Updates from Arizona

Arizona auction week is here! That means half a dozen separate sales and thousands of significant, valuable, or just downright interesting vehicles selling in and around Scottsdale. As always, we’ll be recording the results, analyzing them, identifying market trends, and pointing out standout prices during the busiest week on the collector car auction calendar. We’ll also be updating our results and analysis each day starting on Thursday, Jan 27, so keep an eye on this space.

January 26, 2022. 8:20 pm: Party on! Celebrity and movie cars have sold well at auction recently, and now we have one more example to point to. The 1976 AMC Pacer from Wayne’s World sold at Barrett-Jackson today for $71,500. That’s almost double the $37,400 it sold for back in 2016.

January 26, 11:08 pm: Wednesday’s auctions are all wrapped up. Barrett-Jackson finished its third sale day and Worldwide Auctioneers finished their one-day sale. Cumulative results through Wednesday total $30.0M, with 664 lots sold at an average price of $45,219. In 2020 (the last large in-person Scottsdale auction week), Wednesday’s numbers were $24.2M in total sales with 681 lots sold at a $35,525 average sale price.

January 27, 12:09 pm: Bonhams’ Scottsdale auction is off to a strong start; surprisingly not with a car, but a motorcycle. The first lot, a 1948 Harley-Davidson Panhead, sold for over double its estimate at $48,300.

January 27, 1:10 pm: Bonhams sold a 1989 Lamborghini Countach Silver Anniversary (in red) for $445,000, or nearly $100k above its high estimate, and $90k above the condition #1 value. Analog supercars remain hot.

January 27, 3:21 pm: Another case of hot analog exotics – Bonhams’ 1995 Ferrari F355 Spider. Wearing less than 900 miles and carrying a 6-speed manual, the black Ferrari sold for $224,000. That’s over $60,000 more than its condition #1 value in the Hagerty Price Guide, and $88,000 over its high estimate.

January 27, 8:03 pm: The first seven-figure car of the day was RM’s alloy block, disc brake 1964 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, sold for $2,315,000. It’s the fourth highest price ever paid at auction for a 300SL Roadster. It’s also the third seven-figure car of the week so far. Yesterday, Worldwide sold a 1935 Delahaye 135M by Figoni for $1.435M and a 1929 Duesenberg Model J for $2.26M.

January 27, 8:24 pm: RM Sotheby’s first big Ferrari of the night was a 1971 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider, but it was a no-sale at a $2.175M high bid. Interesting, since the condition #1 value for a Daytona Spider in the Hagerty Price Guide is $2.15M.

January 27, 10:19 pm: RM’s biggest car, and likely the most expensive car of the week, is the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing that sold for a $6.825M final price. That’s 3 percent under its condition-appropriate value in the Hagerty Price Guide, but it is also the highest price ever paid at auction for a 300SL.

January 27, 11:05 pm: Another world record Mercedes price, albeit a less expensive one. RM’s 10,000-mile 1989 560SL sold for $145,600, smashing its $100,000 estimate.

January 28, 1:10 pm: At 60% above the Hagerty Price Guide value, Gooding and Co’s online sale secures the second highest price paid for a split window Corvette with the 327/340hp engine. The current record holder is a split-window formerly owned by Rush drummer Neil Peart, sold last year at Gooding’s 2021 Monterey sale. Clearly vintage Corvettes sell well at online auctions, too.

January 28, 2:14 pm: Gooding and Co’s 2005 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet achieves the second highest price paid at auction for a 996-generation Turbo S. What’s the highest, you might ask? An 18k mile version on Bring a Trailer claimed $141k back in October, 2021. That same car was previously purchased for $67,100 in March, 2020. Is it finally the 996’s time to shine?

January 28, 4:20 pm: Gooding & Company’s “Scottsdale” sale wrapped up this afternoon. Bidding for the online only auction opened on Monday, and lots began closing this morning. Of the 57 vehicles offered in Gooding’s Scottsdale sale, the top lot was the Touring-bodied 1961 Maserati 5000 GT. Offered in partially restored and non-running condition, it sold for $924,000. We can’t help but remember Scottsdale 2020, when Gooding sold a total of eight cars for over $1M.

January 28, 10:34 pm: Even with all the recent changes in the car market and all the talk of online auctions, Barrett-Jackson still gets the big prices for American muscle. For example, B-J just sold a 1968 Camaro Z/28 RS for $165,000 even though the exact same car brought less than half that on Bring a Trailer last June.

January 28, 10:57 pm: Cabriolet Porsches continue to sell strong, and it isn’t Bring a Trailer bringing big prices. Barrett sold this 1995 Porsche 911 Carbriolet for $165,000. That same car sold on Bring a Trailer for $69,300 in May 2021.

January 29, 1:16 am: Friday’s sales are all concluded, with cumulative sales through Friday up from $138M in 2020 to $167.1M in 2022. Nearly 40 percent of Barrett-Jackson’s offerings are customs and so far have an average sale price 25 percent higher than unmodified vehicles.

January 29, 1:30 pm: 1965 Ford Mustangs have cross-generational appeal as 58% of our policy quotes in the past year are from people who were born after the car came out. That broad appeal is apparent in the sale of this K-code 4-speed convertible in classic Wimbledon White, which sold for $110,000 – or nearly $28,000 above the condition 1 value.

January 29, 4:51 pm: New record for a Mercedes 190SL, as Barrett-Jackson’s recently restored 1960 Anthracite Gray 190SL sells for a scarcely believable $352,000. That’s nearly $150,000 more than the car’s condition #1 value in the Hagerty Price Guide.

January 29, 7:49 pm: Prime time Barrett-Jackson is electrified. A survivor Plymouth Hemi Superbird smashes the previous model record by…$440,000 to sell for $990,000 all in.

January 29, 10:50 pm: Celebrity and movie cars have been selling for big bucks all week, but even cars that just look famous are also selling well. Barrett-Jackson consigned a total of six Mustang “Eleanor” tribute cars, which are built to look like the hero car from Gone in 60 Seconds, and their average sale price this week was $378,000.

January 30, 2:15 pm: Sunday is usually a pretty quiet time for the Scottsdale auctions as they wind down, but today the madness continues. A 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz just sold for $55,000. Its condition #1 value in the the Hagerty Price Guide is $38,100.

January 30, 2:47 pm: It’s not all muscle and customs at Barrett-Jackson. Two restored Datsun 320 pickups sold in quick succession for $55,000 and $41,800.

January 30, 3:41 pm: Meanwhile, the 1996 Corvette Grand Sport continues to be immune to any market mania. A member of Hagerty’s 2019 Bull Market list, this nice example at Barrett-Jackson sold for a very reasonable $44,000.

January 30, 5:10 pm: Quieter days are good opportunities to buy what you like and not pay too much. A 2003 Honda S2000 with less than 25K miles sold for 3% less than its condition 2 price guide value.

January 30, 5:48 pm: Barrett-Jackson closes out the week in its traditional way, by selling a Mercedes-Benz (this 2003 SL500, which sold for $33,000). Preliminary results for the Scottsdale-based auction house were $202.5M off of 1,847 vehicles sold.