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Is anyone familiar with the car that sold this past week for $35,500? This car seems to make the rounds and was sold last year by Mecom for around the same price. I’m in the market for a 36-38 PA sedan so wondering about the car’s condition as it’s in a price range I’m comfortable with but curious why it’s been up for sale so frequently. Assuming someone knows this car, was it a bargain or priced about right? Other cars of this vintage that I ‘ve seen have been more expensive and I haven’t seen many bargains at auctions.
This must be a mystery car as a lot of people have looked at this post with no response. Should I give up on trying to learn more about the car?
Hi Jim, did the Mechum auction list the engine or chassis number? if so the car might be able to be traced via the numbers.
Could you post a link to the actual auction page for the car? I’ve not been able to find it.
Greg Long
I think this is the car Jim was looking at.
If that car is a nice as the pictures reflect, it is a shame that’s all the money the car brought. My friend was at the sale, and said the car looked good from the audience also. In this day and age, its getting hard to go to dinner for 35 grand.
Trouble is, I think a lot of people won’t buy a car at an auction and therefore won’t even make the effort to attend. I’m that way. I want to buy a car from the owner who knows its history, not from some circus-like auction house or a dealer looking for a quick profit who knows nothing about the car.
I hope anyone with a Pierce for sale posts it here to let a PAS member have a chance to get a good car at a reasonable price before it goes to auction. Because once at the auction, there is no guarantee that it will bring big bucks. Like with this ’37, could be just the opposite. And you’ve got to pay them a hefty seller’s commission.
I’m in the market for a 1920’s Dual Valve or earlier Pierce, but I’m just biding my time to wait for the right owner who wants to pass along his car “in the family”” for a reasonable price rather than put it on the block. Someday I’ll find that owner.”
Hey All,
See the Emporium for Non-Member listing for a 1937, 1701, 5-Passenger Sedan.
Also, I think that the Mecum Auction price was close to correct for a respectable driver.
BTW, Tony, how about taking me along for one of those $35K dinners sometime? Maybe we could go to The Four Seasons / George V, in Paris? WOW!
Peter
Let’s go to McDonalds for a breakfast burrito, and we will talk about it.
I for one, won’t buy a car at auction and I’m like Scott in that I would like to know the current or previous owner. That said, I can attest that people buy a lot of cars at auctions as evidenced by the attendance and sales of cars at auctions here in Phoenix this past January . Frankly, most of the sold vehicles were “used”” cars not classics but I’m showing my age now.”
Both of our Pierce-Arrows were purchased from PAS members who had owned them for decades. I hope I’m able to pass them on in the same way…through and within the Society.
Dave
It seems to me that most people who buy at these big auctions are not what I call hobbiests — people who drive and enjoy their cars, and people who would join the PAS, Franklin Club or other organizations where the emphasis is on fellowship and driving. I am speaking of cars of our vintage, not “used cars”.
I’ve attended a few of the big Hershey auctions, not to buy but to see the cars and get a feel for the process. It is a circus. A lot of the buyers seem to be either of the investor class or foreigners, and likely both. It’s sad to me when a great American car gets shipped overseas never to be driven on our shores again.
The greatest aspect of the PAS as well as Franklin Club (of which I am also a member) is the sense of family. It gives me a good feeling knowing that our cars can stay within the family.
Purchasing a car at an auction can be a big gamble. Unlike purchasing from an individual, where the car can be carefully inspected, driven and questions asked of the seller, an auction car can often only be looked at, not touched.
I have purchased several cars from auction, and am happy that I’ve brought the cars back into the PAS family. But the cars often need work that would have been discovered prior to purchase, rather than after purchase. I would never pay a ‘top dollar’ price for a car at auction, without a thorough inspection prior to purchase. It’s just too much of a gamble.
I’ve been ‘scolded’ by auction-company representatives more than a few times for crawling under, opening hoods, doors, trunk lids, or rumble seats. on cars displayed for an auction. My reply is to show my bidder number or credentials, and ask that they [the auction-company person] to provide an assistant for me to properly look over the car, if they expect me to bid on the car. Occasionally an assistant is provided. Often not.
Greg Long
I was lucky enough to have a past president of the PAS look over my first P-A at the Kruse auction many years ago. When I first looked over “Miss Helen” (currently owned by Greg Long)I had the pleasure of meeting and discussing this car with Marc Ralston, who proceeded to tell me all the ins and outs of that particular car. I will never forget what he told me that day, he said, “If I did not own so many Pierce-Arrows now I would buy this car!” Being a past president of the PAS, and with is knowledge of P-A cars, that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Had he not been with me at the time, things may have turned out quite differently.