Baillon Collection

http://youtu.be/lxA5kqDwmzQ

All my friends have been blowing up my inbox with this today.

Pretty impressive collection, too bad they were so neglected.

Even considering the rarity, the auction house will be working hard to get their $12 million for all that.

Trans_Maro wrote: $12 million for all that.

. That's INSANE!

That's a bit like someone asking if you want to see their family and when you say yes, he takes you in the basement and shows the where he put them after he cut them into pieces.

That's not a collection. That's a fancy junkyard.

I did a very minor bit of digging.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2862095/Now-did-park-60-cars-Incredible-treasure-trove-rusting-classics-worth-12MILLION-languishing-French-farm-garage-50-years.html

Sorry, my bad, they said they expected 12 million POUNDS for everything.

Maybe they will get it, considering the list of cars they have.

They figure the Ferrari California Spyder that's in there will be the big dollar car.

A California Spyder, restored set a record in 2008 at $10mil and change. That was a restored car and auctions are a dick-swinging contest for guys with fat wallets.

You could be into the resto on that car for over $100k if major parts are missing or damaged.

Ferraris are hot right now, when that car set a record, you probably could've gotten one for half that if you shopped smart and didn't buy at auction.

Figuring the way the market has gone on those cars, $7.5 mil for an equivalent wouldn't be out of line now.

IF that car has some provenance AND it is actually what it is supposed to be, I really would have a hard time telling someone to spend more than $2 - $2.5 million on what's there. Without really looking at the car and doing my homework, it's hard to figure.

There are some desirable cars there.

The Maseratis are coming up on value. The Facel-Vega is sort of a ho-hum thing, you like them or you don't. The Talbo-Lagos, Delage, Delahaye, Voisin and Lagondas should be the money cars along with the Ferraris.

Providing there's something left of them other than a heap of parts.

I could be out on values a bit, I haven't done a whole lot of digging.

Another "collection" left to rot by an automotive hoarder

I wonder how much the stack of magazines that were on the hood of the Ferrari will bring? Probably still too rich for me!

That video was painful to watch. Like the funeral of a loved one.

Is there any evidence that the lumps were worth saving when they were parked?

You're at $100k for a motor rebuild...

Wow that's incredible. I don't see piles of junk like some of you guys.... I see potential. I'd pass out if I had a relative with a stash like that.

There's potential, as long as your wallet is fat enough.

Half of what you are buying is a vin on some of these. Which is 90% of the value.

oldeskewltoy wrote: http://youtu.be/lxA5kqDwmzQ

Are those bundles of Classic Motorsports back issues? Was this staged for the ultimate garage contest?

Here's what I would do. I would auction off all but two cars. Then take the cash and have a qualified shop restore the Ferrari while I play around in my garage with the other interesting old car that I never expect to finish.

WTF. You spent the money for all those cars and couldn't spend some money to store them properly. That's just Berkleyed Up. That's like buying a fine artwork and throwing it in a garden shed...

At some point in time, they were just tired old cars to someone.

Delahaye?

Trans_Maro wrote: At some point in time, they were just tired old cars to someone.

I don't think so. Most are pretty special. A few of them are just old cars, but a Ferrari and Maseratti are never tired old cars...

with a few exceptions, i see scrap metal. what something was has no direct affect on what it is, IMO.

if it couldn't be made road worthy in under a week,(80 man hours) its a parts car to me. even if it WAS some fancy exotic classic...

-J0N

In reply to maj75:

There wasn't really a "collector car" market back then, they -were- just old cars.

No-one thought that the E36 M3ty Citation X-11 that grandma has had rotting in the family garage was worth money like they do today.

There was a time when even Duesenbergs traded in the hundreds of dollars and Packards were cut up to be pickup trucks and tractors.

Example:

1931 Cadillac tow truck:

Model A Duesenberg truck:

Model J Duesenberg truck:

There's an L-29 Cord under this:

This poor abomination was a Duesenberg, customised in the 1940's:

wearymicrobe wrote: Half of what you are buying is a vin on some of these. Which is 90% of the value.

Basically. A bunch of those look a bit worse for wear and you'd have to find the axle in the dirt before you can assess the amount of work. That doesn't bode well for anything except the VIN. The Ferrari 250 doesn't look too bad though.

What a shame that a collection was that was left to rot.

The collection of junkers.. um, I mean Fine Classic Automobiles has now escalated in value to $18 Million (internet) dollars. That's 50% appreciation over the $12MM estimate a week ago. Who said there wasn't money to be made in old cars?

Business Insider

maj75 wrote:

Trans_Maro wrote: At some point in time, they were just tired old cars to someone.

I don't think so. Most are pretty special. A few of them are just old cars, but a Ferrari and Maseratti are never tired old cars...

The article states most of the collection was assembled back in the 60's and 70's, when just about all of these were essentially just old cars. The owner was a tow truck operator with an interest in old cars and likely kept an eye/ear open for deals. IIRC, the French economy was not doing very well back in those days so it's likely he bought most of them for a song.

The California Spider looks like it qualifies as a "barn find" if that's the original paint and looks reasonably complete and original. If it actually is original, it could very well set a new sales record with what unrestored, original cars have been selling for in recent years. There's also a Bugatti in the collection - those never sell for cheap.