing Thought – I believe GM has sold over 200 or so of its Heritage Collection and I hope that this “garage sale” is over soon.  On the bright side, I hope that the new owners of these GM refugees allow the cars to see the light of day again and hopefully we can all enjoy them at an upcoming automotive event or car show.

Attorney Bryan W. Shook is a devoted automotive enthusiast, but is also an experience litigator who devotes a large portion of his law practice to helping other collectors and hobbyists understand today’s market.  Attorney Bryan W. Shook is a seasoned automotive collector and restorer and as such brings real world experience and firsthand knowledge to the table for his clients.  Attorney Bryan Shook is available throughout the United States for consultation, advice, and information. If you’d like more information about this topic or would like to speak with Attorney Bryan W. Shook please email him at BShook@dcdlaw.net.

Bid with knowledge. Buy with confidence – Vintage Automotive

A review of the Collector Car Market in light of the current Economic Situation

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Even considering the uncertainty of the current economic state antique and collector vehicles remain to be good investments.  Over the past year we’ve seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummet from a high of 13,136.69 to a low of 6,469.95 only a few days ago.  This is an evaporation of over 6,600 points or better stated, over 50% in less than one year’s time.  How does this translate to the collector car market?  The simple translation is BUY!!!

Current market indications are that while the wind may be out of the sails of the Dow Jones, the collector car market, viewed as a whole, is holding its own with bargains being reported from nearly every auction, which is a reiteration that we are in a buyer’s market.  Overall, the collector car market has not experienced the same dramatic, marked decline as the Dow Jones.  Collector cars remain a great place to park your money. Properly purchased collectible vehicles, if nothing else, continue to be an enjoyable savings account.

The collector car market, like any other free, open market, is driven purely by economics.  The premise is simple: supply and demand.  Given the current uncertainly of Chrysler, General Motors and Ford, collectively known, at least for the time being, as the “Big Three”, demand for stylish, desirable cars from their past will continue to be high, much higher than supply.  It was announced by General Motors on February 20, 2009, that, at least for the time being, all sixty engineers of the High Performance Vehicle Operations (H.P.V.O.) have been “temporarily” reassigned.  H.P.V.O. was the birthplace of high performance and specialty vehicles from GM. Therefore it is easy to predict that the future of desirable collectible vehicles from GM will be extremely limited.  Over the years, the group has developed vehicles such as the Cadillac CTS-V, STS-V and XLR-V, Chevy SSR, HHR SS, TrailBlazer SS, Colorado V8 and the Saturn Ion Red Line.

Over the past several years we were blessed to see some great vehicles come to life from the drawing boards and auto shows and into the dealerships.  These vehicles include the Ford GT, newly redesigned, Ford Mustang, the Dodge Charger and now the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro.  Other collectible offerings include the Dodge Viper, Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 and C6 ZR-1 and the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters.

To collectors’ detriment, the recent economic viability plans submitted to Congress on behalf of the Big Three, predict a paucity of desirable (i.e., collectible) vehicles from Detroit.  Instead of producing niche vehicles it seems that hybrids and alternative energy vehicles will be receiving all of the design dollars and energy in the coming years.  You should be admittedly suspicious of this choice to design cars around the strings attached to federal bailout monies … hopefully this won’t lead to the insipid vehicles that came from Detroit after the smog regulations were rolled out in the early 1970s.  Given the current unfortunate economic situation, headlined, by the Big Three’s struggle to survive, the collector car market stands to benefit exponentially by an increased demand for the past-produced models; especially the high-performance models. 

To the true collector, the economy does not necessarily play a role in whether to purchase a vehicle.  The true collector’s decision to purchase a vehicle is driven by price, desire to own the vehicle, and the hobby’s market…not the stock market.  Buying with this in mind will result in a good vehicle purchased at a good price and a safe investment; or in the very least a good savings account.  In contrast to the sharp decline of the stock market over the last year, to the best of my knowledge, we have not seen a single collectible vehicle decrease by 50% in value in less than one year’s time! 

Bid with knowledge. Buy with confidence.

This article was written by Bryan W. Shook, Esquire the founder of Vintage Automotive. Attorney Bryan W. Shook is a devoted automotive enthusiast, but is also an experience litigator who devotes a large portion of his law practice to helping other collectors and hobbyists understand today’s market.  Attorney Bryan Shook is available throughout the United States for consultation, advice, and information. If you’d like more information about this topic or would like to speak with Attorney Bryan W. Shook please email him at BShook@dcdlaw.net.

As was recently discussed on the Antique Automobile Club of America forums, the issue of diminished value with respect to antique and/or collectible automobiles often comes up and is often misunderstood.

A pretty convincing case can be made for a diminished value claim with respect to a late model vehicle.  These claims are usually reserved to higher end vehicles such as Ferraris, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and other exotic and connoisseur type automobiles.  A diminished value claim with respect to your late model entry level mid-size vehicle is much harder to establish.

There are a few theories as to the application of diminished value claims.  One theory is that the market for these higher-end vehicles is rather small given their costs of acquisition and subsequent ownership and accordingly when a damaged or previously damaged vehicle comes onto the market, the market will not bear the same result as though a non-damaged or non-previously damaged vehicle had come onto the market.  It’s simple supply and demand.  These vehicles also tend to be purchased by a customer, driven slightly for a year or so, then traded or sold to fund the purchase of a newer vehicle of similar distinction.

A second theory is that the vehicle is only original once and any time a repair is made to a vehicle, especially to the body of a vehicle; one can never tell how well the repair was made until time passes and flushes out any problems which may “pop” up.  Also, if the repairs require extensive recreation of body panels, the shape, feel or “look” of the panels can be off and subsequently not appear as correct as original.  If only a portion of the vehicle is repaired and repainted, even if the paint matches today will it always match or will a slight color difference be noticeable in certain lighting situations or a few years down to the road?

Either theory may serve the purpose depending upon the facts, namely the desirability of the vehicle, the general histories of the make/model and the type of loss to the vehicle.  With that said, the law of supply and demand has driven the prices up in recent years for collectible and antique vehicles and accordingly, as with any vehicle, the cleaner and more original, the more history or untouched a vehicle is, even if restored, the higher the end-price paid by collectors.

Inherent diminished value claims do have a place with respect to antique and/or collectible vehicles however, the application is dependant upon the facts.

What is true however is that there has been a sharp rise in the appreciation of the collector car market over the past five or six years.  This may well be changing now as we see the market starting to slow and the best cars not coming to auction.  Over the past five or six years it seems that nearly every auction had two or three excellent examples that served to set or raise the value bar for that particular model … with the global economy the way it has been since September, I do not believe you’ll see cars of that quality in that number for a while.  Save for the GM sale’s this Winter/Spring at Barrett Jackson.

This blog entry was written by Bryan W. Shook, Esquire. Attorney Shook is a devoted automotive enthusiast who represents collectors and restorers and works diligently to combat fraud, misrepresentation, and other collector vehicle issues throughout the hobby. Attorney Shook is the founder of Vintage Automotive, LLC and is a member of the AACA, the SEMA Action Network along with various other automotive related organizations. He can be reached by email at bshook@dcdlaw.net  or (717)975-9446.