State of the market

WORDS BARRY BIRCHALL

Barry Birchall ventured along to a December classic car auction in Auckland to assess how the value of our vehicles is holding up in these uncertain economic times.

Peter Webb first teamed up with one of the popular names in auction houses, Sotheby’s, and held a car auction on Princes Wharf in Auckland in 1990. Much later Webb’s started selling veteran motorbikes in Auckland and I was a little concerned about the numbers that might have been going overseas after each auction. Today they tend to seek out cars for sale from the top end of the market, and we see a lot of Bentleys, Ferraris, Jaguars, Maseratis, Mercedes, Mustangs, Porsches, and Rolls-Royces sold. The cars come to Auckland from all over New Zealand. Interestingly it is not always the European cars that command the highest price. A 1970 Ford Falcon GT HO Phase Three was sold in March 2021 for $414,000. A similar car had sold in Australia for $1.3 million; both were factory race cars. These Australian muscle cars were often produced in small numbers and established a name at Bathurst; they seem to strike a chord with the current generation of baby boomers. We do not see too many vintage cars or large left-hand drive American cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s, so popular now in Auckland. A year ago, a small 1954 Ford Thames cross cutter truck, which was a well-known club vehicle in Auckland, sold at auction and we were all surprised when it went for over $100,000. As we often see at these auctions, if the vehicle is in great condition and two people want the vehicle then the price can rapidly escalate. Often the cars offered are in great condition and normally we see a real mix of vehicles. The auction in December 2021 was no different.

With Webb’s first losing the venue at Greenlane that year, then Auckland going into an extended lockdown, one auction was cancelled which must have upset a few people who had shipped cars north. The auction of 76 lots finally took place on 12 December in the main hall at the Auckland show ground. Numbers were restricted in the room to one hundred people. Some were looking at the auction on a screen next door and there were a lot of telephone

VEHICLE DETAILS PRICE* VEHICLE DETAILS PRICE VEHICLE DETAILS PRICE

1968 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray $86,250 2002 BMW 530iSE Not sold 2008 Porsche 997 GT2 Not sold

1987 BMW 535i

1978 Triumph 2500S 1963 Jaguar MK2 3.8 1996 Bentley Brooklands 1971 Land Rover Series 11A $34,500 1980 Toyoto Landcruiser FJ40 $97,750 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLK350 Not sold $9,808 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK55AMG Not sold 1961 Peugeot 403 $10,925

$58,075 1987 Ferrari Testarossa $195,500 1979 Holden Monaro Not sold

$29,424 2008 Ferrari 599 $79,350 1960 Porsche 356B $212,750 1983 Range Rover Not sold

$152,375 1996 Mercedes-Benz SL600 V12 withdrawn

1968 Chevrolet RS Camaro

1973 Fiat 130 coupe 1965 Chevrolet Impala

$138,000 1991 Aston Martin Lagonda $48,300 1962 Douglas Vespa 150 $49,450 1938 Indian Chief M/C 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H $115,000 1954 BMW R25/3 M/C 1954 Triumph TR2 $77,625 1980 Honda CB400AT M/C

2011 Aston Martin Virage 1989 Porsche 944 Not sold 1955 BMW R50 with side car

Not sold 1996 Maserati Ghibli Not sold 1949 Talbot Lago T26 $12,075 1993 Jaguar XJS $57,500 2003 Audi RS6 Quattro V/8 $16,675 1929 Auburn Phaeton 8-90 $4,511 1997 Ferrari 456 GTA Not sold 2008 BMW M3 HP coupe $60,375 1996 Jaguar Sovereign Not sold

$43,700 $10,925 $63,752 Not sold

$57,000 Not sold

1991 Lancia Delta

$80,500 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL 1980 Mercedes-Benz 380 SLC Not sold 1982 Rolls -Royce Camargue Not sold 1998 Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth $53,944 Not sold 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500 SL conv $13,800

2001 Porsche 911

$34,500 1959 MGA 1600 2001 Bentley Arnage Red Label Not sold 2007 Aston Martin DB9 V12 $54,625 1986 Range Rover $79,936 1974 Bedford van

2002 Ferrari 550 Barchetta $430,500 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG Not sold 1971 Honda LN 360 Not sold

$10,788 $23,000

1969 Shelby Mustang GT 350 $149,500 1955 Ford Zephyr Mark 1 convertible $34,328 1938 Ford 10 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 Not sold 1972 Ford Fairmount GT XY Not sold $6,900

bidders from out of town. There is a buyer premium and GST to pay after the hammer falls, so if bidding stops at $200,000 on the vehicle you will pay $223,000. The buyer’s premium is higher on vehicles under $200,000. Webb’s produce an extensive wellresearched catalogue before the sale that gives potential buyers quite a lot of detail on each vehicle.

