JV911 Posted 26February, 2015 Report Share Posted 26February, 2015 MAGIC BUS The sales catalogue for the Shannons Late Summer auction in Melbourne was stuffed with precious metal. A ’69 Falcon XW GT was always going to make six figures, and the ’68 Monaro GTS was only just shy of breaking the 100k mark. How about a Jaguar XK140 for $84,000 or a Mercedes 250SL Pagoda for $73,000? It’s all small change compared to the big sale of the auction. The moment the auctioneer’s hammer dropped at $202,000, there was a collective gasp and then a standing ovation in the packed sale room. The object of this largesse? A 1960 Volkswagen Kombi 23-window. Shannons’ National Auctions Manager Chris Boribon oversaw the sale and it was far from a two-horse bidding war. "We had at least five phone bidders, at least two online and two on the floor," he reckoned, all interested in a vehicle that had an initial sales estimate of between $120,000 and $140,000. The Unique Cars team had taken the opportunity to have a good poke round the bus and were impressed with the finish. But why the frenzied bidding? Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised. The highest price paid to date was for a 1963 23-window at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2011 when the winning bid was a breathtaking USD$217,800. Shannons themselves had shifted a dilapidated-looking split-window Kombi in their last auction for $29,250, which must now represent absolute ground floor for a vehicle of that type. An auction record for an Aussie Kombi, the 23-window was won by one of the phone bidders and is expected to stay in Australia. http://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/news/1502/vw-kombi-sells-for-a-record-$202000-at-shannons-melb-auction/?user_id=d3478b6969e960b6d6f5f02917de80c5f1719bc5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Speedway Posted 26February, 2015 Report Share Posted 26February, 2015 My neighbor has a beat up split window combi, a couple of days ago he said. "Oh, I'm just going to run it into the ground" I think I need to have a chat to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 27February, 2015 Report Share Posted 27February, 2015 That's some serious coin.... no surprises there though! Those 23 window buses are scarce! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-banger Posted 27February, 2015 Report Share Posted 27February, 2015 Very interesting. I wonder if classic cars in boom times are like desirable houses in boom times, in that an auction sale environment can create competition between vying bidders to create a better sales price for the seller. Being from the house auction capital of Australia I know this logic is used in real estate all the time. Disclaimer: I am not a Real Estate agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew F Posted 27February, 2015 Report Share Posted 27February, 2015 A few years back it was American and Aussie muscle cars that were bringing the big bucks. The arse seems to be dropping out of that market a bit and the Euro semi-collectables are really picking up. I saw an nicely restored Alfa 1600 coupe go for nearly 60K just before Christmas Who would have thunk that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeM Posted 27February, 2015 Report Share Posted 27February, 2015 This one sold for more. I THINK this one was originally on the market for $325k Saying that, an earlier ' Barny' as theyre called in VW land fetch much more than a later model Kombi. Oh, and 'barndoor' does not mean the side doors as a lot of people think. Its in referance to the rear engine hood that is ' The size of a barndoor'. Thats the holy grail of Split window bus ownership http://forums.kombiclub.com/threads/vw-bus-sells-for-a-record-235-000-in-germany-nov-2014.49668/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastr Posted 28February, 2015 Report Share Posted 28February, 2015 Very interesting. I wonder if classic cars in boom times are like desirable houses in boom times, in that an auction sale environment can create competition between vying bidders to create a better sales price for the seller. Being from the house auction capital of Australia I know this logic is used in real estate all the time. Disclaimer: I am not a Real Estate agent. Yes. There is a distinct scramble to get anything at the moment, which is the run up to the blow-off phase. Aussie muscle has certainly descended from the lofty heights but they are still far from cheap. No $750k GT HO sales anymore, but even a tatty 4 door HQ Monaro sells easily for good money. Every single yard and barn in Australia will be being picked over for split window Kombis in any condition. At $200+ k, all you need is a VIN. It's funny because I remember when my friend started his apprenticeship the work ute was a dual cab Kombi and I sometimes road around with him trying to perfect a clutch less shifting technique. I sometimes think it sounded ok was because all the grinding was way out the back where you couldn't hear it. Can't remember if it was a split window or bay window though. It was very faded and tatty with tons of surface rust from scratches. I wonder what happened to that ute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airhead Posted 28February, 2015 Report Share Posted 28February, 2015 Gee. Wonder how much a good one would get. Resto on that one a bit suss in places apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeM Posted 28February, 2015 Report Share Posted 28February, 2015 How much would a dual cab get do you mean? Have seen a nice (not immaculate) split window DC sell for $55k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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