Market Intelligence
Cheap silverware: the deals of the latest auctions
Auctions can offer great deals even for those with a smaller budget. At recent auctions held by RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Artcurial, a number of affordable cars were sold. Examples include a Mercedes-Benz 560SL Roadster, estimated at half the price of other models, which sold for just over $47,000, and a Porsche 928 from 1978, which sold for $22,400. Other notable sales included a Lancia Dilambda Landaulet, which sold for €51,750, and an Audi RS4 Avant, which went for €46,000.
It’s incorrect to think of auctions as places with unreachable models. Even the most famous auction houses inevitably propose great deals which, to boot, come with the business card of reputed international experts. In recent weeks, we have published precise data and in-depth analyses on the recent auctions in Arizona and Paris held by RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Artcurial. Today, we are going to see what someone like you and me could have bought if we’d shown up after breaking the piggy bank. Just kidding, but only a little: here's a handful of cars for a small(ish) bucket of coins.
<font size="3">1987 Mercedes-Benz 560 SL sold for €44,000 ($47,040)</font>
Let’s start with RM and a pair of Mercedes-Benz that came with an enviable quality-price ratio: the first was a 560SL Roadster from 1987. The colour scheme (white with black interior) wasn’t up there with the greats but it had covered just 40,000 miles since new and came with a hardtop, which alone was worth a few thousand dollars. The market for these cars is growing decisively and we have seen some changing hands for more than $100,000. This was estimated at half that: $50,000-$60,000 and the sale was concluded at just $47,040 (€44,000). And not only that: another Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupé from 1967 which, according to Spanish documents, once belonged to Burt Reynolds, in a very elegant metallic gold colour with black interior and restored very well in 2013, went for $67,200 (€62,850). I would hazard a fairly educated guess that if the new owner were to prove with certainty that the famous actor was a previous owner, you could add a nice one in front of that figure.
