2012 Barrett-Jackson Orange County Auction ? Mini Review | Car ...

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Barrett-Jackson rather immodestly boasts that it holds ?The world?s greatest car auctions.? It even trademarked that name. In my experience, if you truly are the greatest, you don?t need to tell everyone. For instance, I?ve never once had a truly beautiful woman walk up to me and say ?I?m pretty.?

But be that as it may, one thing Barrett-Jackson does do well is make money. June 22-24, they held their third annual auction in Orange County at the Orange County Fair Grounds. And from the looks of things ? lots of money changed hands and a great deal of it went to Barrett-Jackson.

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

The tens of thousands of people who attend the auction pay $13 admission just to look around. A coke will set you back $4. It cost $200 to register to bid (if you did it before May 23rd) and $250 at the door. There is a 10% on-site buyer?s premium. That means if you buy a car at auction for $20,000 you have to instantly hand over $22,000 to Barrett-Jackson. If you sell a car at auction, you have to pay an entry fee ? usually $50 ? $100 plus eight percent commission for a no-reserve car and 10% for a reserve car. Barrett-Jackson doesn?t sell many cars with a reserve. Only cars worth more than $250k are usually allowed that option ? but sometimes very unusual cars worth less will be permitted to go on reserve.

So essentially, Barrett-Jackson is making between 18-20% on every car sold. Last year, BJ did $14 million at Orange County (Their largest auction is Scottsdale which typically generates $60 million.) Figure roughly $2.5 million as the take for BJ and their expenses are probably covered by the general admission, (fairgrounds rental was $325k last year and the walk-in gate covered that in spades.) vendor booth sales and bidder paddle sales. It?s quite a haul. I?m certainly in the wrong business and in my next life plan to own a car auction!

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

But it?s not all cash and greed at BJ. The first 2013 SRT Viper went to Barrett-Jackson in Orange County to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation. It?s a great charity dealing with pediatric cancer. The car sold for $300k. Toyota also donated a truck with the goal of raising money for the Emporia Community Foundation, a charity that benefits the citizens of Emporia, KS. It sold for $100,000.

After you get past all the money it?s really all about the cars. And while there seemed to be fewer relevant vendors this year, (I saw lots of people hawking mattresses and jewelry in the vendor pavilion) there were enough serious, car-related vendors to make the event worthwhile. Ford and GM each had large tents showing off their best stuff and those two tents could keep the average car nut busy for half a day.

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Ford was letting people drive around in their new 2013 Focus ST. This $25,000 marvel won?t even be on sale for a few months but you could see one and ride in one at the auction. I have to say it?s an extremely impressive car for the money and the tuners, auto-crossers and drifters will buy this car as fast as they can.

The coolest thing I saw in the GM booth was the Chevrolet TRU 140S concept. This little four-seater looks like a cross between an R8 and a Ferrari. I?m sure it?s going to be far too expensive to actually build but man I?d like to have one.

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

I can?t forget to mention that Chevy was also showing off the 60th anniversary edition Corvette with 427 engine. I was disappointed that the one on the floor was stripe delete because I wanted to see how that looked in person but I?ll know soon enough. I have one on my must-buy list.

Both Meguiar?s and Mothers had big tents on display full of their products and they were right across from each other on the midway ? just like they were last year. They were selling stuff to be sure but you could learn a great deal from watching their demos. They had buffing classes and Mothers made their head chemist available to me for some questions about Mothers? professional line. It was some of the most interesting stuff at the auction.

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

I wasn?t granted media access for this event so I didn?t take as many photos as I usually would. I was also very busy on the bidding floor but didn?t end up winning anything. But there were some cars I want to mention that came over the block. There were more than 400 cars listed in the catalog ? a good showing to be sure. I saw a pretty 73 Cuda Coupe custom, a 36 Ford Phaeton convertible (in remarkable condition) and a lovely black 1961 Jaguar Mark II (I couldn?t fit in that car for a million dollars but it?s pretty.)

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Through my surrogate I did bid on this Econoline van and an old Lincoln. Didn?t win either but both had good potential and went for small money. I didn?t have budget this year for the big stuff since I recently added the 2012 Ford F150 (and then dropped tens of thousands customizing it) and the new 2012 Jaguar XKR convertible (which I also spent 10k customizing with new wheels, tires and brakes.) I?ve also stopped bidding on high-end cars at auctions because I took time to read the rules and regulations and once I realized that BJ (and some other auction companies) allow shill bidding ? i.e., bidding by people not intending to buy the car but hoping to jack the price up, I stopped buying expensive cars this way. Either way it?s still fun to look.

This year?s auction for me was mostly about just enjoying the car culture. There?s plenty of it in Orange County. I saw some great small vendors selling hand-made memorabilia including purses, shirts and hats, paintings, etc. ? all of it stuff I?d put in my man cave. I even bought a few shirts and hats to add to my collection.

Photo by Scott Bourne ? Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

The one thing that I have to admit is Barrett Jackson runs a fun event. I?m pretty sure it?s less expensive to buy valuable collector cars at a different venue, but I enjoy the experience of attending the auction none-the-less. It?s sort of like gambling in Vegas. You know you won?t win. In fact you know you?ll probably end up short. But you pull the handle on the slot machine anyway just in case.

I?ll be back at the Barrett-Jackson auction in September in Vegas since I live there. That show has an entirely different vibe. The Orange County show is held at a fairgrounds and feels more like a state fair event. The BJ auction in Vegas is held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. And while the same stuff is there for the most part, it just has a different feel. I?ll clue you in on that event this coming Fall.

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