3 DeLoreans coming to Auction

[OverlandMan]

The Auctions America Auburn, IN auction is labor day weekend (August 29th and 30th are the days I'm aware of).

According to my research there will be 3 DeLoreans offered. Here are the lot numbers: 3068, 5046, & 3038. They didn't publish the VINs for any of these cars so I don't know which ones they are.

Figured I'd post this here in case anyone is interested in following the results. It appears this auction will be broadcast on NBCsports network (cable channel). I haven't verified that yet but the NBCs logo is on their website: http://www.auctionsamerica.com/event...?SaleCode=AF14

It will be interesting to see what they bring. I don't expect anything outrageous. That said, the 5 Monterey auctions I followed last week brought big money for the stuff I was following (vintage Ferraris, Mercedes, Maseratis, Alfas, Porsches, etc.). Seems like the collector car market is not slowing down as a whole.

[Dangermouse]

Lot 5046 is VIN 4239, a BAE turbo g/m car, according to the photo slide show

[skill]

Currently watching the auction live (5-15sec delay). They auctioning them pretty quickly... They are currently on Lot 1027, '95 Monte Carlo...

http://www.auctionsamerica.com/event...?SaleCode=AF14

[Rich]

Lot 3038, '81 5-spd blk, closed at $13,750 with a too-late bid waved off at the hammer.

Condition questionable. Thought I saw a dent on left edge of hood halfway back during its spin on the turntable. And why send a D to a public auction without putting in a new set of door struts? Right door was (almost, but only about 2/3) open while the car was on the block.

No snide remarks from the auctioneer. "Always collectible", he said. And not a single BTTF reference.

Next D is in an hour or so. 3068.

[skill]

Lot 3038, '81 5-spd blk, closed at $13,750 with a too-late bid waved off at the hammer.

Condition questionable. Thought I saw a dent on left edge of hood halfway back during its spin on the turntable. And why send a D to a public auction without putting in a new set of door struts? Right door was (almost, but only about 2/3) open while the car was on the block.

No snide remarks from the auctioneer. "Always collectible", he said. And not a single BTTF reference.

Next D is in an hour or so. 3068.

Darn... I missed the first one. Gonna tune in now and hopefully I see what the second one fetches for. Do you know if the first one had a reserve or they forward the buyer to the sales desk? I saw yesterday that a lot that didn't sell were being forwarded to the sales desk if it came close to the reserve. I'm not buying... Just curious

[NightFlyer]

Lot 3038, '81 5-spd blk, closed at $13,750 with a too-late bid waved off at the hammer.

Condition questionable. Thought I saw a dent on left edge of hood halfway back during its spin on the turntable. And why send a D to a public auction without putting in a new set of door struts? Right door was (almost, but only about 2/3) open while the car was on the block.

No snide remarks from the auctioneer. "Always collectible", he said. And not a single BTTF reference.

Next D is in an hour or so. 3068.

Ouch - they had an estimated range of $24k-$28k in the catalog for that car. Either there weren't any serious contenders in the room at the time, or it was in significantly worse shape than the auction company realized.

Will be interesting to see what the next car does - estimated range of $25k-$30k. Based on the auction company estimate, is must be a slightly nicer car than the last example was.

[NightFlyer]

Lot 3068 sold for $18k.

Rolled onto the turntable block with everything but the hood open. Looked like a nice driver level car and had a few recent maintenance items done, including a new clutch.

[Rich]

Lot 3068 sold for $18k.

Rolled onto the turntable block with everything but the hood open. Looked like a nice driver level car and had a few recent maintenance items done, including a new clutch.

Agreeing with that overall assessment. A decent '81 gas flap 5-sp. in need of some work.

Given the listing of all the resto work it's a little surprising there were still issues with it.

The still photos in the listing showed 1 window switch missing, minor eyebrows esp. on the right side and a very goofy tachometer somehow pegged beyond redline. And perhaps some distortion on lower rear fascia left of the right exhaust.

During the auction when the doors opened they opened fully. One of the assistants even knew how to to close the door from the outside without getting handprints all over it. Pushed with heel of hand just below door glass.

And the listing said it was a gray interior. Not. The seats and console were black. No biggie there - it was obvious to any buyer.

Noticed that during the turntable sessions for both this D and the previous one today there seemed to be more auction assistants hovering around the car just sort of admiring the body panels and the car in general.

[OverlandMan]

The remaining one is LOT 5046, a turbo-mod version with some other mods. Goes across the block tomorrow sometime.

Disappointing results so far for the DeLoreans. Maybe the last one will make up for the first 2.

[NightFlyer]

Lot 5046 crosses the block tomorrow. VIN 4239. Oct '81 build, grey interior, 5spd. Catalog estimate $25k-$30k. Has a BAE turbo kit installed. Has a metric speedometer/odometer, but the rest of the gauges appear to be standard/US/English, thus I don't believe it to be an original Canadian spec car. Described by the seller as an "all-around near-perfect car," though the auction company notes that the wheels are curb rashed. Looks like a nice driver level car and comparable to Lot 3068, thus this could make for a good primer on the value of a turbo kit.

Although I missed Lot 3038, it looks like a fairly nice car. Although not stock/OEM, it has what appears to be drivable condition Goodyear Eagle NCT tires, which are probably seen less today than the stock/OEM HR60 NCTs. Unless the frame is bad, or there were some undisclosed problems with the car, it sounds like the seller really dropped the ball on the presentation of this car at the auction, as it should have brought higher bids than it did.

Personally, I think that the auction company estimates were a little strong, but not completely out of line. All 3 cars are definitely $20k+ cars IMHO (again, assuming that there's no undisclosed defects, such as a rusted out frame).

Bottom line here is that there weren't many serious DeLorean bidders in the room today.