Comparatively warm autumn weather in Toffen on October 15, 2022 would actually have been an invitation to eat a bratwurst outside before the vintage car gallery auction. This time, however, the barbecue and outdoor catering were dispensed with, as there was still the company's own restaurant, which is also happy to serve food in the garden. The space gained was used in the form of parking spaces for the bidders, who turned up in large numbers, but certainly not as many as three or four years ago. During the corona pandemic, many regular bidders seem to have become accustomed to submitting their bids online or in writing. There are even reports of people gathering as a group in front of the screen, watching the auction on the projector screen and bidding via cell phone.
This had the advantage for the guests on site, who were certainly still watching the action most closely, that there were enough seats and nobody had to stand if they didn't want to.
The auction opened punctually at 13:30, with Oldtimer-Galerie junior manager Serge Stotzer taking the hammer for the first half of the lots. The auction lasted 4 3/4 hours with the 101 vehicle lots and some automobilia in front of them.
An average of CHF 27,000 was expected per lot, but half were offered without a reserve price.
Wide range of vehicles on offer
The 101 vehicles included 26 two-wheelers (mainly motorcycles, but also mopeds and a bicycle) and 75 automobiles.
The cars together covered nine decades of vehicle construction, the oldest car being a Packard Model 526 Single Six Coupé from 1928, the youngest a Mercedes-Benz SLK 280 from 2007.
Underrated motorcycles?
The two-wheelers in particular managed to significantly exceed the estimated values. The BMW R26 from 1959 on offer was sold as a restoration object for CHF 3360 (EUR 3429), more than double the estimate (CHF 1000 to 2000).
With the exception of one motorcycle, all two-wheelers, most of which were also offered "no limit", were sold.
The motorcycles were ultimately also responsible for the fact that on average 89% of the mean estimated value was offered. The high proportion of "no minimum price" bids therefore did not have a negative impact on this indicator.
Good sales result
In general, Serge Stotzer, Beat Leu and Reinhard Schmidlin were certainly satisfied with the results of the auction. 69 lots were sold directly, 16 lots were knocked down under reserve, which means that an agreement still needs to be reached between the seller/consignor and the highest bidder after the auction.
Experience has shown that this is likely to be successful in around half of the cases due to the often narrowly missed limits, which is why the sales rate can be estimated at around 76%.
16 lots could not be knocked down, so will probably go back to the consignor.
Healey Silverstone as the most expensive car
The Healey Silverstone is probably unfamiliar even to many classic car enthusiasts. It is a post-war sports car built just over 100 times by Donald Healey. The chances of being able to bid on such a car, which was also restored a few years ago, are rare. The result for the red two-seater, which had been estimated in advance at CHF 140,000 to 180,000, was correspondingly high.
The hammer fell at CHF 137,500, with the British exotic finding its way into a new garage for CHF 154,000 (EUR 157,143).
Lots of interest in the Marcos
The Marcos sports cars were only built in small numbers. Left-hand drive coupés in original condition with a Ford Essex V6 engine are particularly rare.
However, the coupé offered in Toffen for CHF 45,000 to 50,000 was well sought after, CHF 49,500 was listed as the highest bid and the car was sold to a new enthusiast for CHF 55,440 or EUR 56,571.
Another interesting car was the 1961 Alvis TD 21 Saloon Park Ward, which found a new enthusiast for CHF 19,600 or EUR 20,000.
Varying levels of demand Garage find collection
Things went rather better for the two exotic Brits than for the seven-car Garage Find collection ( we reported on it ) .
As expected, the most expensive car sold was the 1932 Cadillac 452-B V16 as a Town Coupé, but CHF 92,960 or EUR 94,857 was still a good price for this magnificent car.
The 1930 Packard Standard Eight 733 Roadster and the 1932 Pierce-Arrow Model 54 Convertible Coupe were knocked down at less than two-thirds of their estimated value.
The 1954 MG TF even sold for just CHF 16,800 or EUR 17,143.
Things went much better for the Jaguar Mk IV as a 3.5 liter drophead coupé from 1948, for which even more than expected, namely CHF 56,000 or EUR 57,143, was paid.
The impressive 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz could only be knocked down under reserve at CHF 57,500, while an interested party was able to take delivery of the 1958 Jaguar XK 150 S 3.4 OTS for CHF 64,960 or EUR 66,286.
Young inexpensive cars with good results
Some younger cars performed well.
CHF 5600 (EUR 5714) was paid for a 2002 MG ZT-T190, while a BMW 528i E39 could be purchased for CHF 8400 or EUR 8571.
A Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 Kompressor from 2002 was available for CHF 13,440 or EUR 13,714, and a Mercedes-Benz SL 500 from the same year for CHF 15,680 or EUR 16,000.
The Mazda RX-7 from 1985, which was once embellished by Marc Surer Carstyle, fetched CHF 6160 or EUR 6286.
However, some of the more recent cars were also cheaper than expected. The BMW 850i from 1991, for example, went into a new garage for a modest CHF 17,920 or EUR 18,286, while the pretty Fiat Barchetta from 1996 could be bought for CHF 8400 or EUR 8571.
Small number of super classics
Super classics in the conventional sense were few and far between in Toffen. One exception was certainly the 1961 Citroën DS 19, which was knocked down with reserve at CHF 45,000. The four cars with Alfa Romeo badges could not be sold, with the exception of one GTV6, which was knocked down under reserve.
An enthusiast bid CHF 50,000 for the Porsche 911 SC 3.0 from 1983, but this was only enough for a conditional knockdown.
An MGC Roadster from 1969 could be bought at auction at a reasonable price, CHF 18,480 or EUR 18,857 was enough to buy it.
Of the two Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow cars, only the younger one could be sold comparatively cheaply, while both VW Beetles could not be finally knocked down.
If a few more deals can be concluded in the post-sale, then the Oldtimer Gallery can set about preparing for the Gstaad auction on December 29, 2022 in good spirits, as there does not (yet) seem to be any lack of buyer interest in Switzerland.
