Mecum prices
 

This just sold on Mecum for 24K:

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...&entryRow=1286

Values goin' up!

Re: Mecum prices
 

Actually... thats a steal. It would cost at Least twice that to do a real complete resto. Just sayin.

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It is a real nice truck, but it is not a restoration (crate motor, vintage air, power windows, etc.) I wish people would call it a modernization or a complete rebuild. That would be more accurate. Seller probably lost money. Whoever bought it got a nice ride.

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Those auctions are as fake as the realty TV shows. A lot of the cars are paid to be there. Many of the Phone bidders are shills. Sometimes the auction folks pretend they have a phone bidder to try and pump up the price to meet the reserve. lots of shill bidders in the audience & folks bidding on their own vehicles. They make the money from the advertising. very little is made from sales commissions. Its just a new take on the Dog & Pony Show.

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I guess if you paid a pro to do it all at shop labor rates and source all your parts for you, it might. But I've seen nicer trucks sell on this board and elsewhere for $10k less. There have been plenty of threads on this board about the "Mecum effect" on prices. You get guys there buying with their egos, not their heads. That's why you sell at auction.

That truck doesn't have a ZZ502 crate engine, and the paint job doesn't look like anything special, and there's lots of things that make it far less than a 100-point resto. Now, this is a nice truck, don't get me wrong, but it's not Concours quality.

Heck, if I can pretty mine up like that and get $24K for it, I'm getting to work!

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IMO - It's all about the look. I can see the truck bringing $24k..

Drop it, a set of big billets and it's a $35k+ truck.

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Gotta call you on that. Links?

If that was a real truck, it'd price out about that. But once the Chinese chrome goes on you're just making work for the next guy to take it all off :-)

Plus it's not the original motor and not original AC, who knows what else. So you're buying it for how it looks, not as a collector vehicle.

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Let's get real guys, at the end of the day any of them are "worth" whatever someone is willing to pay for it. I mean if someone's got a boner for a 1963 Pontiac Tempest (one of the ugliest cars ever made, to me) and you have one, what it's "worth" will probably go up drastically.

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I see absolutely no misinformation in the ad compared to the pictures. The phrase a complete restoration is inferring it's been torn down and rebuilt using 99% new or reconditioned parts. The word "nicer" is very subjective and doesn't describe what the difference between a 14 and 25k truck is. I seen patina trucks with airbags and 20 ' s that I thought looked better than some restored stockers and vice versa, but that's a matter of opinion. The fact is this truck is worth what someone will pay but I've seen a decline in average prices here in CA, not an incline. The asking prices are getting taller, and the selling prices are getting shorter with what I've seen.

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If you do the work yourself you can have a paint job for around 1000 -1500 depending on materials. Price really depends on if you do it yourself and not have a shop charging 60-80 an hour and up selling parts and materials.

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Have you ever attended a Mecum auction? Don't kid yourself - they make a lot of money from buyer and seller premiums. 8% from the buyer and 8% from the seller if he has a reserve, 5% is he has no reserve. I've been to several Mecum auctions over the last almost 4 years (bought and sold) and have never witnessed what you are suggesting. BTW, It's really alot of fun too!

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I've been to Mecum's and B Jackson's. There are hundreds of people just chomping at the bit to spend money. They don't need sneaky deals or shrills, maybe 20 years ago but not today.

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Nice looking truck.

I watch those auction shows sometimes, in between the high dollar stuff they seem to have a few deals, real nice cars for much less than you could build em for...depends on what the bidders are looking for I guess

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I enjoy going to & watching auctions but if I was a buyer or seller at one of Mecums I couldn't take the way they get in your face to raise the bid or drop the reserve.
George

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By the look on some bidders faces they feel the same way you do.

