THE TRAIL GETS TOUGHER

CORPORAL JONES FROM TELEVISION CLASSIC DAD'S ARMY ISN'T AS YET FLAPPING HIS ARMS WHILE BELLOWING 'NOBODY PANIC BUT DOWN AT YOUR LOCAL CAR AUCTION, THE ODD NERVE WILL BE JANGLING.

- CLIFF CHAMBERS

As we are all aware, the $million+ Australian cars went MIA some time back and won’t return until economic pressures abate or things get so difficult that even the people who have plenty need to start selling assets.

During a period of several weeks during May/June, around a thousand interesting vehicles were offered for immediate sale and affordable stock – the ones with owners happy to sell on the low side of $50,000 – continued to find new homes.

Pretty much anything above $200,000 was either a no-sale or lurched grudgingly towards its reserve price; a worry for selling sites which rely on these ‘headline’ cars to stimulate bidder interest in cheaper lots and generate revenue to sustain the business.

Shannons continues to do okay with its quarterly timed auction format, although a claimed clearance rate for the Autumn sale of above 70 per cent did include results for automobilia and ancient registration plates. Results for car clearances would be closer to 50 per cent, even while the historic plates continue to do amazing things.