I am a member of the Pacific Northwest Region of the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club, so I was particularly interested in the light blue 1975 Lincoln Mark IV. It was owned by one family since new and looked pretty good except for the over-spray from the recent repaint. The owner brought the car to auction with a reserve price of $3,750, but sold it for the high bid of $2,150. It looked to me like a very solid and collectible car for such a small price.

Moving on to some General Motors cars, This 1964 Chevrolet Impala with a $13,000 reserve price sold for $12,600. Rated at condition 2.0, I think that this was a fair price for both the buyer and the seller. The Old Cars Price Guide rates this car at condition 2.0 at $18,900. It was the right color and a beautiful specimen both inside and out. It seems odd to me that a Chevrolet Impala will always outsell a similar condition Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Buick. But there are many more Chevy owners from the past that would like to relive their memories.

Now here is a car that was detailed and prepared for the auction in a manner that would impress anyone. This black 1978 Pontiac Trans Am looked like perfection to me. Rated by Silvers at 1.6 condition, I would have rated it much higher. The owner had a whole collection of trophies he had won at various car shows. It is interesting that the Old Cars Price Guide rates a number 1.0 condition similar car a $14,400 with the options. The car was bid to $14,000 but it was a no sale with the owner holding out for a $15,000 reserve. If I were a big Pontiac buff, I would have gladly paid $15,000 for this beauty.

Next we have a red 1970 Pontiac GTO. Condition rating was 1.7. The bidding stalled at $15,600 but the owner took it back home with his reserve price of $18,500. I think that I would agree with the owner. The Old Cars Price Guide rates a similar condition 2.0 car at $21,700. For these higher dollar cars such as the GTO you really need the right buyer(s) in the room that are looking to buy a car such as this. Apparently, they just were not there that day.

Wow! Here was a beautiful white 1960 Chevrolet Impala two door hard-top. With a condition rating of 1.5 there was not much more that you could ask for here. The bidding stopped at $21,000. The owner had a reserve price of $25,500 that he was looking for. Note that the Old Cars Price Guide rates this car at $22,100 if you split the difference between a condition 1.0 and 2.0. I think that the owner either had unrealistic expectations or that he really didn’t want to sell. Otherwise this little Chevy would have found a new home.

Want a little red Truck? You can’t get sportier that this little red 1972 El Camino Chevrolet. $9,000 bid didn’t meet with the owner’s approval. He was holding out for a little more than that. I know, I know, it’s all opinion, but I would have taken the 9K and felt good about it. But, the whole purpose of the auction is to get buyers and sellers together. Guess it just didn’t work in this case.

WDM

Now here is a collector car to please anyone. It’s a red 1967 Dodge Charger. You can almost hear them hollering “Yeee-haw” as they roar away in this one. Rated at condition 1.9, the only noticeable flaw was a big scratch/crease on the passenger side of the body. SOLD with a bid of $7,100, this was one that I would have gladly taken home for that kind of money. The Old Cars Price Guide rates a similar condition Charger at $18,900. I don’t know how anyone could lose money on this kind of a deal.

Hey, want to buy an appreciating asset at a dirt-cheap price? Sorry, you missed this one! This rare, rare, rare 1990 Chrysler TC by Maserati sold new for $38,000. With only 20,000 miles on the odometer it was perfection in every detail. This was the rare model with sixteen valves and a five-speed stick transmission. Maserati only built 200 of these. If you really really want one, sorry, they are not to be had. In this case… someone bought it for a measly $9,500. Stop! Thief! Don’t let them get out the gate! Guess it’s too late. This car should sell any day of the week in the 12 to 16 thousand dollar range. Well, you had your chance. Better luck next time.

Every one of these smaller regional collector car auctions has at least one “sleeper” that is a damn near give-away. Usually they tend to be an “estate” no-reserve car that some disinterested entity is trying to liquidate ASAP. So, here is the sleeper of this sale in my opinion. It is a like-new 1993 Metallic Black Cherry Corvette with only 17,000 miles on it. This car SOLD at $11,200. Can you believe an “as-new”

Corvette for the price of an Asian “econo-buzz-box?” Take my advice. Don’t go to one of these auctions without taking some serious money with you to buy. Otherwise you will kick yourself all the way home wondering why it is always someone else that gets the good deal.

If you have a 16-year-old driver in your household, here is the car for him. An eighty-four Corvette with 500 horsepower. Give the kid this car and within the week he will have lost his license and be safely walking. It was a no-sale with $7,000 bid and a reserve more like 11,000. I’m not sure how you could pass the emissions test with this rig in Spokane. But, then you could pull the engine and put it into that hot-rod you want to build and you would still have a free Corvette sans engine.

Here is the real Corvette lovers dream car. It’s a 1995 ZR1 with only 4,000 miles on it. This Vette cost well over $70,000 new. The Old Cars Price Guide rates it at condition 1.5 at $46,750. Bidding stopped at $28,000. The owner would have let it go for only $32,500 but there just wasn’t enough money in the room to meet that. Hey, this rare beast is showroom perfect. If you want one like this you will look a long long time before you find it at this kind of price. And, you couldn’t find a better color than resale red.

If you have been looking for something powerful and exotic to impress the neighbors, you couldn’t pass on this 1991 Lotus Esprit. With a turbo 360 horsepower engine it will top 165 miles per hour. Only 40,000 miles on the car… This car sold new for over $90,000. The bidding stopped at $15,000. The owner wanted $18,300 thus it was a no-sale.

