Classic Cars Move Fast at Auction

Shopping malls weren’t the only places jammed with people eager to part with their money Saturday.

Pausing amid the crowd perusing 400 collector cars in a parking lot next to the Hyatt Newporter, Val Danneskiold pulled a wad of $500 bills from a pocket in his blue jeans.

“We always carry this stuff around in case something good comes up,” said Danneskiold of Val’s Antique Cars in Granada Hills. He looked over the gleaming, prized automobiles and added: “I’ve had all these cars at one time or another. . . . But if I see something I like that I’ve never owned, I’ll buy it.”

Danneskiold was one of the more than 500 shoppers at the first day of the two-day, 13th annual Rick Cole Collector Car Auction in Newport Beach, where everything from Rolls-Royces to Mustangs to Model A’s to Volkswagens sat under the dreary and sometimes drizzly sky, awaiting new owners.

But dry and warm beneath the auctioneering tent, fast-tongued, melodic auctioneers cajoled potential buyers into making split-second decisions, turning spectators into classic-car owners within a few seconds.

Organizers said 40 cars passed in front of the two auctioneers’ stands each hour, and millions of dollars are expected to change hands this weekend. From the pace of events Saturday, no single car seemed to stay in the spotlight for more than five minutes.

“Put the hood down, start it up, get it out of here,” said one auctioneer, rushing the bids on a white 1957 Ford Thunderbird with round “moon” side windows. Seeking $155,000 for the factory-supercharged, fully restored classic, the auctioneer eventually sold it to the highest bidder for $57,000--considered a bargain. It had been listed as “no reserve,” meaning the owner has set no minimum selling price and was willing to sell the car to the highest bidder.

On the other side of the tent, another auctioneer was encouraging two bidders vying for ownership of a different Ford Thunderbird--a sleek, jet-black, 1955 hardtop convertible, which eventually sold for $20,000.

“It’s done perfectly,” Tom Warden, the winning bidder, said of the car’s restoration as he left the auctioneering tent. Warden, an attorney from Northridge, said he came to the auction looking for a classic Thunderbird, and saw that one as soon as he walked throughout the gate.

Although millions of dollars are being spent this weekend, some collectors said even more money will change hands when the new owners take the cars to foreign markets, where they can earn up to three times the price they paid in the United States. Many people cited Europe and Japan as key markets for exporting classic American cars.

Organizers said they expect at least half of the cars to sell, and sellers estimated that of the people who came to the auction intending only to look, about 10% will drive home in a new car.

But some who came to the auction Saturday--paying $7 to enter and $5 just to park--were not so easily sold.

Ellen Grun, a data processor from Redondo Beach who recently started collecting cars, said she came strictly to learn and to see “how much was hype.”

“I’m just curious to know what the market is,” said Grun, who owns a Ferrari, which she hopes to sell. “It’s very trendy. Last year it was all muscle cars . . . but they’re not here this year,” she said, referring to strong, big-engined American cars from the 1960s, such as Mustangs, Pontiacs and Camaros.

Her conclusion from a few hours’ research: “It’s easier to buy than to sell.”

Another seller, Bruce Popko of San Juan Capistrano, was optimistic that his cars would do well over the weekend because, he said, his two 1964 Chevy 409 red convertibles exemplify the Southern California mystique.

Popko said he would rather invest in cars than in the stock market, which he called “more volatile.”

“The better ones (car deals) are the lemons, but you put the money into it and it comes back to you,” said Popko, who owns a printing business and collects cars as a hobby. “It’s worked out for me, just as good, if not better” than the stock market. “But it takes time.”

Danneskiold, the collector from Granada Hills who owns about 125 cars, agreed that ample time and money are necessities for buying and selling collector cars.