Actually I saw some younger guys spending their old man's (or grandfather's) money. Plus some young guys that got rich on the tech boom.

There was a lot of old money in that room.

 

I'm not saying they never worked hard. I'm not even saying they don't deserve to reward themselves in some way. What I am saying is that just bc you have a ton of $ for auctions like these, doesn't mean you're spending your funds well even when you do feel like you deserve the item.

There was an GM touring RV from the 50s that sold for $4.1 million. The seller was hoping to get $600k for it. The broadcast guys kept mentioning how 600 was the goal. You had 2 maybe 3 guys go off on a bid war pushing the price close to 2 million then their testosterone got the best of them and it went to 4 mill. One of the guys looked mid 50ish w/ a 30ish thin, good looking girl w him. There's no way he wasn't bidding high to impress her. He bid one more time around the mid 2 mill or early 3 mill mark and then pulled out quickly in the 3s. I bet he never even meant to buy the thing for more than a million but wanted to be part of that bid war. Btw the RV didn't even have the original diesel engine.

And yeah I know how these vehicles can become investments at some point, I'm all about spending $ to make $. But a lot of them are pushed so high in the bid wars it won't happen. They just want something now, something rare and they pay way too much for that is what Im saying.

And I didn't mean to be offensive about them not having many yrs left, its just the truth. When you are in your 60s or 70s, you don't have as many yrs left. I can understand wanting to enjoy the fruits of your labor but 200k for a Kombi and 4.1 million for an engine swapped RV, come on. Hopefully those auctions are the exception to the majority

 

There were also some guys that were teens in the 60's, early 70's and always wanted one of the muscle cars. They now have the wherewithal to spend 40 to 70'ish thousand on a car. You could tell one the bidding was going up maybe a 1000 at a time that it was folks thinking that if it was the best they could do.

I also saw cars there that sold for less than was invested into them to restore. It takes a lot of hours to get the old cars to that stage. I am sure a lot of builders either lost money or just barely broke even.

During the first couple days, I was surprised at how little some of the cars actually sold for. The next generation behind us isn't into cars all that much and you could tell by some of the prices that maybe the market is slowing down. If you noticed there was old rich men totally liquidating their collections. Also there were "celebrities" trying to off their expensive rides and they never got past the reserve.

 

When you have 4.1 million to spend on an RV, then you will be able to be the judge of whether or not it is worth it. Until then, you are not eligible to say whether or not someone else is "spending their money well." That is up to the individual. Could be the guy carries that amount in his pocket for pocket change. Dale JR was there last night. Last years estimate was that he is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million. If he took a shine to a certain unit and decided he wanted to spend 4 million to own it, are you saying you are entitled to tell him he is not spending his money "well"? Like the old saying, "Why does a dog lick his nuts?.....cause he can! More power to them!

 

You can certainly judge whether someone is spending their $ well or not. It doesn't mean they need to listen to one or one's opinion, it is their $ whether they earned it or inherited it, doesn't matter.

That doesn't mean you can't point out when people spend their money to a point it is foolish, excessive, unnecessary. A perfect example is people who spend tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or even millions on jewelry. Even if all that money is a tiny portion of their disposable income, they have definitely reached a point of unrestrained and overly lavish spending.

Maybe the guy who paid $4.1 mill for the RV wasn't trying to be lavish but it doesn't make it a good purchase. And the mid to high market value was projected at 600k by the previous owner so no one can really argue the winner did not highly overpay. That's all I'm trying to say. Some people overpay, overvalue, do not spend funds well. Even if they can bc whatever they buy is a small amount of their total wealth doesn't mean it was a good choice or that they didn't overpay.

 

You are saying he "overpaid" but by what or whose yardstick? Your determination will be different than someone else's. He could very well have thought he got a bargain. Everything is only relevant to that particular person's wants and abilities. On a smaller scale, my daughter goes out and buys a new phone every time a new one is introduced to the tune of 6-7 hundred dollars. Her old one texts and phones just as well as the new one. Does she spend her money "not well"? By her yardstick no, mine yes. But what I think is irrelevant because:

1. It pleases her to have something new
2. Not my money
3. She earns a shitload of money and the new phone is a drop in the bucket.

