Over $172 million in collector cars sold last August in auctions around Monterey, Calif., with 33 classics bringing $1 million or more.
By all indications, the Château Lafite Rothschild end of the collector car market is doing quite well.
What of the Pabst Blue Ribbon end of the market, the domain of younger and less liquid collectors?
The auctions taking place this week in the Phoenix area may provide clues to the health of this vital part of the vintage-car hobby.
Of the major auction houses holding sales, Silver Auctions of Spokane, Wash., is the most firmly identified with the entry-level market.
Held in Fort McDowell, about a half hour northeast of Phoenix, it’s the North African souk of auctions, where one can find cars like a clean Corvair or an obscure British roadster like a Jensen-Healey.
“At the height of the market, the entry point for a car you’d be proud to take to a local show was about $15,000,” said Mitch Silver, the founder of Silver Auctions. “Now, you can find quality cars in the $7,000 to $8,000 range. Prices haven’t been much lower in the last 10 years.”
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