Collector Classics: COVID hasn't stopped the bid

Collector and classic cars are still selling at auctions, but it’s a different world for buyers and sellers

Alyn Edwards

Nov 14, 2020 • April 21, 2021 • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

Garry and Darlene Cassidy taking delivery at their Langley showroom of the 1967 Chevelle SS, a car that was sold at the recent Barrett-Jackson auction by Vancouver dealer Wayne Darby. Photo by Alyn Edwards

Vancouver-area car collector Garry Cassidy invited a few friends over during last month’s Barrett-Jackson fall collector car auction. Normally, Cassidy would be at the auction in Scottsdale, Arizona with friends Don Voth and Hank Funk. Not this time. COVID-related travel restrictions nixed that.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

But the enthusiasm was high as a dozen friends watched the collector cars go across the block on the big screen in Cassidy’s 8,500 square foot car showroom on his acreage in Langley. Cassidy has been busy replacing the 37 collector cars worth nearly $3 million lost in a garage fire three years ago.

So, he was a telephone bidder connected to the Barrett-Jackson auction when he bought a plum mist 1967 Chevelle with a beefy 427 cubic inch engine running through a four-speed manual transmission. The hammer price was US$35,000 plus 10 per cent buyer commission. Ironically, the seller at the Barrett-Jackson was Vancouver-area classic car dealer Wayne Darby. It was one of 10 cars Darby had taken to the Scottsdale, Arizona auction.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The rise in telephone and online bidding is representative of a shift in how collector vehicles are being marketed and sold in these uncertain times. Auction companies have had to find ways to sell cars remotely. Even the vaunted Hemmings Motor News, the bible of the collector car hobby for half a century, is selling cars in online auctions. And the popular website bringatrailer.com has been auctioning cars online through a daily news feed received by collectors worldwide since 2014. The company listed 1,370 vehicles for sale in September and had a sales rate of 79 per cent.

Not surprisingly, the televised fall Barrett-Jackson auction had a very different look and feel compared to previous auctions. Only 6,000 registered bidders and consigners could attend the auction. Mandated health provisions were strictly adhered to, including social distancing as the collector vehicles crossed the block.

“I was very impressed by how they did it,” Wayne Darby says of his experience at the auction. “It was an experiment to see if they could hold the auction during the COVID crisis and they pulled it off.”

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Vancouver-area car collectors gather in Garry Cassidy’s classic car garage to watch the Fall Barrett-Jackson auction. Photo by Alyn Edwards
This 1967 Chevelle Super Sport powered by a 427 cubic inch engine running through a four-speed manual transmission was purchased by Vancouver-area collector Garry Cassidy in a telephone bid at the fall Barrett-Jackson Auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photo by Submitted
Highly south 1962 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport convertible powered by a 409 horsepower engine running through a four-speed manual transmission sold for $93,000 at the online Fall Toronto Collector Car Auction. Photo by Submitted
A fully restored 1940 Ford convertible sold online at the online Fall Toronto Collector Car Auction at a bargain price of $33,000. Photo by Submitted
This modified 1946 Ford pickup sold at the online Fall Toronto Collector Car Auction for $25,000 which represents a fair deal for both buyer and seller. Photo by Submitted
One of only 235 produced by Ford of Canada, this rare 1954 Meteor Skyliner with a see-through plexiglass roof sold at the online Fall Collector Car Auction for $11,500 which appears to be a bargain. Photo by Submitted

The fall Barrett-Jackson auction featured the sale of 442 collector vehicles that sold for US$235 million.

Investment quality cars like Ford GT models brought top dollars at the auction. But the market was soft for the lower priced collector cars, including classics, hot rods and muscle cars.

Wayne Darby says the big Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction will go ahead in January but there will be a limit of 20,000 people allowed to attend. That is compared to 300,000 people who usually attend the company’s premier live auction. The auction will be televised and seen by millions of enthusiasts around the world.

For the first time, the Toronto Collector Car Auction was conducted online last weekend with 101 classics offered for sale to the highest bidder. The online sale featured about half the number of the classics that were available in past live auctions held at Toronto’s International Centre and prices were off compared to last year’s sales.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Market watchers see continuing strong interest in collector vehicles as hobby cars and solid ground for investors.

But a fair number of collector vehicles sold, including a 1936 Auburn convertible that topped the sale at $135,000. A 1962 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport convertible featuring a 409 cubic inch engine and four-speed transmission sold for $93,000. A modified 1946 Ford pickup crossed the online auction block for $25,000 – a price that was fair for both the buyer and seller.

But there were significant bargains. Well bought was a fully restored bright red 1940 Ford convertible for $33,000. And a Canadian-built 1954 Meteor Rideau Skyliner with the industry’s first see-through Plexiglas roof, one of only 235 produced, seemed to be a bargain with a hammer price of $11,500.

Market watchers see continuing strong interest in collector vehicles as hobby cars and solid ground for investors. Online and live auctions still result in thousands of vehicles finding new owners. But the current market is much more difficult to predict.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Vancouver collector car dealer Wayne Darby at the Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona last year. Photo by Alyn Edwards

Dealer Wayne Darby auctioned 45 vehicles at the Barrett-Jackson auction last January. He had planned to take 50 collector vehicles to the Barrett-Jackson auction this coming January, which will be the 50th year for the auction company. But he has scaled that back to no more than 20 vehicles because of market uncertainty.

“I’m going to be very cautious,” he says.

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com