One of the things I like about my auction houses is that they sell a little bit of everything. At one of my favorites two weeks ago, they were selling costume jewelry. In early December, they’ll be selling Judaica, including paintings, menorahs and lots of jewelry.
This week, they sold ephemera and Coca Coca memorabilia. They also sold cars. Three of them. Two part of a bankruptcy, another that belonged to a relative of the owner of the auction house. They were also selling a 1992 Dodge Dakota with 68,000 miles, but the truck didn’t interest me.
The three cars were parked inside near the door, so you couldn’t miss them as you entered. And the guys didn’t. The car auction started around noon, and I was one of only about two women crowding the vehicles.
They all looked to be in good clean, cosmetic condition. And these were not antiques like most of the rest of the items in the auction house.
Here’s what sold:
2002 Jeep Liberty (a Sport 4×4, I believe), maroon, 54,586 miles:
The auctioneer noted that the side-view window was stuck and wouldn’t roll down. (“It’ll cost $600 to replace it,” I heard one man say to another.) The auctioneer asked for a first bid to get started. Someone half-jokingly said $500. We all chuckled. A real first bid of $2,000 came from the crowd. The bidding ended at $6,000. The car was part of a bankruptcy so the highest bidder couldn’t just walk away with it that day. There were court approvals and paperwork needed.
2003 Toyota Corolla (looked like a CE), silver, 43,000 miles:
The auctioneer said that he was selling it for a relative who had moved to Israel. “It was her main car. She took care of it. It’s in very good running condition, well maintained,” he said. Starting bid: $1,000. It sold for $4,200. The auctioneer had the title to this car.
2005 Toyota RAV4, maroon, 53,000 miles:
This one was especially nice, with a wide strip of gray on the side. Starting bid: $4,000. It sold for $8,500. This vehicle was also part of a bankruptcy.
Back at home, I wanted to find out what these cars were actually worth, so I went to edmunds.com. That’s where I had always checked in the past to find out the value of my own cars before trading them in. Back then, I’d go to the library and actually hold a copy of the Edmunds Blue Book in my hands.
I also checked autotrader.com for the prices sought by dealers and private owners. I’m sure these comparisons are off a bit, because of add-ons and other features on these cars.
Jeep Liberty Sport: Edmunds’ True Market Value (TMV) was $6,400. Autotrader showed the car selling on the open market for $10,000 to $12,000 with 45,000 to 60,000 miles. Remember the auction price? $6,000.
Toyota Corolla CE: Edmunds’ TMV was $6,600 to $6,900. Autotrader was $10,000 to $11,000 with 30,000 to 46,000 miles. Most of the Toyota Corollas had very high mileage, indicating that owners tend to keep them longer. I know that’s true because my auction buddy kept her Toyota Camry way past 100,000 miles. I had to check 100 miles away from my zip code to find ones with lower mileage. The auction price was $4,200.
Toyota RAV4: Edmunds’ TMV was $13,000. Autotrader was $16,000 with 53,000 miles. One with 49,000 miles was selling for nearly $20,000. The auction price was $8,500.
Did the buyers get a bargain at auction? What do you think?
