What Would You Have Bid on at This Nebraska Farm Auction?

The online world is understandably a popular place to pick up project vehicles and parts. Rightfully so—with its broad reach means no matter how obscure the item, chances are good that buyers and sellers will find each other. Despite that, it often struggles to provide one very elusive thing: A good deal.

Whether it’s sellers who don’t really need to sell or simply the fact that everyone knows the going rate for a given part and prices accordingly, online bargains are increasingly rare. But, if you don’t mind a bit of sleuthing and spending a little time to get to your destination, you do have an alternative: In-person auctions are still an excellent option. YouTube channel Mr. Goodpliers recently found their way to Pawnee City, Nebraska show us that if you know where to go, there are deals to be had.

This video comes from a farm-style auction of over 300 cars, trucks, and other implements. Mr. Goodpliers doesn’t just provide eye candy, either—as he wanders past old work trucks, VW Beetles, and AMCs, Chevys, and Fords of all stripes, he shares the sale price of each, prompting at least a couple of us behind our desks to start looking for farm auctions within a half-day drive of home.

While there are certainly a fair share of cars at this sale that would be best described as parts cars, there are also a lot of seemingly solid looking starts to at home projects that could be very fun and rewarding to bring back to life. Maybe not as full-on restorations, but enough to have some fun and learn a little while creating a characterful driver that runs and stops reliably. Knowing you’ve saved something from the scrap heap is an added bonus.

Sadly, this is a midwestern auction, so a lot of the aging steel has been infested by tinworm. This doesn’t appear to be the liquidation of a salvage yard though, so while it looks like everything is missing something, only a few are missing everything. Multiple complete-appearing cars sold for under $1000, and while they were not the most desirable body styles or trims, they still harbor a lot of potential compared to the hulks we have all seen listed for five times that with “I know what I’ve got” telling you that there won’t be much negotiation on the price. It might be time to stop accidentally sending “is this available?” messages from your phone and instead hitch up a trailer to go explore an in-person auction. You’re almost certain to find something cool—maybe even something cool enough to buy.