Market view

by Richard Barnett

‘The auction season is now shifting into overdrive...’

I’ve just got in from ACA’s second sale of the year, and if anyone needed a classic auctioneer barometer, here it is. The signs are good, with a big crowd at King’s Lynn, not just on sale day but on preview day, too.

It’s clear that more and more people are choosing to source their classics from an auction. And who can blame them? There’s more choice in one location, which means less driving around from one place to another looking at motors. And an auction will often throw up those wildcard offerings that punters might not have thought about.

I’m a great believer in the alternatives, because too much following the crowd soon starts to feel stale. We’ve all visited shows where the same makes and models always appear – where’s the fun in that?

With the auction season now shifting into overdrive, the chance of buying a fresh classic gets even better and, yes, I’ll be in the running. Common sense stopped me adding to my collection when I was at ACA but do I regret not having a bid? Too right I do.