One Sign of a Bubble Market

[reed]

This car, which was sold at Mecum's last week, has already shown up at one of my favorite "highline" dealers in St. Louis with a tiny markup. Well, not so tiny. $85,000 >>> $170,000. Nah, no bubble here. Buy at retail, mark the car up 100% and hope to find a greater fool. At least they provide numerous detailed photos of the car which show less than stellar attention to detail in the "stunning" restoration. They even provide a link in their ad to the $195K Gooding 911S.

Link to Mecum auction: http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...9&entryRow=543

Link to eBay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

[raspy2point2]

And this stuff is going on in a sluggish economy. What happens to our early 911's after there is as real recovery? Are these 911's going to go even higher? I think what is happening is the money is going to these cars because the stock market is flat, Real Estate is tricky and Rolex watches are not selling very well. I have a feeling ,like so many things in life, the early 911 could go the opposite direction in sale prices. When the economy turns positive-- money may go back into the stock market, real estate, etc. and leave our early 911's out in the cold. what do you all think? Chris

[jaudette3]

It's pretty, but they should really refit the engine lid for that price.

JohnA

[NorthernThrux]

That's Daniel Schmitt for you. 50% over priced. 85k was cheap for that car to be fair. Other than some poorly fitted panels, undercoat and engine compatment spray that is the wrong texture and far to yellow door strikers, its actually a nicely done car. The interior is beautiful.

Besides, its only a bubble if someone pays that, right ?

[reed]

That's Daniel Schmitt for you. 50% over priced. 85k was cheap for that car to be fair. Other than some poorly fitted panels, undercoat and engine compatment spray that is the wrong texture and far to yellow door strikers, its actually a nicely done car. The interior is beautiful.

Besides, its only a bubble if someone pays that, right ?

Hard to say something sold too cheap when it sells during the Monterey weekend. Unless the lights went out in the auction arena when the car was on the block, that likely represents the absolute height of the market on that given day. Now, I haven't seen the car in person, but judging from the photos I'd say not a top notch restoration but any measure.

Panel fit is way off, ride height is off-road-ready, bumpers are missing and/or wrong, exhaust is ill-fitting, crappy aftermarket horns hung in wrong location, wrong textures and finishes all over. And what happened to the rear wiper? And what is the switch to the right of the speedo, and what is it doing there? Many, many issues with this car, just from my monitor. I'd like to think $125K--even $85K--buys you a nicer car than this.

[RSTarga]

It's only when a Targa sells well that everyone complains. I agree there are some irritating errors, and I hope he is not claiming 29k original miles.

[reed]

It's only when a Targa sells well that everyone complains.

Notice I didn't say anything about the car being a targa. In fact, I think there is little difference in pricing between the two body styles today. As these cars increase in value and become less of a track day/daily driver vehicle, the open air motoring that the targa affords is increasingly valued. This pretty much happens every time a car stops being a "driver" and starts becoming a "classic," as the 911 has done in the past few years.

[Aldo]

Kumho tires ? That says a LOT to me about attention to detail.

[NorthernThrux]

It is certainly true a car is worth what someone pays for it and no more. But I just realized something interesting after reading reed's post. Cars look a lot better on a 1st gen iPad then on my 32 inch Dell monitor. Either I'm getting old, or small screens still leave a lot to be desired still. I can see every one of those errors on my monitor, but even if I go back to the iPad now, they are harder to see given the size/contrast of the screen.

[kenikh]

People with real money have been sitting on it for a few years. That pent up spending capacity is starting to froth over everywhere. For example, every waterfront house around me, which couldn't be sold 2 years ago at deep discounts, are selling in 7 days. These are $2M houses. Like I said, those with money and no need for financing are spending it and the economy is good enough for them.