If you'd like to amass a classic car collection in one fell swoop, we noted a recent news story featuring a man's collection of 340 cars, plus the land on which they are stored, with a current asking price of approx
$1.45 million CAD (about $1.43 million AUD).
The owner of the cars, Mike Hall, works as a rock scaler, and began amassing vehicles with his spare income. Eventually, the collection outgrew the space available on an organic farm he and his wife shared, so he purchased an appropriately zoned wrecking yard and his collection continued to grow to the size it has reached today. They range from collectibles to daily drivers, with many now in salvage condition:
"Spending their winters buried in snow, many of the cars and trucks are little more than rusted shells, while others were purchased for parts to support restoration projects, like the six Sunbeam Alpines Hall picked up to sacrifice for a Sunbeam Tiger that he still hasn't gotten around to working on."
That said, he's pulled a few gems before putting the lot for sale, like a 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle and a rare V8-powered 1966 Beaumont, and others he's putting on loan to the White Post Auto Museum. The valuation of the remaining cars he's estimated at between $500 and $35,000 (CAD) per vehicle.
For those of us in this business, there are some interesting lessons in the lot - a buyer would want to carefully evaluate each vehicle, determine whether its current condition is more appropriate for
salvage or restoration, and their potential resale value as such. For collectors, there are also lessons in the importance of carefully amassing one's collection in a way that it can be properly stored so that the vehicles retain their value. Of course, if you're looking to add to your collection, we welcome you to join us at our next classic and prestige vehicle auction.
10 Apr