Barrett Jaclson 2022, Classic Car Community Newsletter 2.15.2022

Barrett-Jackson 2022

Well, here we are again, another year of the “World’s Greatest Collector Car Event” in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. I was fortunate enough to attend almost every day looking for those "well bought" cars to report out to all of you. While I was watching the auction, I noticed a huge factor on determining the value of these cars...miles! "Joseph, these are custom cars, rebuilt engines...miles don't mean a thing. Put down the Courvoisier!" Let me explain.

A buddy of mine owns a 1978 Corvette L82 Pace Car. I believe he paid about $15k a few years back with a little over 50,000 miles. As I was walking the tents, I saw a pace car that sold for $20,000. I said to myself, "Wow, Brian did good on that car." A few days went by and I actually watched another Pace Car cross the block. $20k...$30k...$40k...what's going on? The hammer fell at $55k! I jumped up from my seat and followed the car out back all the way to where they parked it. As I was walking back, I read the description of the car in the docket book. "This car has never been dealer prepped." I look in the car and see only 14 miles on the clock. 14!!! Holy Guacamole! This is truely a time capsule. Take a look for yourself, here!

I then jumped on my phone and did a little more research. A few months earlier, in Houston, one sold for $24k with 6,502 miles on it and another sold for $42,500 with 49 miles on it. I noticed the price goes up exponentially with the low low miles. Now, I literally could not tell the difference between the non dealer prepped and the others. I mean, minus the plastic covers etc. I can compare this to other rare collectibles, like baseball cards or comic books. There is a company that grades these cards and books called PSA, and when the grading is higher, the price goes up greatly. Take a Derek Jeter rookie card (I'm not a Yankee fan, I call him Derek Cheater), a PSA grading of 8 is around $30, PSA grading of 9 is $50, but a PSA grading of 10 jumps to $300+.

What does it all mean? It means, collectors pay top dollar for perfection. However, at what cost? In my opinion, I could never...never...never ever walk by that L82 Corvette for 40 years and not drive it. So, if you have the means, buy two! Park one and drive the other. Ha, who am I kidding, I can't even afford one.

Stay tuned, there are more articles coming on the "World's Greatest Collector Car Event."