The last six months of trading has presented Pickles with an exciting opportunity in the classic car market. Strong overall results in prestige sales, an ever increasing demand for luxury SUVs and increasing dealer demand has all occurred in what is typically the strongest period (October to March) in the prestige vehicle market. While it is quite predictable for the market to lift at this time of year, it does appear that there is a particular increase in demand for stock amongst Pickles permanent buyers as trade-ins become increasingly difficult to acquire for dealers. Strong public attendance at our auctions, both online and in the auctions rooms resulted in highly competitive auctions, particularly along the east coast. The popular sellers in the larger SUV segment continue to be Audi Q7, BMW X5, and the Range Rover Sport, which is also reflected in new car sales with all 3 topping the sales race consecutively (based on Feb 2018 VFACTS results). In the midrange segment the Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC and GLA all continue to have broad appeal through the auction lane as well as Fixed Price.
Combined Prestige Vehicle Auctions
We also launched a weekly Prestige Auction with cars from Sydney and Brisbane going under the hammer together. The auction is hosted in Sydney at our Belmore facility with cars also lotted into the auction via simulcast from Brisbane (Geebung). Cars can be viewed at both branches in the lead up to the auction. This innovative sales method is being trialled with the objective of boosting sale numbers at both sites, as well as offering a larger number of prestige vehicle options to a wider group of buyers.The net result being that we are seeing very pleasing results in our luxury auctions.
Gosford Classic Cars
Pickles Belmore (Sydney) hosted Australia’s Ultimate Classic Car Auction last Saturday, 26 May. It was a fantastic event with a number of cars from Gosford Classic Cars sold on the night and many more currently in negotiation. Over 300 people attended the event while another 300 bid online via PicklesLIVE.
Forty-eight iconic cars went under the hammer including prestigious brands such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, legendary muscle cars such as Chevy and Chrysler, and classics like VW and Packard.
.jpg)
There were a number of standouts on the night. Most notably the 1964 Ferrari 330 GT, one of Italy’s most recognisable classics and one of only 50 RHD models to be produced worldwide which sold for $420,000. Another standout on the night was a Formula One race car, a 1964 Brabham BT11A. As the fastest Group “M” car in Australia of its time, this example holds a number of lap records including the first car to lap Mt Panorama, Bathurst, with an average speed of 100mph. Driven by notable drivers such as Kevin Bartlett and Frank Gardener, this race car has an excellent racing pedigree which is fully documented, race by race. An Australian muscle car, a 1977 Holden Torana A9x was number 60 of 405 produced and sold for $200,000. This Bathurst-bred performer is expected to gain noticeable value with Holden ceasing local production late last year.
07 Jun