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84 Posts
Thanks very much, Bryan. But I'm already missing it.seller is a member here; congratulations, Don!
Blu olandese, AR 343, chosen by the prior owner. Original color was the usual red. Thanks.Hi Don,
What is that color blue? And was that the original color? Very very beautiful. Nice sale though.
Economists refer to auctions as efficient 'price discovery' mechanisms. "Ruin" is a subjective, disparaging term that reveals the author's own prejudices.Unfortunately, one off sale prices like this tend to ruin the market. All of a sudden people think their cars are worth so much more, and even basket cases become unattainable. Those such as small resto shops, and other people who wouldn't have even known what these cars were, start to become interested.
Having said that, they are truly beautiful, and there is nothing else like them.
In the past they have been sought out by enthusiasts. Is that about to change?
I agree completely. I have said it before, restoring a vehicle to #1 condition is much much more difficult than getting to a #2 condition etc. Not to say these particular car were #1 or 2 in the quality of the restoration work, I didn't see either car up close, but vehicles restored to the top, will always command top money. Keith Martin, Sports Car Market Magazine once told me while looking and appraising my Giulietta, "a guy who has a stable full of million dollar Ferrari's would think nothing of dropping top money for a #1 condition Giulietta if he thought it would look nice in his collection". A hundred grand or so is nothing to these guys. There are plenty of just so so quality Alfa's out there. There are very few #1s, nothing wrong with good drivers, but you really need to compare apples to apples if your going to price them. I still think this is where the prices should be for high quality restored Giulietta's compared to 356's etc.The distortion that does occur after an "exceptional" sale such as this one is that people forget that number 1 cars are worth a LOT more than a number 2 which are worth a lot more than a 3. The result is that it seems like everyone with a running car now thinks their car is worth at least $100K. They are not, of course.
The only opinions about my cars that I care about are those held by people who write the checks for the winning bid (and then only until the check clears).I was at this auction and looked at both the SS and Spider very closely. Both cars were very well done, presented nicely, and were getting plenty of attention. There were several potential buyers looking at the cars at the same time as I and interest was strong. In my opinion, neither were #1 condition cars, ie. flawless. In fact, I thought the spider was a bit nicer than the SS. Don, please don't take this comment as a cheap shot at you or your restoration work. It is just my opinion based on my observations.
Disclaimer: I am not a professionally trained appraiser, just an enthusiast, but I have frequently been called a perfectionist by family and friends.![]()
Credit for the restoration goes to Bill Gillham, although I had to repair damage from the prior owner and do some other fine tuning, like replacing the instruments with NOS gauges that I found in Italy.I know most of this conversation is about the SS, but I was very impressed with Don's Spider Veloce. Here's a few pictures of the quality work.
Finally caught this episode of What's My Car Worth tonight on Discovery HDTV. Did Keith Martin really say he once had an SS as his daily driver??!!? When? In 1961?The only opinions about my cars that I care about are those held by people who write the checks for the winning bid (and then only until the check clears).
That said, the spider probably was a bit nicer, as the upholsterer's skills seemed to improve between the two cars and the paintwork on the jambs and in the interior was better executed.
On a future airing of "What's My Car Worth ?" on Discovery HDTV, you'll be able to hear Keith Martin's and Donald Osborne's opinions about the SS.
Agree fully with Carmonkey, and am wishing that he'd post a few photos of his recent acquisition.