Need help selling Model A estate please

[McMimmcs]

[B]A recent widow in the southern United States needs assistance selling her husband’s estate. The husband was a recognized restorer of Model A Fords. She has about 5 restored vehicles plus some partially restored plus a barn full of parts. I have suggested an auction as appropriate. Please suggest a respected and reputable auction company you can recommend from experience. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Wayne.

[nkaminar]

I have a friend who is in the market for the right Model A. He is looking for a coupe or Tudor but doesn't want to do any work on it. He lives in the Southern US. He is looking for one that is stock but could have an overdrive and high compression head. His preferred color is blue.

Wayne, If you have a car that he would be interested in, please let me know.

If you do an auction you will have to put some minimum value on the cars and parts and not sell them unless that minimum is reached.

[ronn]

I am not a proponent of auctions and I know many will disagree with me. for five cars, I would list them straight away on ebay. 125. a car is the cost and Im sure someone from the local chapter could do the work of listing meeting etc. for about 1000. bill.


I would then offer the parts reasonably to the local clubs till theyre gone.


If this was for 50 or more cars, I might have a different opinion. I believe this will generate the best revenue for the widow.......

[chrs1961815]

Auctions are overrated and more often than not stuff doesn't sell or sells for a lot less than it is worth. Suggest having a small sale for club members first and maybe put the cars in the club magazine.

[johnneilson]

While auction may seem to be the way to go, I feel it is not.
Clubs have fairly good pulse of the market, but can also be personally involved causing the prices to be swayed.
One avenue to consider is having an independent appraisal done, yes, it is a cost.
In the cases I have been close they have had the best results.
Finding the appraiser is the key, you need the resource that has access to the research.

J

[WHN]

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I have had outstanding experience using Hemmings.

Last car I sold only took the weekend and I received asking price. One before it sold in seven days.

Take a lot of pictures, give as much information as you can on what has been done to the car, car history is a real plus.

A good Model A, priced right, will sell fast on Hemmings.

I would not go the auction route with the cars. Parts are another thing.

Good luck.

[ronn]

One avenue to consider is having an independent appraisal done, yes, it is a cost.


and often the appraisers are out of touch.......... consider a car is only worth what the buyer and seller agree upon. no more or less.


todays values arent the same as say, 6 months ago. cars can go up and down- same as real estate. the economy at that moment of time, is what your car will bring- whether high or low. higher interest rates generally bring lower prices, as the cost of disposable income goes up. the exception being rarity.

[ModelA29]

We're all forgetting the "in process" cars and a barn full of parts will require a lot of back breaking work by several people.
I'd suggest contact all the Model A chapters within a 2-300 mile radius and set a sale date or a couple weekends. They come buy what they need/want cash/carry.
There may also be a Model A parts dealer within 500-1000 miles who will make a 1/2 value offer on all the stuff. Don't be offended he needs to move, store, and resell it to make it worthwhile.
Unfortunately there will still be piles of unsold parts no one needs right now or deems too rusty/greasy. Those will probably go off to the landfill.

[Stingray70]

Originally Posted by McMimmcs

[B]A recent widow in the southern United States needs assistance selling her husband’s estate. The husband was a recognized restorer of Model A Fords. She has about 5 restored vehicles plus some partially restored plus a barn full of parts. I have suggested an auction as appropriate. Please suggest a respected and reputable auction company you can recommend from experience. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Wayne.

Wayne, A local car museum was recently liquidated after the owner passed away. The family used Tom Mack Auctions and was VERY pleased with the results. This was the first such auction I have been to so don't have anything to compare it to but I was SHOCKED at how much everything sold for. My impression was that Tom Mack was very professional and good at extracting max $$ from the buyers. Seemed great for the seller, no good deals for buyers.

[Ayers1]

We have a franchised online auction set up here. They have about 30,000 bidders and the A's I have seen them sell go for what the national market is doing. There may be one close to the people you are trying to help. It's called Enlisted Auctions here.

[trulyvintage]

Before anything can be sold - it has to be inventoried.
Based on the results of the inventory - the decision
can be made as to monetize what needs to be sold.

The widow needs to reach out directly to friends
and associates of her late husband for starters.

If she doesn’t know anyone - then perhaps
the local Model A group could help her or
you can try and find her someone here
on the forum.


Jim

[Wick]

If the collection is in Virginia, I can help.

[Stretch Cab]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Bring-A-Trailer" for an auction possibility. The prices that I see cars either selling for or bidding to seems high.

[Chris in WNC]

for complete cars, FordBarn Classifieds, MARC & MAFCA classifieds or Hemmings in that order.
possibly for the incomplete projects too.

for the parts, local clubs or dealers sounds good.

auction as a last resort......

[ronn]

the biggest problem of selling- are the expectations of a seller. everyone thinks their cars are worth a million dollars. BAT was mentioned, and the prices there are insane, but not so much for model A fords. You have a ferrari or a porsche, then thats the platform for you.
Ebay like it or hate it, is easy to see what the prices are bringing for that week or month.
they are realistic and not pie in the sky.


I attended a local auction about 8 yrs ago, and everything sold for half price. It was insane. Had I a clue that would happen, I would have hit the bank the day before.
It was well advertised and held at a well known restoration facility here in NJ, where Mercers are restored............
Bought a scruffed together Maxwell for 600. and sold it 3 weeks later on ebay for 3400. This isnt to brag, but to bring about the reality of auctions vs ebay and other outlets for selling. Clean model As will sell well and fair on ebay. No surprises.

[alexiskai]

This just goes to show how individual everyone's opinions are. My encounters with Model As selling in local auctions has been that they go for fair-to-high prices; conversely, I got a fantastic deal on a '30 phaeton on eBay. Hard to generalize from your own experience.

One thing to note about BaT, they require the seller to do a lot of work, both describing the car and taking a ton of pictures. And they only accept items that are already in good condition with good paint, upholstery, etc.

[Robert/Texas]

If she has Hagerty insurance she might list the running cars on their website.

[ronn]

Alex- if you pony up 350. per car BAT does all of the work, including the photos. youre speaking of the low priced 99. do it yourself format.

[1crosscut]

Wayne what state is it in?

[aermotor]

Give it a whirl on Craigs List - bottom dollar, obo - might have someone next door that that is unaware of the cars and parts.