McCormick's Collector Car Auction: 61 Times 1 at a Time

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Palm Springs CA, Nov 19 2016 - The McCormick's Collector Car Auctions team executed #61 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, as the oft-used lot at the Spa Casino Resort is under renovation. It's careful, personal teamwork plying the heart and purse strings of the buyers for the benefit of the sellers.

1957 Chrysler Windsor Hard Top sold $29,925

With nearly 600 automobiles to focus on over 3 days of a block party, the assembly line needs good organization and "horse sense" to keep cars rolling through at a quick pace to keep the crowd excited (but not too quick to extract all the cash possible on that day). $6+ million dollars of iron exchanged hands on this weekend. Full auction results here.

One of the smart things McCormick's offers is a free to the public viewing Friday to kick off the auction. Everyone in the Palm Springs area knows the two times a year a huge flock of automobile enthusiasts come to town to change their garage contents and colors.

1976 Pontiac Trans Am sold $14,175

With a 5% commission, both buyers and sellers might be able to pay for their trip with the savings on the industry standard of 10%. For those less inclined to pony up for this reasonable fee, the parking lanes along the way provide free window shopping of mostly local classics in search of new owners.

(With apologies to Forest Gump), auctions are also like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get for results. It all depends on who is in the room at the time, and that makes the time slots very important. The #61 top dollar sale was a $152,250 tie on two cars that couldn't be more different: a 1968 Shelby GT 500 KR and a 1954 Buick Skylark convertible.

Interestingly, 7 of 11 lowest price sales were Cadillacs (a 1978 Seville drove to a new home for $2048). One might think that Cadillac Allantes were disliked and disowned - 4 went away for under $3400. Surely these are the sleeper collector cars of the moment - perhaps slightly before their time to double the money. With a slimmer than usual sell-through rate of 60%, one can only speculate on whether asking prices or buyer expectations were too lofty. The auction team has to work harder to avoid no-sales but can't work miracles.

1930 American Austin Coupe no sale

With the gavel still hot from hammering cars home, the McCormick team will be already working on sourcing another 580+ vehicles for Auction #62 coming up in February. If you are thinking of selling your collector car or truck soon, sign up now so you can help yourself into a preferred hour and date slot. Time is money - your lot spot may have a significant effect on the ultimate sale value attained.

See you in a few months...Feb 24-26 2017.

1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria sold $34,650

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna sold $9,713

1955 Studebaker Commander sold $8,505

1962 Plymouth Valiant sold $3990

Pictured below: 1946 Chevrolet Stepside Pick up sold $19,163; 1947 International KB1 sold $14,910; 1966 Chevrolet El Camino no sale; 1946 Ford Convertible sold $52,500; and 1970 Mercedes 280 SL Roadster sold $55,650

by Randy Berg