Walking round the room before the auction I felt the star of show had to be the 1991 Aston Martin Lagonda, one of last ones built from a production run of 645 cars over eleven years. This model did have issues with the electronics, and I hope this is not why we see a very low mileage on the car. The razor edge body work designed by William Towns still looks impressive and with a top speed of 145 mph it is some motor car. It was more expensive at the time than a new Rolls-Royce and clearly is a better investment than the Rolls-Royce. If someone was establishing a museum and had a turntable in the centre room this would be the star of the show. Another car that caught my eye was the 1949 Talbot Lago T26 that had clearly had a lot of money invested in it. The car had come up from the South Island and been in New Zealand since 1956. Webb’s did an excellent job of documenting the car’s early history and programme notes indicated it had first been sold in Amsterdam in December 1948 and only 750 of these cars with hand-built bodies were produced. I do hope someone buys the car and it stays in New Zealand. At the other end of the spectrum was a 1971 Land Rover Series 11A and a 1980 Toyota Landcruiser; clearly both had full restorations and looked like brand-new vehicles. The catalogue told us the Toyota had a six-figure sum spent on it. I thought the sums quoted in the catalogue were very close to where I saw the vehicles but a little low on the Land Rover. There was a 1978 Triumph 2500S saloon that had been owned new by Sir Robert Muldoon and a Mercedes roadster from 1970 with just 12,000 kilometres on the speedo. You had to wonder where this popular car had been hiding for the last 52 years to survive with such a low mileage. There were three cars from the RollsRoyce stable and I did hear they came from one collection in Wellington. One had the BMW motor, so it was clearly manufactured just after the two great names parted. Someone once told me the BMW motor was a better power plant than one found in the Rolls-Royce. I have never considered the Camargue designed by Pininfarina for Rolls-Royce as an attractive vehicle, but I know overseas they command quite a high price as there were only a few built.

The auction started on time. Very few vehicles put up for auction attracted no bid, but the Talbot Lago was one. I wondered later whether it was because it was a model and make nobody in the room today could remember. The highest price paid on the day was $430,500 for a 2002 Ferrari 550 Barchetta. Out of my league but clearly there was a lot of interest. The owner of the 1938 Indian Chief motorcycle must been pleased to see it go for $57,500 and I am sure the owner of the MGA was pleased to see it go up to $54,625. About 40 per cent of vehicles sold on the day were sold to a telephone bidder and about one or two vehicles from each auction go overseas.

We are still importing three older cars for every one car sent out of the country. In recent years we have lost a lot of Morris Minors to England and replaced them with Ford Mustangs from the States. There were about 30 lots sold on the day and 21 more lots sold after the auction when the auctioneers team brought the two parties together. The Mark One Zephyr convertible and the Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth never had a bid at the auction but were sold later. I am sure there were a few bargains, as a friend of mine purchased a 1996 Brooklands Bentley with a low mileage and in great condition for $29,424, a lot of motor car for that price.

Webb’s have always sold motor bikes, posters, advertising signs and number plates and at this auction it was no different. Some items not sold on the day are later seen on Trade Me.

From 1906 a selection suitable headcoverings for the avid motorist.Photo: Adobestock.com

1902 120 YEARS AGO VETERAN VEHICLES

Mask up, was the advice to women motoring in France where the roads were dusty. Unfortunately most young women were reluctant to disfigure themselves in this way, while men, it was said, wore masks without murmur. Opportunists announced a new mode was coming; a hood would fit over the lady’s bonnet joined to a fancy silk dress mask with eyeholes covered in glass to protect the spectacles.

1922 100 YEARS AGO VINTAGE VEHICLES

Rumours were rife about what was going on in the billiard room at Lickey Grange, Sir Herbert Austin’s home. Austin was in receivership after the post war recession, the board of directors were at odds with him and all could have been lost. But the great man acquired the services of a brilliant, 18 year old draughtsman, Stanley Edge. What sort of car could be designed on a billiard table and would it save the company?

1947 75 YEARS AGO PW VEHICLES

The heavy brigade was emerging in the UK. Austin were showing their massive 3460cc, six cylinder 110bhp A110 Sheerline complete with Lucas P100 headlights dominating everything up front.

Looking far more elegant were the short lived Jensen PW, which used the Sheerline’s engine late in its production life and the Sheerline’s more attractive stable mate, the Vanden Plas Austin Princess.

