240Z Registered for Barrett-Jackson 2007

[Ron Carter]

Wow DougN, I didn't think classic showcase was around anymore...I thought they had closed up and gone away. I guess, since they are in my back yard I could go take a look, but why....

Bobc thanks for the update. I guess I knew the previous owner.

[DougN]

Ron, you may be right, I have not talked with them for several months. Based on the way the guy ran his business, it would not surprise me if they did close up. If they did close up shop, I wonder what happened to the inventory?

[Carl Beck]

Hi Carl (everyone),

It's too bad all the recent 240Zs on the auction block at Barrett-Jackson haven't been "Collector Quality" cars. I for one would like to see it happen sooner than later. I think it helps gain respect for the 240z as a true classic sports car.

Carl, As you know, the BJ Auction in Florida has grown significantly over the years, even though it's not anywhere close to the one in Scottsdale. With the number of 240Z collector quality cars & car owners that you are familiar with in the Southeast and Atlantic Coast, do you see any that might try they luck at the BJ Auction in the near future?

Hi Steve:

I believe that the "respect" is already there among all serious Car Nuts.. Polls among many "automotive experts" taken over the last decade - always result in the DATSUN 240-Z placing in the top 5 Sports/GT ever built.

Yea gad - in AUTOMOBILE's "Sports Car Of The Decade" series - the DATSUN 240-Z placed second only behind the Ferrari Dayton Coupe for the Decade of the 70's. How much "RESPECT" can a car get?

On top of that - the Daytona should really have been in the Decade of the 60's - but I think the pannel couldn't decide between the Ferrari 275GTB-4 and the Datyona 365GTB-4....so the bumped the Daytona into the Decade of the 70's.

The only people who don't respect the DATSUN 240-Z for the rare and true Classic it is - are morons or simply spousing "sour grapes", ignore them.

I don't hear from any of the Collectors - any indication that they are moving into a selling phase, but rather are still in the buying phase at this point. It may be two to three years before we see serious Collectors trading serious cars at the Classic Car Auctions. That will happen only after all possibility of private sales taking place - had been exhausted.

The smartest most forward looking Collectors are at the present time buying up the #1 and #2 Condition cars that are still, or were, in the hands of the Enthusiasts; and in some cases the Original Owners. That supply has already started to dry up.. but there are still a few really nice cars that can be bought for $20K to $30K from that group. (you won't get a serious Collector to sell a car at that price today!!).

All these Special Interest Classic Cars seem to go though various phases.

Just in the last three years have the more advanced, serious Collectors, started to look around and gather up that 3% of the Classic 240-Z's that have been put in. or maintained in, #1 and #2 Condition by the Enthusiasts.

Prices for these cars are usually between $20K and $30K right now, but sales outside that range have been completed... high of $40K and a low of $6k. This shows you that the rarity and desirability of these Classics is only just now becoming known among their present enthusiast owners.

Once the number of the Real Collectors that are starting to notice and gather the 240-Z's grows to critical mass, there is a secondary effect. An even broader range of Collectors start to get involved as they realize that #1 and #2 Condition examples have doubled in price in the last couple of years. These are the Collectors that hadn't really thought of a Datsun 240-Z before... but now that they see them in more and more Collectors garages.. they too decide that they need one. Thus demand and prices start to go up - as the original supply is sucked off the market.

The third order effect starts when "Speculators" begin to realize that serious Collectors are now in the market in significant numbers. The Speculators then scurry around attempting to buy up any remaining examples, and/or start pushing 240-Z's though quickie "restoration" processes...Nonetheless this pushes prices even higher - and starts to drag the values of the #3 and #4 cars up along the way... The very cars that the enthusiasts want and used to be able to afford...

These second and third order effects will take place over the next two to four years..they don't happen over night. Might even be the next three to five years... but it will happen before most of our eyes.

Just look back a few years at the Big Healey's... and realize that one #1 condition example sold at a recent auction for $110K. A car you could have bought ten years ago for $18,500.00.

So.... 240-Z's bringing "big" (big for them) money at a major auction.. I think it's still five years away. The next major milestone the 240-Z's need to break is the $50K barrier... and I think you might just see that surpassed in the next three to four years. A car that sold for $30K this year, will sell for over $50K in four to five years if the market follows the usual trends...

Keep in mind that we are talking about the best of the best here.. not #3 nor #4 Condition cars. We are also taking about "Stock Production Cars".... not historic race/rally nor very limited production "specials". Most of them are already way over $50K and some are already over way over $100K. They too have the effect of dragging the prices of the #1 and #2 Pure Stock examples ever higher.

Just how I see it at the present time... and one can vary the price and time frame by 50% one way or the other.... only time will tell. IMHO we are still ten to fifteen years away from a Stock Production 240-Z selling for over a $100k....

FWIW,

Carl B.

[lonetreesteve]

Carl,

Thank you for your very informative and interesting explanation.

[ZIII]

Yes, these are all little things, but for a car going to auction, with the hopes of getting good money, they are things that should have been addressed already.

How you handle the little things speaks volumes about how you handle the big things.

Great eye David....

Anyone know what type of rear spoiler this is?

[lonetreesteve]

Here's the link to the last 240z at a BJ Auction discussion:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20977

[Mike]

She would pull a lot more money out of that car if she got rid of the steering wheel and the flames. Clean car, though.

[lonetreesteve]

This 240Z should have been sold by now since they were on Lot #400s last night on Speed TV's live telecast. I checked the Barrett-Jackson website, but couldn't find any results from this year's Scottsdale show, only past shows. I'm curious to see how much the car sold for.

[AZ2NV]

sold for $ 12,925 USD................. Barrett-Jackson gets an 8% seller fee and 10% buyer fee plus $400-500 buyer registration fee.

[hls30.com]

SO the seller got a wee bit over 10K...hmmm!

Will

[ZIII]

Actually, seller should get 11.8K. No?

Seller would've probably done better on Ebay.....

[Zulaytr]

I had a chance go to the BJ Auction on Thursday and see this car before it went on the block. The price it went for was probably a fair value if you really looked at it in person. Some have already commented on the green flames but according to the listing it was a custom "restoration". The underside looked like someone used a black spray can and painted everything. Everything means nuts, bolts, brackets, brake lines etc. All things that should not be painted black under a "restoration". But it looked consistent to say the least.

Over the past few weeks several posts have been made about the values of Z's. Even though this one did go through the Barrett-Jackson I hope no one is influenced by what this car brought given that it is a modified driver, not a trailer queen Stock restoration.

Just one person's opinion.

Bob