m3 and m16 going to auction in indiana

[col.halftrack]

Yeah,
 The tracks were a bit high. There were some real deals though.
Autocar u7144 $6500. not bad
Opel Blitx for $12,000 thats less than most cckws and much harder to find.
CCKW compressor truck $3500 wow probably the best deal
AFKWX GMC $9000 hard to find for that money
Diamond T 12ton w/ trailer $16500 not gonna find that deal for a while.
couple of the german AFV/SPguns went in the 30xxx range thats surprising I think
All in all I would have liked to have inspected these vehicles as I think there was many missing and inoperable components but they looked far better than the projects I normally start on.
 Kevin

[Outsider]

Yes John I would.

A friend of mine paid way under half that a few months back for a M16A1 with a quad in it, 4 older gas guns, engine runs, but needed an exhaust manifold, Almost all original parts including oil pan armor, his also needed tracks and bogies. I have only found a few parts on it that need to be changed out to be an all original track.

The bar will only be set higher until the new owners find out what they got themselves into. Then the price will come back down to reality.

If someone wants to give me $43,700.00 for my M3 they can come over with a check and a truck and it's theirs!

Steve

[gab]

This is very similar to the Kruse auction held at Oscars dreamland several years ago with tractors and engines. The guys with a lot of money came, if they wanted it they owned it price was irrelevant. The next year they tried to do it again it did not go as well. Some want to use old tractors, engines, cars, trucks, and military vehicles for investments, it is good if your a seller but can hurt us poor guys trying to own some of this stuff. My two cents with change.      Greg

[WayOffTrack]

I thought the deal of the day as far as halftracks went was the armored Opel Maultier for 60k, 5 less less than the unarmored opel version. Of course I have not seen it in person to check the condition or if it had a motor, lol. Anyway pretty cool stuff it's not everyday an auction like this comes along. If that M3A1 was ALL original and not rusty I think 43k is not out of line at all.

[spec4don]

All I know is it was way out of my league. But I would think long and hard if someone wanted to buy my M3 for that kind of money. Repo armor and all. But hey its a labor of love. But I think the Memorial Cruise is what my wife is after. 

Don G.

[Captain Crank]

The bar will only be set higher until the new owners find out what they got themselves into. Then the price will come back down to reality.


Steve

Good point.

It would have been nice to see them up close and see their real condition.

There is a HT for sale locally that the new owner put some lipstick on it and I thought it looked OK in pics..... until a friend reminded me of the pigs past.

All I know is the price of all the widgets and brick a brack involved in building a nice HT is going up, if you can source it.

An M-16 is loaded with the stuff, if that one was nice and complete, IMO, might have been worth it.......maybe.

Deeper pockets are also looking for places to put money that won't get taxed or diminish so paying over market value may not matter as much to them.

I wonder how many of those bids were from blue collar, middle class folks and if the tracks stayed in the States?




 

[Dinadin]

My friend saw those tracks and the Dragonwagon a year or so ago, before we heard about the auction.  He said that when he saw them that there was a bit to be desired.  It was probably the typical museum condition, most of it was there and ran at one time, but has sat neglected for a long time.  Most likely the buyers were people with more money than sense and not what I would consider MV owner.  They probably won't spend hours turning a wrench, covered grease, oil and dirt to work on it.  I also doubt they will ever take them out for display, parade, re-enactment, etc. 

[WayOffTrack]

Yeah I'm sure it was mainly just the heavy hitters. Someone told me a movie studio may have bought a bunch of stuff.
Auctions like this are probably not the best place for people getting started in the hobby to buy stuff. There are still
deals out there but it takes some work to find them and a little luck (timing). I thought prices would be lower for sure given the state of the economy.

[WayOffTrack]

I thought the deal of the day as far as halftracks went was the armored Opel Maultier for 60k, 5 less less than the unarmored opel version.

Found out from a friend that inspected this stuff that this armored Maultier was a mock up only, sheet metal fake armor and the rocket tubes were just pipes welded together.