Damn... I am fortunate that my business and market (real estate/San Francisco Bay Area) tends to be *fairly* stable, short of the really bottom of the market and/or a 2008/Great Recession caliber event.
The story about the XK restoration and underwhelming auction results is terrifying.
When dealers/collectors don't get the results they want... I mean, obviously it varies case by case, but do they fire sale the car? Sit on it and hope for a rebounding market?
Can you make an argument that we are recession-bound, at least anecdotally, from your past experiences with the correlational and causal connections between the car market and larger markets?
I do know of some dealers who will sell a car at a loss if it has been sitting in inventory for too long, but I've never been one to do it. My average inventory count is too low, plus, I'm stubborn, haha. A fellow car dealer friend who's also stubborn has a few cars in his inventory that are coming up on their 5th birthday with him! But I do know another guy who will truly roll the dice with No Reserve auctions, and just brush it off if he sells the car at a loss. That concept is disturbing to me.
As to whether we're recession-bound: I'm not equipped, even anecdotally, to make a prediction with my limited study of economics and finance. But I will say that the tea leaves do not look good.
Damn... I am fortunate that my business and market (real estate/San Francisco Bay Area) tends to be *fairly* stable, short of the really bottom of the market and/or a 2008/Great Recession caliber event.
The story about the XK restoration and underwhelming auction results is terrifying.
When dealers/collectors don't get the results they want... I mean, obviously it varies case by case, but do they fire sale the car? Sit on it and hope for a rebounding market?
Can you make an argument that we are recession-bound, at least anecdotally, from your past experiences with the correlational and causal connections between the car market and larger markets?
I do know of some dealers who will sell a car at a loss if it has been sitting in inventory for too long, but I've never been one to do it. My average inventory count is too low, plus, I'm stubborn, haha. A fellow car dealer friend who's also stubborn has a few cars in his inventory that are coming up on their 5th birthday with him! But I do know another guy who will truly roll the dice with No Reserve auctions, and just brush it off if he sells the car at a loss. That concept is disturbing to me.
As to whether we're recession-bound: I'm not equipped, even anecdotally, to make a prediction with my limited study of economics and finance. But I will say that the tea leaves do not look good.
Great article & insight .. I wonder if BaT is the best venue for "classic" cars .. alot of eyes, but maybe not the right ones ..?
It could be that Hemmings is now the better choice for "classic" cars, as I'd bet that their demographic skews older.
Wow. Definitely tough times!