SLC on Auction in Monterey

[Alan Watkins]

Russo and Steele - Collector Automobile Auctions

[Alex]

I feel bad for Tim's old car .... it seems well built and keeps getting tossed around for sale

[Alan Watkins]

Originally Posted by EFNFAST

I feel bad for Tim's old car .... it seems well built and keeps getting tossed around for sale

Is this by any chance the first publically auctioned SLC? If not what's the auction history like?

[Alex]

My understanding is Tim's car has been for sale many times by many different companies. Whether he still owns it and its a consignment sale, or somebody else bought it to try to flip a profit, I dunno.

I think he still owns it because he's still selling it on his auction site

http://www.veloce1.com/superlite.html

[Will Campbell]

If it sells, it will be an interesting benchmark. I think the pricing in the past hasn't been realistic, but perhaps R&S will bring the right buyer.

The problem is that this kind of a car has a relatively narrow audience, so if the right person isn't there, or no one is there to bid against him, the car will not bring the price that is probably being sought. I've seen Ultimas, for example, go for nutty low dollars- or crazy high prices, for example. It just depends on who is bidding, and how much that car speaks to a potential buyer.

An auction is a place to move a car quickly if there is no reserve, but I think that works best with recognizable cars, not so much with cars like the SLC, which is still (despite the best efforts of Fran and Stacey David) the best-kept secret in kitcar-dom.

Edit: I see he is asking $245K! That's a nice car, but I think that kind of pricing is not very grounded in reality. I guess we will see come auction time...

[Henry]

I know you cant put a value on blood, sweat, and tears that are put into a build but I learned a while back that nothing depreciates more than custom built cars or aftermarket parts. Just something to think about when diving into modding cars or building them. I made the decision to never sell my Mustang that I have built up long before I pumped the money into it because you will never get back what was put into it. I know life may dictate or force you to sell but Be prepared to take a huge cut in the asking price.

[Will Campbell]

Originally Posted by MADE_IN_AMERICA

I know you cant put a value on blood, sweat, and tears that are put into a build but I learned a while back that nothing depreciates more than custom built cars or aftermarket parts. Just something to think about when diving into modding cars or building them. I made the decision to never sell my Mustang that I have built up long before I pumped the money into it because you will never get back what was put into it. I know life may dictate or force you to sell but Be prepared to take a huge cut in the asking price.

As others have noted before, pretty much all cars depreciate. If you have $140K in a new 911 GT3 or Bentley this year, next year you will have lost a big hunk of that, and the next year, and so forth.

So an SLC, or any other car for that matter, that sells for much below it's nominal cost is no big thing. It's just part of owning cars.

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by P-nut

So an SLC, or any other car for that matter, that sells for much below it's nominal cost is no big thing. It's just part of owning cars.

I've preached this many times and caught flack for it on different car builder forums. If you build it, drive it, and sell it 3 years later and get 50% of what you put into it, then you've pretty much kept pace with standard production car depreciation. Although it may happen, expecting more just isn't realistic. Yes, these cars are unique and rare, but they will never have the brand equity that allows them to escape the reality of depreciation.

[Josh]

It will never sell for that price.

[smoking Joe]

I don't know anybody else feels about their SL-C but mine is family :-)

[Wayne]

Hey Joe, At least you have one good looking family member.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Jvask

I don't know anybody else feels about their SL-C but mine is family :-)

And I, scumbag lawyer, have been contacted by your SL-C to represent her in her divorce proceeding to you. You will need to turn over your keys to me until the divorce is finalized.

[Henry]

Ha, I don't even own one yet and its like my unborn child. Once I get one it won't be going anywhere. I was just pointing out earlier that the seller is expecting way too much for the car and is probably pricing it on emotion rather then real world market.

[Matt]

That's a very nicely equipped SLC. However, there is nowhere near 245k in it. It seems to me that the owner is trying to make more than $100k off the sale. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have seen this SLC (or one with the same specs) on ebay priced somewhere around $120k and I don't think it even sold at that price.

[Jack]

I wouldn't be surprised that he had that much $$ in the car. It was built for him by a pro race shop. As I understand it...

[Wayne]

By the time my SLC is finished she will be my only family. I sure will miss the rest.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by WMM

By the time my SLC is finished she will be my only family. I sure will miss the rest.

Hands-down, THE BEST quote on the forum in months.

[Ben]

I see he is asking $245K!

Save yourself $45,000.00 and buy mine when it's finished (shipping not included).

[Paul Osborn]

Originally Posted by WMM

By the time my SLC is finished she will be my only family. I sure will miss the rest.

Good move: upgrading the pit crew at the same time.

[Damian]

Didn't the last two that sold on e-bay go in the 60's. I remember when the what is the REAL value of these cars thread came up long ago and some of us said that SOME owners were living in lala land and we caught some serious flack. Now we have SL-C's that were sold for a FRACTION (I am talking about the Rapier cars) of what they were asking. Now there is a bit of a back story to those cars but the price is was what it was and the public spoke loud and clear about what the real world value of these cars are. Heck didn't Breathless sell the one they had at less then they had originally wanted but close to 100K all in with all of their modifications? When people talk about building an NEW TO YOUR SPECIFIC WANTS SL-C 100K gets tossed around but NEVER more than that (for the typical build). It doesn't matter who built the car as long as it was built to spec (proof is all of those amazing builds going on now by private builders). I have plans to buy and build one but I for one would never pay what some are asking (and never seem to recieve) for these cars. Now if it came from FRAN as a complete factory build with a warranty then that might be grounds for the higher asking price.
Having said that I do believe that the SL-C will always be a car in the 60-75K range used (even with 1 mile on it) as there really is nothing today that checks so many of box's that petrol heads dream of in a car especially on that could be driven on the street. Fran did something with this car that I FEEL will place him in the history books of the automotive world especially if the thing keeps smashing records like last year and there seems to still be more left in the paltform!