Do you want a sporty car that says “quality, performance, prestige, exclusive?” Here it is. This 1988 Mercedes 560SL in metallic gold has it all. AMG ground effects and fancy wheels. Low, low miles… about 44,000 I think. Originally purchased by the owner of the Seattle Seahawks. This car SOLD for $22,500. That’s about the kind of money you would blow on a Ford Focus. The owner dropped his $25,000 reserve to make the sale. The Old Cars Price Guide rates this car at condition 1.5 at $34,850.

If you really want to sell your collector car, you need to put it in front of serious qualified buyers. Or, if you really want to find that perfect dream car of your youth, don’t do what this man is doing with his sign. You need to locate the present owner who is motivated to sell. You can accomplish this by going to: www.silverauctions.com. Check out their calendar of up-coming auctions. You just might find your dream car at a very attractive price.

WDM

Tehran, Iran, 1966 — My brother, Delmar Murray was about to finish a tour of duty working for the U.S. Government in this middle-east metropolis. In his enthusiasm to get home to the states he decided to take the Ford Motor Co. up on their offer to sell overseas workers a new Ford product at a substantial discount.

The question was, did he want a new Thunderbird or a new Lincoln Continental. Ford sent the brochures and price lists. After some lengthy considering, he decided to buy the top-of-the-line Town Landau Thunderbird in Candy Apple Red.

The car was ordered from Ford with no fender skirts, thus the bright garnish molding around the rear wheel wells. Arrangements were made to pick up the new T-Bird at Cherner Ford in Washington D.C. It was early summer when Del flew into D.C. and picked up the big bird.

A 2,800 mile cruise across American took him from Washington D.C. to our home in Spokane, Washington State. The big bird was a joy to drive with its cool air-conditioning, eight-track tape sound system and 390 V-8. Del paid about $5,000 for the car. That seemed to me like a huge amount of money at that time. When Del showed up with this gorgeous new bird, I was impressed. The all white interior with "wrap-around" rear seating looked like luxury at its best. Del and I took one trip together in the big bird. We took a leisurely drive up to Banff, Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies. Del was proud of that car, but he harbored some regrets that he didn’t take the plunge and buy a convertible.

Del was with us in Spokane for about a month. He had been hoping that his next government assignment would take him to a country that would be practical for him to have his new T-Bird go with him. But… word came from D.C. that his next assignment was to Karachi, Pakistan. Karachi is not the place to take a car like this. So, there was nothing to do except leave the car with me. I played with the car until the fall season was threatening snow. Del instructed me to sell the car for him.

The car was sold that fall to our cousin and her husband, Bill and Maxine Copley. Bill Copley had retired out of the Air Force and his family with three teenagers was living in an elegant older home on the South Hill here in Spokane. We saw the car only occasionally for several years. I distinctly remember their daughter Linda, who was in her late teens driving the candy-apple bird. I can almost hear the Beach Boys singing "fun, fun, fun till daddy takes the t-bird away."

Linda was well known in the family for her travels with the "Up With People" organization. She later became a stewardess for an airline company. Sadly, Linda was killed in a tragic car crash (not in the t-bird) but I still think of that beautiful red Thunderbird when I think of her.

The Copleys sold the Thunderbird and we completely lost track of what became of it. The years rolled by. Can you believe that the car is now 39 years old? What happened to the time? It still seems like just yesterday to me. No one knew where the Thunderbird was. Seems that it had been traded in to Wendle Ford in Spokane, and subsequently sold by them to someone.

One day in 2002 I happened to pick up a copy of "Wheel Deals" the local free automobiles-for-sale publication. To my surprise, I found a color photo of a red and white 1966 Thunderbird Town Landau. The description matched the car my brother had brought home some thirty-five years earlier. I called the number in the ad. The gentleman who answered the phone told me that the car had already been sold. In inquiring about the car, I became convinced that this was in fact the same car that I thought it was. I learned that the original owner lived on Sanson Avenue. That was our house. The seller would not tell me who had bought the car. He somewhat reluctantly agreed to pass along my phone number to the buyer.

A few days later my phone rang and the caller identified himself as the new owner of the red Thunderbird. In discussing the car with him I was now certain that this was the car that I thought it was. The new owner had no plans to sell the car. He had built a new shop and had the Thunderbird in it along with a 7-liter 1966 Ford Galaxy that he had purchase new. He went on to say that he had been looking for a well-preserved 1966 Thunderbird for the past seven years and had not found one this nice until now. He allowed that he might consider trading for the white 1966 Thunderbird Town Landau that Wendle Ford had in their showroom. But even then he would want some "boot" money due to the fact that he thought that the red T-bird was a somewhat better car. He mentioned that when he was inspecting the white 66 bird he noticed that the doors (which are quite heavy) would sag about a quarter of an inch when the doors were opened. The 1966 Thunderbird was unit body construction and known for rust problems with older ones. The red T-bird had been in dry Spokane all its life and had no rust problems. We agreed that I would bring my brother Del (now retired) out to see the car.

Before going out to see the red Thunderbird I made a trip up to Wendle Ford to see the white 1966 Thunderbird. The sales manager informed me that they had recently sold the car on Ebay for $11,500. So, I could forget about the plan to buy it for a swap.

Del and I went out to meet with the new owner and see the car. Amazing! During the past 30 years the car has been driven a mere 30,000 miles. The white molded vinyl driver’s door panel was perfect. Usually this is the first thing to crack and deteriorate as these T-birds age.

WDM