Auction-Goers Try to Find Good Deals With Hot Wheels

C. F. Mitchell of Beverly Hills just hoped to “make a buck or two” from his old Chevy at a classic car auction in Newport Beach on Saturday. But Mitchell’s Chevy kept company with Shelbys, Porsches, Jaguars and even Sylvester Stallone’s fully armored Chevrolet Suburban, which the “Rambo” star had customized for protection.

Prospective bidders kicked tires, peered under hoods and removed sunglasses to examine paint jobs of more than 400 cars up for sale in the 12th annual Newport Beach Collector Car Auction at the Newporter Resort.

This was Mitchell’s first car auction. He was trying to sell a 1956 Chevrolet Cameo truck he picked up for $4,500 through a newspaper ad.

Auction in Tent

Mitchell waited in the line of cars leading to the big white tent where the bidding went on. The auctioneer’s voice could be heard throughout the parking lot as he announced the bids at lightning speed. “I have five thousand, five thousand, who’ll give me six.”

The Chinese-red paint on Mitchell’s truck shone brightly between a black 1969 Ford GT Torino and a 1967 Rolls-Royce Corniche. The line moved forward a few feet and Mitchell turned the key in the ignition two or three times before the truck glubbed to a start.

“I might not get what I paid for it,” Mitchell speculated as he and his truck got closer to the tent entrance. “It’s a gamble, but life’s a gamble. I’ve never done this before and I may not do it again.”

Mitchell’s was one of the few autos with no reserve price on it, meaning he was willing to take whatever he got.

“If the high bid is $100, then that’s what it’s going to go for. If it does, I lose my shirt and everything else I’ve got,” he said with a smile.

Bidding Starts at $1,000

“Bring in the next car,” auctioneer Mark Gelman shouted into the microphone.

Mitchell drove the truck in front of the podium, and bidding started at $1,000.

“I’ve got $1,000, who’ll give me $1,500. One, five folks.”

There was a pause. Someone bid $2,000.

“These are sold up in the area of $10,000,” the auctioneer said. “I’ve got $2,900, who’ll give me three? Do I hear three? . . . No? Sold for $2,900.”

A dejected Mitchell maneuvered the truck outside.

“That’s not even what I paid for it,” he moaned. “I’m surprised. I really thought I’d get about $5,000 for it.”

Mitchell had to pay an auction entrance fee of $300 and give the auction house 3% of the sale price.

“Oh, well,” he said. “You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you’re rained out.”

Stallone, in absentia, did somewhat better. A Florida auto investor, Marvin Friedman, paid $68,250 for Stallone’s 1987 customized van.

The armored Chevrolet Suburban is equipped with 2-inch-thick shatterproof glass, reinforced plating in the floor and sides, a computerized navigation system, a police alarm, a public address system, television, VCR, compact disc player and telephone.

Auction spokesman Chris Main said Stallone ordered the armored vehicle after finishing his second “Rambo” film, which had an anti-Soviet theme.

“His publicist said he had been receiving death threats because of the movie and felt he needed protection,” Main said.

Stallone’s representative also told auction officials that he plans to replace the vehicle sold Saturday with a 1989 model, also customized but with “lighter armor.”

Bargains Hard to Find

Another buyer, meanwhile, was eyeing more modest transportation. Al Jensen of Mesa, Ariz., said he makes a living off these auctions.

“I own 30 cars,” he said with pride as he surveyed a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

“This’ll probably go for over $30,000. I’d pay about $18,000,” Jensen said, as he opened and closed the driver’s door a few times.

“Cars are doing better than anything else right now,” Jensen said. “They’re doing better than real estate, better than CDs (certificates of deposit), better than gold, better than T-bills and better than Florida swamp land.”

Jensen said he decided to get out of real estate and into cars.

He followed the turquoise convertible (with California license plates BEL HEIR) into the auction tent.

The bidding started at $20,000. Jensen didn’t bid.

“I have to get a steal,” he said amid the cacophony of the auctioneer yelling bids and those milling around one of the more popular models of the auction. “If I don’t feel like I’ve gotten a steal, then I don’t buy it.”

It went for $28,500. Jensen headed back outside to look for other potential bargains.

In the parking lot Steve Kapelus of Newport Beach was “just looking,” unless he ran into a ’63 Thunderbird convertible. “But they’re rare,” he said.

Kapelus said he has gone to the auction for the past few years, “mainly to drool.”

He drives a 1974 Ford Grand Torino Elite that has 175,000 miles on it.

“If I hold onto it another 20 years it might be a collector’s item,” he quipped. “I’m thinking of buying an extra one just for parts.”

The auction continues today at 8:30 a.m.

Times wire services contributed to this story.