November Auction Report: Sales Falter As Holiday Time Approaches

Big prices on rare vehicles were scarce indeed in a market that during November seemed more interested in checking resort brochures than bidding on cars.

By far the best results referred to us during the month were an almost mythical $330,000 secured by Collecting Cars for a stunning and very rare BMW 3.0 CSL which narrowly eclipsed the sale a day earlier of a Porsche 911 RSR Replica which made $327,000.

From there, and ignoring the inevitable rattling of historic numberplates, stocks at Collecting Cars plunged until halted by a successful $151,000 bid on a Nissan Skyline R33 GTR N1.

This HX LE Monaro was the sole car to sell from a highly-publicised collection of Aussie muscle in Leeton (Image: Collecting Cars)

The site’s well publicised selection of Aussie muscle machinery failed to excite buyers, despite several of the cars looking to be excellent examples.

The sole success from this grouping was an HX LE Monaro, in nice condition but on non-standard wheels which made $115,000. Among the arguably more desirable models that failed to reach their Reserve Prices were a low-kilometre Holden VC Commodore HDT ($113,000) and an excellent looking automatic Ford XW Falcon GT bid to $117,500.

Significant for anyone who follows later-model Australian muscle was the lack of interest in an exceptional HSV W427 that had only travelled 2800km. It was bid to just $161,000 and understandably failed to sell.

The bidding only reached $161,000 on this mint W427, meaning it failed to sell (Image: Collecting Cars)

Lower down the price scale, bidder and vendor expectations were more closely aligned and some interesting cars found new homes at prices significantly below typical levels.

Among the Collecting Cars lots that offered value were a limited production Group A Celica GT4 at only $27,000, a tidy Triumph TR3A for $34,500 and a Porsche 924 off-road racer that reached just $16,700.   

Melbourne-based Chicane Auctions makes its debut appearance in this month’s  Auction Report with a couple of interesting sales during November and some quality Aussie product scheduled for January.

Early in the month Chicane managed $190,000 for a scarce and excellent Mercedes-Benz 250SL complete, with evocative ‘Pagoda’ hardtop.

Scrolling further through the Chicane list we also found an authentic DeLorean gullwing coupe that had travelled fewer than 14,000km and was emerging from long-term storage but still made $117,000.

This DeLorean was one of the stand-outs from Chicane's November 2024 sale (Image: Chicane Auctions)

Below $100,000 and echoing the low values being experienced by C2 Corvette Stingrays was a recently restored 1964 coupe that sold for a remarkable $91,000.

Also, totally online this month and without a live auctioneer wielding the gavel was Donington Auctions, with the change in format perhaps affecting their December 1 event’s clearance rate.

Donington’s highest successful bid was $94,000 for a quite unusual Delahaye Special dating from 1914 and with a Curtis aero engine. Pre-1930 models to sell included a rare Stutz Vertical Eight Tourer at $70,000 and a couple of 1926 Sunbeams, however the lovely 35 Horsepower coupe didn’t reach reserve.

Other desirable lots to miss out on finding a new home included a 1936 Bentley that had been guided at $180,000 to $220,000 and a Lancia Fulvia HF1600 that was expected to reach $120,000.

Most surprising result from that sale was the $27,775 paid by a BMC enthusiast for a mildly modified but otherwise pristine 1969 Austin 1800.

This aero-engined Delahaye scored the top bid at Donington's November sale event (Image: Donington Auctions)

With Burns & Co’s major sale pushed back to December 8 and missing the cut for this Report, the only event to be juggling bids from the auction floor and online was Lloyds on the Gold Coast.

Despite torrential rain, a decent crowd still managed to attend the November 30 sale and engage in spirited bidding on several lower-priced lots.

A modified AMX coupe that had been offered multiple times finally found a buyer at $30,000, as did a 1926 Chevrolet Tourer that at its second attempt met reserve with $14,000.

One bargain that needed some phone negotiation was a tidy 1964 Ford Thunderbird Hardtop that at $17,000 looked cheap.

Bid to a realistic $34,000 but an apparent no-sale on the day was an unusual Volkswagen-based Puma coupe which had somehow made its way to Queensland from its native Brazil.

Moving into the ‘headline’ cars we found an ex-Marcus Ambrose FG Falcon Supercar that was a no-sale at $155,000 and a 4.9-litre Ford XC Falcon Cobra also falling short at $162,000.

This VN SS Group A was one of the big winners at Lloyds' big Gold Coast auction (Image: Lloyds)

High-priced Holdens did better, with the 56,000-kilometre VN Group A SS negotiated from its $147,000 hammer price to a $161,500 sale and a well-executed VL Walkinshaw replica making $62,000.

One mammoth battle that must have made the vendor smile and sent the winning bidder home with a very rare car was the struggle to own the South African-built Chevrolet 350. Sitting high on oversized rear wheels, this unusual import cost $62,500 and perhaps will fill a gap in a collection until an equally uncommon Statesman HQ 350 can be found.

Interest by the end of the day in the older Holdens had diminished and while most were passed in for derisory offers, one bidder got lucky with a $22,000 offer on a tidy and unreserved EH Special sedan.  

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