ljrullman

I'm looking for a convertible and wondering if anyone has gone to the "car corral" (in the vendor/swap area) of the Auctions America or Worldwide Auction in Auburn, Indiana on Labor Day weekend. Several years ago I went to the Kruse Auction (before they went out of business and RM created Auctions America to take it over last year) but didn't make it to the car corral. And, now there is a competitor the same weekend called Worldwide. Are these corrals worth it? If not I won't spend the time in the corral and will just enjoy the auction, the swap meet, a few beers, and a cigar or two while walking around to look at the cars for auction. Thanks for any advice!

rtintwo

I dont have any experience with the auburn auction but my experience with other auctions has been that the reserve is the very top dollar for the cars. IMO this is cool if you are dealing with rare mustangs like shelbys and bosses however i wouldnt buy a normal production mustang(to include a vert) from an auction. A seller that goes to the trouble of auctioning a car is willing to hold out for the buyer that will pay what they want. I would be looking at craigslist for a normal production mustang.

Now i am far from discouraging you from going. Where you should look for a normal production mustang is the parking lot. If you take a stroll through the lot you will probably see a few mustangs with for sale signs in the window. These are guys wanting to sell thier car and know there are car buyers at auctions. This seller doesnt want to mess with an autcion and are willing to deal with you. Also if you go its alot of fun to drool over the rare mustangs up for auction.

Coupe

I have not been to that one, but I have done the Mecum spring classic, loved it. If you go on a weekday you can get a decent deal and you get time to really inspect the car first. Check the calender for the next Mecum and check out the web listing and see what come up on each day and decide if you want to make the drive.

High dollar cars are high dollar cars and where you buy them will not change that, a little old lady will not be listing her car at any collector car auction without an assist from a pro that knows what it is worth.

Also, these are public auctions, so the hammer price is the RETAIL and not the wholesale like in other car auctions. Many times cars go and sit out back with a for sale sign on them for what the seller wants, I saw a TON of 66-67 vettes that did not hit the sellers reserve in May and the economy has not gotten any better since. So just know that the top bid is the retail for your area, if it does not sell it is not worth the reserve, at least thats how I see it. If it cant hit reserve at a well advertised and televised Mecum auction in Indy, its not worth what the seller wants, point blank.

But, next year I am going to go back the the Indy classic early in the week to find a car that may not be "Show worthy" but may be a good deal for a driver quality cruiser. The weekend cars are the big ticket since Mecum gets paid a commission and they want the high rollers in the stands when they have the high dollar cars.

I have considered going to the auction in Auburn, but I wont be a buyer this year.

Where is this "Worldwide"?
I know that Gas city has a weekly musclecar auction but it looked like builder level cars?

ljrullman

Worldwide looks to me like a new outfit that has decided to compete in Auburn the same weekend. I noticed that one of the partners is a Kruse son - as in Kruse auto auctions, which went bankrupt and used to do the Auburn Auction. The site of the old Kruse Auction is now Auctions America (owned by RM Auctions). So, in sum: Auburn now hosts two Labor Day auctions - one by RM Auctions (by its subsidiary Auctions America) and one by Worldwide (which has as a partner a Kruse son).

Here are the websites:
http://www.wwgauctions.com/ Worldwide
http://www.auctionsamerica.com/ Auctions America

See you there!

Coupe

Thanks, it looks like Worldwide has a nice selection and a swap meet, and it's a bit cheaper to get in. I wonder how the parking is? I am curious what I will do if I buy a fender and need to carry it 4 miles?

I went to the Duck run last year, never again, at least not with a car, park somewhere and walk in because the thing was so crowded last year cars were overheating trying to get out!

MustangsToFear

My wife and I have been going for over 25 years, it has always been a good place to sell and buy cars. Our last Eleanor brought 142,000 It has been down on the number of cars since RM took over, but they hope to get the numbers up.