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Ive never been to Mecums or Barrette Jackson And I never will. However I did attend one large collector car auction at the stadium in Jonesboro ark. The Smith guy who lives a Doniphan mo had several of his cars there. And his employees where bidding on them. They where back at his place the next week. Ive been to and bought a larve variety & amount of things at hundreds of auctions of all kinds. And there are all kinds of stunts pulled . its quite common. You don't perceive or notice because they are very good at it. They do it for a living day in & day out. I was watching chasing classic cars and one of waynes cars was being auctioned. Wayne even stated there was no bidder. He explained the Auction company was allowed to try to bump the car up past the reserve. Ill never go to a auction that charges a buyers fee. Its in my opinion not ethical. When both the buyer and seller pay a commission it creates a dual agency. the auction company is working for the seller its wrong to charge a buyer fee. its wrong to pump up the bids with shills or phone bids. And its really disrespectful the way the ring men & women get up in potential buyers faces. As PT Barnum said there is a fool born every minute.

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Yep, that's the bottom line. End of story. Case closed.

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According the the Mecum site the bid goes on at $24K. The gentlemen that owns the truck had it at a show at the Nashville fairgrounds a couple of months ago. It was a very nice truck. Paint was extremely nice. The rocker panels had been replaced and it was probably one of the best jobs I've ever seen. I did notice a small oil leak but that was about the only flaw I saw. He wanted $30K for it. Nice older guy and struck me as very honest.

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Ha! They are intense aren't they? But that's the job of a bidder assistant and the seller representative. It's fast paced and the auction company won't make money if they don't sell the vehicle so they do push the bidders and sellers HARD! I understand and like the game so I go with the flow and truly enjoy it whether as a bidder, seller, or spectator. I guess I'm weird?:lol:

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I understand - auctions aren't for everyone. I guess I'm a fool because if I had unlimited funds I could see myself having a blast traveling the USA and participating in them. The more I think about it, the more I realize - I am weird.:lol:

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You're right - it didn't sell yet. $24K is, was, or will be the high bid. Never know what will happen with the bid goes on program Mecum has. Cool that you got to see the truck in person and talk to the owner.

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Yep that's the way the world works. Different strokes for different folks. I do buy at auctions. I even bought my 1600 sq ft store building with the attached 30 X30 shop at auction. Paid $6750.oo cash and it came with a 1/2 acre & well. At a up & up auction cash is more often than not king. My hoard is 99% made up from auction purchases. I look at something make up my mind how much Im willing to pay and do not exceed that amount. I go to a auction to get a bargain. I simply wont pay full price (all something is worth at auction) Ive learned if you cant buy something at your price walk away. Keep your money in your pocket something better will come along later that is a real bargain. If folks are actually paying those that seem to me exorbant auction prices. My opinion is they have more money or credit than brains. Makes me wonder that if they don't have any more business savvy than that how they ever got their wealth? Im guessing at those big mecum & berrette type auctions when you register and get a bidder number they check your credit and set you a line of credit. Ply you with free drinks and get ready to set the hook? Kinda like when you go to a casino? The estate auction I attended the week before last where I bought the 83 chev. There was a 69 Plymouth Roadrunner. 383 auto. only 23 thousand miles . Really Nice car looked & ran good likely low number 2 or high number 3cond. It sold for $17000.oo. One family member wanted to buy it and bid until they ran out of money.

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Ok that should tell you something . Think about it? was the high bidder a shill or the auctioneer pumping up the bid to try and get the price past the reserve ? Dog &Pony Show? If it looks swims and quacks like a duck is probably a duck!

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I'm with you - I know my limitations and adhere to them. I also learned a long time ago the walk away method. Funny how sometimes (more often than not) I get the deal I wanted by just walking away.

You're pretty much dead on as most of the bigger auctions do require a bank letter of guarantee with a specified limit. Some auctions do provide free beverages too. And that my friend is when it can get fun to watch some of the folks with big pockets start bidding away. I sure more than once some of these people have awaken the next morning wondering "What the heck did I buy? I paid how much?!" :lol:

And yes – people are spending/paying super high prices for our trucks and I believe the trend is going to keep going up. We did very well selling my truck last September at the Mecum Dallas auction. But I contribute it to the market area. I don’t think I would’ve done as well in Kansas City or California as I did in Dallas or even the Houston market.

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No I don't believe so, I think the seller want's a specific amount for his truck. Obviously he has set a reserve price and is hoping the "walk away" method will work for him. ;)