Anyone watching Barrett-Jackson Car Search?

[LeeH]

This show really has me thinking. These guys are scouring the country for classic, exotic, and muscle cars that they buy from dealers or individuals. They take them to Barrett Jackson and hope to make a profit. The guys in the show are experts, but I wonder how well this would work for the average car guy.

[Doug Zielke]

Who cares?
I only watch it to see Darla.

[techweenie]

Darla has good posture.

Lee, I'm doing the same thing those guys are without cameras following me, and not for auction. There's a reason the "LA guys" in the competition took forever to find a car. Everybody thinks their car is worth huge bucks. You have to be there when reality sets in and the price becomes reasonable. Several other folks in the Pelican community are doing the same thing, too. I think the most aggressive and successful is Toomany911s. He's probably bought & sold 40 911s in the last year, and I'm willing to bet he's made decent money on every one of them.

[LeeH]

I like the flexibility of car trading. I just get hung up on buying the sure thing - which takes longer to find. The ROI is way ahead of stocks, but I need to increase my volume before I can say I'm making a living.

Barrett Jackson cars always seem to go a a serious premium. I just wonder if you could buy several cars over the year and then move them at B-J. I saw a '67 427 Vette convertible on Autotrader.com with an asking price in the high $70K range. They usually sell for $90-140K at Barrett-Jackson.

[techweenie]

I think you're right, Lee, but there's always somebody who is a specialist in one car type that'll drive the market. In the case of certain cars, subtle things turn them from premium collector cars to 'nice drivers.' I can stick with 911s and still get fooled now and again.

Also, remember that with every big auction company, there are fees, fees and more fees. They get 15-22% of every deal with seller fees and bidder 'premiums.' Like in Vegas, the only sure winner is the house.