So, your point is??
I know that the cost of restoring any old car of the 1940's-50's has risen considerably in just the last 10 years. I have no doubt that the seller probably did not make much of a profit on the sale, unless he/she did a lot of the work themselves or were very lucky in finding and purchasing Vagabond-specific parts. Re-chroming the airfoil alone had to easily run between $1000-2000 if the work was done right. Also, what about the buyer? Does the car tie into family history (we had one like this growing up) or is it a car the buyer just had to have? Did the buyer know of such organizations as the KFOCI and had he/she shopped our FOR SALE ads or checked out other club-generated leads?
You must remember that auction companies "work" early bidders as a normal course of business...if you watch the BJ auction on TV you see them cajolling or otherwise trying to get a higher bid out of these people. As with any auction (and often without the knowledge of the auction company), there are shills associated with the seller making bogus bids on "no reserve" cars in order to get the price up...sometimes I have even seen the seller step in if the item is not being bid up to the area he/she feels it should sell for. At least one of the larger auction companies is under criminal investigation on these shadow bids, as such practices--without disclosure to the other bidders--is a violation of the laws of the state where the auction took place (Indiana). What was going on here, if anything?
Bottom line...one sale does not a goldmine make.
