Barrett-Jackson Arizona Auctions by Mark C. Bach

Each January, a series of car auctions are held in the Phoenix, AZ metro area. If there was a make or marquee that ever existed, it is here for sale. In just 10 days, there are seven auction companies holding 23 days worth of auctions! RM, Gooding, Kruse, ICA, Silver, Russo Steele and of course Barrett-Jackson all hold auctions here, often on the same dates.

Probably the most disheartening news was hearing that during a sudden rainstorm Drew Alcazar’s Russo Steele Auction site in Scottsdale lost some tents which were covering cars to be auctioned. The site was so damaged from Thursday night’s storm that authorities wouldn’t let the anguished car owners in to check on their cars until Saturday. The good news was only one person was injured and cars can always be repaired.

Silver Car Auctions, who originated the Hot August Nights in Reno, NV hold thier auctions at nearby Fort McDowell and are well known for a friendly site for entry level cars and buyers. Several of their tents also collapsed in the strong winds but they had the foresight to keep the consignment cars out away from the tents.

The biggest car auction is the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction which is viewed live on the Speed Channel for nearly 40 hours. Over 1,100 cars are auctioned in Scottsdale over the course of six days. The highest valued cars are auctioned on Saturday night. This was the 39th year of the auction and in 2010 the Barrett-Jackson folks will also hold auctions in Palm Beach, FL, Orange County, CA, and Las Vegas, NV. Barrett-Jackson altered the regular car auction process by introducing the all no-reserve concept. In most auctions the seller can sell the car on a “reserve” basis, and if the bidding doesn’t reach a predetermined (and secret) price, the car isn’t sold. But at Barrett-Jackson all cars are sold on the no-reserve basis, which means that the car will be sold at whatever the auctioneer can gather for the highest price.

Barrett-Jackson failed to get any bids exceeding one million dollars, a benchmark here in Arizona. Seven cars at Gooding were sold for over that figure for older esoteric foreign cars. In general, it seemed that car prices were lower than in the recent past. Due to production deadlines, a complete review can’t be done until the next issue.

To get a car auctioned off, a seller must pay an entry fee and then the auction company gets a percentage of the selling price. In addition the new buyer also pays a commission to the auction company. Plus, the general public must pay an admission fee to enter the grounds just to drool and look at the cars. The buyer will also pay local and state sales taxes unless they can prove the car is being transported out of state. Of course the buyer has to also pay for transportation costs to get the car to the site and food and lodging costs while they are there waiting for the car to sell. Selling a car at auction can be a pricey proposition with no guarantee that the seller will get the pricing they wanted.

For many car owners, it would be a lot easier to list the car in Round-Up!

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