'64 Eldorado bid to $38K/$42K with buyer's premium at Boston Cup - no sale

[Gene Fattore]

Dragone's Boston Cup was the company's inaugural auction in Boston.  Boston has a history of being a very poor venue for car auctions which is why you never see a major auction company there.  Dragone wanted to test the market and Boston retained its reputation.  Attendance was very poor notwithstanding a wonderful lineup of auction cars (Lots are viewable @ Dragone Boston Cup - VIEW LOTS).  What bids were received were generally 50-60% of pre-auction estimates with a very poor selling rate.

In that light, I am pretty satisfied with my car's $38K bid ($42K with buyer's premium) in this "no buyers present" venue.  Pre-auction estimate was $45-55K.   The car is a very highly optioned older "cowl-forward body off" restoration of a CA bucket seat / A/C car in great colors (Alpine white w/red leather).  I restored it with Bridge of Weir leather and Wilton wool carpeting - a lot more expensive and better quality than the original leather and carpet and it has newly replaced Baku mahogany inserts. 

In my mind this confirms that the market for a fantastic, no excuse '64 Eldo is probably mid- $50Ks level to the right buyer or ~ 50-60% of what it would cost to restore a solid rust free car to this level.  So, the smart move continues to be find a great car that is done UNLESS you want to restore a car as a hobby - in which case one should view it as something you spend money upon as an enjoyable past time.  In any event, the car is still available and the cars that did sell were tremendous bargains.  If I had more time at hand I've have bought another car at this auction (and would be keeping my car as well).