Vintage Automotive, LLC

30+ Antique Cars Sell for $494,400.00 at Rural Pennsylvania Sale

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Email: bshook@dcdlaw.net

Estate Sale – Allen Shaffer, Esquire

April 24, 2010 – Millersburg, Pennsylvania

Allen Shaffer, a well respected local attorney recently passed away and this past Saturday the majority of his car collection came to sale.  Over thirty lots were offered with no reserve, no bidder registration charges and with no buyers premium.

By the mid afternoon, all of the vehicles had been sold and the proceeds realized were just about $500,000.00 from the sale of the vehicles.

Here are the results along with the comments of Bryan W. Shook who personally attended the sale.

                                                                                                                                Total Sales:         $494,400.00                                                                                                      

As one can surmise from the results listed above, the sales prices were fairly reflective of the market today.   While the auction was largely under promoted, collectors, brokers and dealers showed up from several states including, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey to bid on and buy cars and automobilia from this great collection.

Most of the cars in the collection were operational and nearly all of them presented very well.  The cars purchased from this collection are sure to be coveted pieces in future collections.  While higher prices may have been realized had an auction house such as Carlisle Auctions, RM Auctions, Bonhams or Goodling offered the vehicles, this sale proves that not all collections must be sold through a large auction venue to achieve market value results.

Attorney Bryan W. Shook is not only 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 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

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

1992 Pontiac Firebird Formula – Sells for $38,500.00!!!

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Email: bshook@dcdlaw.net

BREAKING NEWS – The 1992 Pontiac Firebird Formula just released from the GM Heritage Collection has just sold for an outstanding $38,500.00!  The ‘bird sold as lot #11 today, Thursday, April 09, 2009 at the 7^th Annual Barrett-Jackson West Palm Beach Collector Car Auction. 

While I cannot confirm that this pale yellow Firebird was a 1LE version, I can state that it featured the highly coveted WS6 performance suspension option, 1LE style brake calipers, no air conditioning and a 305cu tuned port injected small block with a 5spd manual transmission.  The car also appeared to have the engine oil cooling package.  The VIN of this car was 1G2FS23F0N1200001 confirming that this was in fact the very first 1992 Pontiac Firebird Formula produced.

Although strong money was spent to purchase this car, the buyer can rest assured that he/she has purchased one of the most historically significant 3^rd Generation F-Bodies directly from GM!  This car was breath-taking in every way and presented as an outstanding, original, vehicle, as close to a brand new one as anyone has gotten in the nearly two decades since production of the third generation F-Bodies ceased.

For more information regarding my views on the up-ward trend of the 3rd and 4th Generation F-Bodies be sure to read my article   – “GM F-Bodies – 1982-2002 Can’t Miss Investments, Even in this Economy“

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

Barrett-Jackson – Palm Beach 2009 Auction

By: Bryan W. Shook, Esquire

Email: bshook@dcdlaw.net

It’s that time again in sunny south Florida.The trucks are arriving as I type this delivering one gorgeous car after another. All told, over 700 cars will be sold this week at the “lifestyle” event that is Barrett-Jackson’s 7^th annual Palm Beach collector car auction. As has been the norm for Barrett-Jackson auctions over the past five years or so, this will be a “No-Reserve” auction which means all cars will sell to the highest bidder regardless of price

Speed TV will be broadcasting 22hrs of live high-definition coverage of the event.

Although we are technically in a recession, I look for several of the auction lots to sell for strong money.  Plenty has been written about the feature cars of the auction so I have chosen to focus this article on what I believe will be the best buys of the auction.

On Tuesday, April 07, 2009, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time “kicking the tires” and here is my list of vehicles to watch.

·         1920 Chevrolet Model T – 1 Ton (open cab) chassis truck (Lot # 678)

o   This truck is coming out of the GM Heritage Collection and is in very nice shape.  The truck shows some slight deterioration from sitting and appears to have been restored a number of years ago.  Although it’s only sold on a Bill-of-Sale, I believe this will be a great buy.  Where else are you going to find one?

·         1964 ½ Ford Mustang convertible (Lot #347)

o   This car is extremely well presented and appears to be over restored.  If you are looking for a rare color (Skylight Blue) and color keyed blue convertible top car this is the car for you.  Although this is an original D-Code (289cu 4bbl) car with 4spd manual transmission, the engine has supposedly been replaced with a circa 1965 Ford 289cu engine.  Bottom line is that this is a striking color combination on an extremely significant model year Mustang.

·         1972 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne Short Bed pickup (Lot #32)

o   This truck is as clean as ANY you’ll find.  It supposedly features its original number’s matching 402cu big block engine and air conditioning.  To say this truck is restored to a high level is an understatement.  It is evident that true love went into this restoration and either this was an excellent original when the restoration was started or someone spend A LOT of money, not to mention time, during the restoration seeking out good quality original pieces.

·         1976 Chevrolet C10 Silverado Long Bed pickup (Lot #330.1)

o   This is allegedly a 17,000 mile truck.  The truck features a 454cu engine, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes and the optional gauge package. The cons on this particular truck are that it is a long bed model and it is painted, assumedly original, light saddle over neutral.

·         1994 Pontiac Trans Am 25^th Anniversary Edition Convertible (Lot #58)

o   This is an extremely rare 1 of 250 convertible 25^th Anniversary Edition Trans Ams that is in very good, original condition.  This car is officially 15 years old and looks great.  The TA is powered by the corporate 5.7 liter (350cu) 275hp small block Chevrolet engine which is backed by a very fun 6spd manual transmission.  The car is extremely clean with only minor road spray on the undercarriage and rear axle assembly.  Overall, this vehicle represents an amazing opportunity to purchase a historical vehicle directly from GM.  For more support please refer to my article below “‘Can’t Miss Investments, Even in this Economy’ 1982-1992 GM F-Bodys”

·         1999 Pontiac Trans Am 30^th Anniversary Coupe – Daytona 500 Pace Car (Lot #616.1)

o   This vehicle has it all, the LS1 engine, the signature blue anodized wheels, the white leather seats, removable roof panels (i.e. T-tops) … not to mention provenance directly from GM as an officially 1999 Daytona 500 Pace Car.  Again, as stated above, this vehicle represents an amazing opportunity to purchase a historical vehicle directly from GM.  For more support please refer to my article below “‘Can’t Miss Investments, Even in this Economy’ 1982-1992 GM F-Bodys”  Did I mention this car is a WS6 optioned vehicle with the aggressively styled Ram Air hood and induction system?

The above list represents just a sampling of the vehicles offered at this year’s Barrett-Jackson, West Palm Beach, Florida Auction.  For more information, be sure to visit their website at http://www.barrett-jackson.com. 

Bid with knowledge. Buy with confidence.

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.

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.