1972 50 YEARS AGO P60 VEHICLES Muted cheers when the Ministry of Transport’s Traffic Officers went on strike. Sort of – as they didn’t stop work. They continued enforcing traffic laws introduced before 1 April 1965 as these were the accident promoting offences. Traffic Regulations introduced after 1 April were to do with breath tests and parking. With unseemly haste the Dunedin City Council moved to send the MOT a bill for $2000 a week to compensate for lost parking revenue.

1992 30 YEARS AGO P80 VEHICLES

The cost of super luxury limousines from Mercedes Benz looked as though it might top the $400,000 soon. It cost a cool $348,550 for the top of the range 300kw V12 S-Class complete with double glazing, power doors and bootlid all trimmed in walnut and leather. Or, if you were a bit short of the readies you could have the 3.2 litre six for just $199,750.

THE WAY WE WERE

▲ The Railton provided ample opportunity for exploration. ▲ Sword Collection 1908 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost opens the 500cc meeting at Beveridge Park, Kirkaldie.

TIME FOR A TRIP OVERSEAS

At the finish of the Leeston rally described in last issue, I had a busy Christmas and New Year acting as driver for Mollie’s family tour of the North Island, and on our return, my grapevine advised that there was a ship in Timaru with position available for a greaser.

The next instalment remembering the origins and very early events of the Vintage Car Club as recalled by Andrew Anderson

ANDREW ANDERSON

VCCNZ FOUNDING & LIFE MEMBER

A fast trip in the Bentley to Timaru followed by an enthusiastic welcome from the frustrated chief engineer on sight of my fitter and turner qualificatons. I hot footed it home – Napier entrusted to Buddy Harding’s backyard, Bentley onto blocks at home, Panhard still in Derek Margett’s care and then, with kitbag and sleeping bag, it was back via train to Timaru on 21 January 1952 where I signed on for a working passage on MV Orari.

The vessel was 6,235 tons gross, launched 1932, a frozen meat ship of the Federal Steam Navigation Company. Carcasses were duly loaded at Timaru. Main greasers, three of us, polished, oiled and generally tended to the two nine-cylinder Sulzer crosshead diesel engines delivering 3000 brake horsepower each at 98 rpm for a cruising speed of some 14 knots.

The main greasers were day workers whilst the fridge greasers worked shifts. As a relatively modern vessel, living quarters were very civilized and we all shared two berth cabins, me with a yorkie fridge chap. We had a deck crew from Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides and, as day workers, we had plenty of time to get together and the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel saw a lot of us. Two weeks in Timaru and off to Port Chalmers to top up. Mollie and I got ourselves formally engaged and made plans that she would save up hard and follow in a year’s time for a great OE herself, we planned to get very quietly married overseas and have a great time hitching our way around UK and the continent. I had already arranged for all my MOW riches to open a London bank account and since it was an excellent chance to get specific information of value to the family firm, I had a trainee position waiting for me at the Harland engineering company in Alloa near Stirling, that specialised in hydroelectric turbines and multistage pumps.

From Port Chalmers we did our 98 rpm steadily to the Panama Canal and through this to a very sweaty replacement of one of our Sulzer cross heads at Balboa, then across the tail of a hurricane on route to Curacao, to a partial unload at King George V docks London where I picked up my checkbook and pay off on March 20 at Glasgow. Thence by train to Alloa where Harland were all prepared for my arrival with a good billet with a pleasant older couple in the village of Sauchie. Company buses picked up employees from a lot of outlying villages and delivered them back, but the villagers had absolutely no facilities at all, wheels an essential.

Now unlike present day OEs which tend to cost parental fortunes, I paid off with the princely sum of £48/6/1 in my pocket. So, two Saturdays after arrival I was off to Glasgow’s then famous car auction under the rule of which cars had to be fully insured and licensed. The vast tax on the big engine was thus no worry and meant very little competition for a 1935 Railton. Armed with this machine my fellow trainee Derek Sinclair from Kenya and I did a lot of exploration, including in April a trip to a 500cc race meeting at Kirkcaldy where we met the 1908 Silver Ghost of the Sword Collection. Derek photographed the Railton in early June at the Sheriff Muir battlefield.

Meanwhile back in New Zealand while all this was going on, Jack Adams who had been elected President on the departure of Bob Blackburn, oversaw the third West Canterbury rally in April to our ‘old house’ at Sheffield to which Rob Shand brought his just acquired the 3 litre 1922 straight 8 TT Sunbeam. It was, unknown to him, on its last legs with distorted valve seats in its all alloy engine, so home on the end of a rope with Buddy Harding in attendance.