The '71 Hemi Cuda is a rare, rare car and while 3.5 million may sound like an excessive amount the market will dictate those cars are always going to be worth millions.
I believe the storyline behind that particular car is that it was a company gift to the guy who actually designed them.
Odds are there are more Hemi Cudas rolling around now than the total number of HCs ever manufactured. Weed out the clones…
I like auctions (but I never pay too much…) , muscle cars and antiques (but useful or decorative ones…)
I used to go to yardsales early on Saturday mornings with my grandmother. I learned the art of getting a good price.
same with auctions, you have walk away if the price is gets too high.
…at yardsales and private shops and sales, you can walk away and still get it the price you want before you leave…
I used to go to auctions but seemed there was always some clown in the crowd who wanted the same thing at any price. Air compressors going for the same price as new. I was bidding on a boat once and just let the guy have the old beat up thing. Bought a miscellaneous box of stuff at my wife’s uncles auction and ended up with a life time supply of poor quality caulk guns and a sabre saw I finally just threw away. Then selling my dad’s stuff, a $1400 electric easy chair went for $4. Lunacy. But the thing is when you are selling stuff, sometimes its more just getting rid of the stuff than the money.
There’s no question that the cars that sell for millions are great cars, but I still don’t understand the prices. Even a great car is still only a car.
But hey, if someone has the resources and is willing to spend millions for a car, the more power to them. They’ll get no argument from me.
It’s not much different than standing in the “viewing area”" of the high stakes gaming tables in Vegas. I watched one guy spend that kind of money in mere minutes and he didn’t come out the backside of that deal with anything, let alone one of the coolest cars ever… 
@“the same mountainbike”, you don’t have enough money to understand. I don’t either, but it appears to me that if $3.5 million is less than 5 to 10% of net income, it is almost like walking around money; it’s disposable. And if you can own something that no one else can, that’s even better.
I have not been able to wrap my head around these auction car prices. I know they are old and considered antique/vintage/etc. But the purpose of a non-commuter car to me is to drive them for fun and enjoyment. At the end of the day, they are pieces of metal/material, rolling down the road on 4 wheels and subject to all sorts of damage.
You’re right, jt.
And you’ve made a good point. To a billionaire, a few million bucks is a pittance, and if they see something they like and it costs a few million or so, why not?
Must be nice.
I still judge the value of things by their intrinsic value, but Bill Gates said many year ago in an interview that he had completely lost any understanding of the value of a dollar. I took that to mean that he no longer valued things based on their intrinsic value, that money to him was purely conceptual, purely a tool to accomplish things.
Yes it must be nice, @“the same mountainbike” but we are further splitting the divide by income as to who can pay gigabucks for a car and who cannot. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and you think this is the way it should be, dammit man you have a mind, you have a conscience, and you are just gong to say as long as they leave me alone everything is ok! Everything is not ok, the foxes are in charge of the henhouse, what you thought is right is wrong, the cars are faking tests, for profit, the muslems are bad, crap they are good, consider it is the christian heritage of crusades and inquisitions, and now we wan2t to deny persecuted people an ability to leave unsafe conditions and cloak yourself in kristen values, Jesus was a refugee, and probably would have driven a nash given the choice.
Barky, I don’t know where this is all coming from. Did I say something to upset you?
Just tired of people being sheeple, taking for granted the rich can have anything they want and loosing pay, social security benifits, workplace safety, unions and whatever else because of divide and conquer. Now we hate police, unions, muslems, can beat up on black lives matters at a trump speech, right to abort a child, no way, support that child, no way, cut unemployment benefits, Drug test for food stamps, Id to vote, @“the same mountainbike” probably I am just sad the car I want is so frikken expensive I cannot afford to buy it.
Relax. There’s a great deal about this country that I disagree with, but your depiction of my beliefs isn’t even in the ballpark.
As regards cars, I can’t afford the car I’d like either… but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the car I already have.
@“the same mountainbike” No clue what your your beliefs are, and was no way indicative of any assumption on my part of your beliefs. Just talking from my side of the fence and not attempting to depict your beliefs. Just agreeing with
"To a billionaire, a few million bucks is a pittance, and if they see something they like and it costs a few million or so, why not?
Must be nice.
You shouldn’t take comments out of context like that. That comment was part of an acknowledgement of the truth of jt’s statement.
And you should never, ever, ever besmirch the reputation of another by ranting on making slanderous statements about their beliefs when you know absolutely nothing about them. I was hoping to see an apology in your post, but, sadly, there clearly is none.
Our local police department has an annual auction of bicycles that were stolen, abandoned, etc. The prices bid on a nice day are usually 'way more than what you would pay at a garage sale or on line. The city does well by these auctions.
On the other hand, the International Airport has an annual sale of cars left behind in the parking lot, and there are some bargains to be had there by knowledgeable bidders. The cars usually can’t be started, so you have to move them yourself.
In general, big ticket items are more often a bargain than small ticket items.
I doubt that cars and be purchased and licensed here at the auctions you describe, @Docnick. Auto auctions around here have two lines. One for dealers only and one for everyone. Some cars are not considered safe enough to be purchased by citizens unless they can prove they are auto dealers/brokers.
@jtsanderes The cars need to be inspected and deemed fit in order for the new owner to get plates and a license. The insurance companies require this as well.
A couple of years ago I sold my wife’s old Nissan Sentra to a painter with an “as is and where is” on the bill of sale.
The painter just took the plates of one of his vehicles (temporarily) and used them to get the Nissan home. He then went through the fitness inspection (passed) and then got plates for it. Not everyone does it that way, however. Typically the previous owner can drop the car off at a garage, take the plates off and then the new owner will put the new plates on after presenting the fitness certificate to the MVB.
The vehicles in the dealer-only lane have to be towed or moved on a car carrier. Those in the other lane can get temporary tags to get them home, and still require a safety inspection before they can get permanent license plates.
I learned recently while visiting my son in CA that CA doesn’t issue temporary plates. When you buy a car, you drive around without any plates at all until you can get to the DMV. He pointed out a number of cars driving around without plates. Weird, but true.
Weird, but true.
What’s weird about it? It’s the same in WA. A brand new car has no license plates, it can’t because it has no legal or registered owner. When you buy a new car, the dealer puts a 30-day temp tag in the back window and will register the car for you and send you license plates. A used car will already have license plates on it so the next owner just transfers the pink slip or title into his name, and so on.
If you have a personalized license plate and sell your car then you can keep your license plates and transfer them to your new one. But then the buyer of your old car will ask you to lower your selling price to cover the cost of having to buy new plates when he registers it.
I think it’s weird the way some states have people buy license plates that they have to keep after selling the car. What good does it do to have license plates without a car or a car without a license plate?