Buying a Classic

An interesting alternative to visiting a classic car dealer, is to attend a car auction. There are many old established names, such as Bonhams, Christies, RM Sothebys, Artcurial, Ossenat to name but a few, which tend to attract the high end of the market. Most nowadays support internet bidding, so you don’t have to be there in person.

Bids can go up excruciatingly slowly, but also unexpectedly rapidly, sometimes in mind-boggling increments of €100,000 or more. There are however many smaller names where the biding can be no less exciting, albeit at a lower level.

The auction is the best way of determining the value of a classic car, as it constitutes the ultimate bringing together of supply and demand, although as we have seen in recent years prices have gone though the roof as a result of people wishing to invest in them, as opposed to driving them.

Phil Seed November 2020