 

Goto http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Event...Collector-Cars

 

 

He overpaid bc the person who probably knew its value the best was hoping the sale price was 600k. When you pay $3.5 million past that, its hard not to believe he overpaid at least to some degree.

Yes, my opinion is just an opinion but the reason the auction stuff stands out and is worth talking about is bc of what it represents: Extravagant, mostly pointless overspending. Not saying that if you're rich you don't deserve some toys. I'm saying the rich are so rich they get caught up in extreme consumerism. They are either buying things just bc they can or competing against each other for vain reasons. Not competing for sport, competing in pretentious display of wealth. Why in the world do I even care about that? it only bugs me bc there are a lot better things, like selfless things to spend excessive amounts of money on, I'm talking about the extra 3.5 million extra on that RV, not 700 for a phone. And man, when avg folks like us ooohh and ahhh at these big on-air purchases, it just fuels those habits

And yeah maybe the guy who paid the $4.1 mill for the RV runs a non profit or has done a lot for his community or runs a company that keeps jobs in the US and treats his employees really well but in reality, the chances of that are slim.

 

link isnt working but thanks anyway. I'll search for some later

 

I work at a shop that restores 50's and 60"s cars.At our shop labor rate you realize that these cars are really a bargain.Most of the time these cars are sold because the owner wants to start on a new project.If you did ALL of your own labor the parts bill alone with add up to the price some of the cars sold for.

 

Just looked at all the corvettes that went this year...some really great C4's went across the block! that 96 GS vert with less than 1k miles sold for 50k which actually doesn't seem that bad. Wish I could have heard the commentary when they come across the block tho.

 

Exactly..most people can't understand that.

 

Got it. A liberal point of view where, if you are successful, you are not supposed to reap the benefits but rather give it to the ones that are not so successful. Liberals would like to call it "people who are not quite as fortunate." I believe fortune has little to do with it. Most successful people are smart and worked like a dog to get where they are. The ones that don't have it try to shame a person for their success. Seems a lot like the communism doctrine - "To each what he can give and to each what he needs." Didn't America go on a witch hunt for communists in the 30's? Sorry Hoss, got no more time for this. Got to go figure out where to spend some of my money "unwisely". After all, I'm 60 and don't have much time left.

P.S - One thing has always bugged me. The unsuccessful people have never explained where they would get their handouts from if successful people weren't!

 

I don't like auctions from a buyers point of view. They play psychology games with human nature to ramp up impulsive actions. Of course walking into a dealership sales floor isn't much better.

 

Auctioneers are salesmen and the main goal of any salesman is to separate you from as much of your money as possible while making you believe they are doing you a favor for doing so. If there was a set price for BJ to sell each car, the selling prices would be substantially less.

 

Walking through the grid of tents and maze of cars was really worth the trip. To stop and admire those that had eye candy value alone took up more time than I had for the day. Lots of post war cars. Seemed like an endless line of Camaros, Novas, Mustangs, Corvettes and Plymouth's. Maybe my eyes were seeking out just the favorites. Not to mention the plethora of women that were dressed for the occasion.....

 

Call it whatever you want, liberal communist, socialist, shaming, go as broad or narrow as you'd like. I'll stick to believing that there are much better ways to use money. BTW this isn't even about who's "fortunate" or rich or not. I'd give the same exact criticism to poor folks. Why? Bc while they don't have $, they have time. That's an asset some ppl could spend more wisely n less selfishly.

And no matter how smart the guy is or how successful or how hard he has worked, doesn't change that he grossly overpaid for an overweight RV w/ an engine swap.

 

Not really an earth shattering belief when it's someone else's money!

 

Does not matter who's money it is. I hold that belief with my funds and live by it. Rich, poor, smart or not, hard working or not, will always believe that at least some portion of one's money and or time should be spent selflessly and not lavishly.

We simply have different ideologies.