February 2025 Auction Report: It’s Still a Buyer’s Market

Retro Rides’ own Market Analyst Cliff Chambers believes buyers are the big winners based off the bargains obtained during 2025’s shortest month. 

Variety allied to minimal price movement marked February 2025 as a month where buyers maintained their dominance. 

However, that still didn’t stop vendors offering a wide variety of cars across various auction platforms and accepting offers that a year ago would not have been tenable. No seven figure sums were seen during the month, but a record price was reportedly set, while some rare cars still managed to sell.

An auction which just missed the February cut-off but still finds its way into this coverage was conducted on March 2 by Burns & Co on behalf of a single vendor. 

Most of the cars on offer were Holdens and virtually all of them were in outstanding restored or original condition. Mileages below 100,000 were common, with a lot believed to be genuine. However, not even cars with documented history and great provenance were able to realise big prices.

This excellent HR Premier was one of Burns’ bargains at $32,750 (Image: Burns & Co)

A record Holden price had been set during the month by Burns & Co, but that was at an earlier sale. It occurred on February 16 and involved an EH Premier station wagon – a car well known in Victoria and regarded as the state’s best. It inspired a fearsome bidding battle that ended with a hammer price of $122,000.

Other enticing but less expensive cars from this sale included an XA Falcon GT manual that sold at just $105,000, a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette for the same price as the XA, and a usable 1959 Ford Ranchero that sold for a miniscule $14,500.  

Two weeks later at their March 2 event, Burns offered another Premier wagon, also in outstanding condition. It struggled in company with other lots at this sale, recording the top price of the day at $79,750.

The bargain here was another Premier – an HR sedan, also in excellent condition, which sold for just $32,750.

While Holdens including the EH and a very scarce FJ Holden panel van at $76,000 recorded the top bids on the day, Ford products were included as well. 

Best and likely rarest of these was an XA Ford Fairmont V8 station wagon in a rare Wild Violet finish and showing a genuine 34,800 miles, with it claiming a winning bid of $52,000.

This 307 V8-powered HK Monaro GTS was the value pick at Lloyds on the Gold Coast, selling for $79,000 (Image: Lloyds)

Lloyds Auctions on Queensland’s Gold Coast catalogued around half the normal number of Classic and Barn Find cars for its February 22 sale, but also enjoyed improved clearance rates.

Top price of the day was $107,000 for an XY Falcon GT Replica, but better value, we felt, was a V8-engined HK Monaro GTS. Finished in popular Silver Mink and in decent condition, it made a low $79,000. 

Older and more unusual than the Monaro was a 1961 model Karmann-bodied Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet, which after spirited bidding found a new home at $45,500. 

The online-only sales sites experienced decent levels of clearance as well, although prices in most cases didn’t reach levels achieved by similar cars during 2024. 

Collecting Cars showed the way with a Nissan Skyline R34 GTR M Spec at $235,000 – way below last year’s record price of $365,000.

This R34 GT-R sold well below last year’s record price of $365,000, only managing to pull a $235,000 winning bid (Image: Collecting Cars)

The site’s BMW M3 at $100,000 was a car with some local history that did better than the last one that made $88K, but their most unusual Japanese-made offering was an RX3 station wagon in left-hand drive sold for $59,500.

Most expensive of Collecting Cars’ Japanese models was a scarce Subaru WRX STi 22B, one of only 400 made, that finished well down on established values with a successful bid of $261,000.

Over at Trading Garage, the pickings were slimmer but headlined by an unusual and very cheap American Motors’ AMX. 

These short wheelbase versions of the Javelin were sold here in limited numbers when new, but this was a LHD import with the 390 V8 engine and performance ‘Go Package’. Similar cars list at US$30-35,000 but the local vendor was prepared to accept a bid of just A$31,000.

Please note: All figures quoted are Hammer Prices in Australian Dollars and do not include any applicable Buyer Premium.

This unusual AMC AMX fitted with the optional ‘Go Package’ was yet another bargain at $31,000 (Image: Trading Garage)