Mecum: Houston - 2013 Report

Just a quick report on the Mecum auction here in Houston this past weekend.  

Last year was the first time for Mecum to hold an auction in Houston.  They had 600-700 cars over two days and it resulted in the highest sale percentage of any auction they had all year.  They returned for 2013 with 1100 cars over three days and it didn't seem like things had slowed down a bit.

Nel loved this little Fiat (? I think, I'm not 100% sure what it was), but I didn't know enough about it to seriously consider taking it home.

 

 

Branelle went with me on Thursday - Day 1 - and we rode out 13 hours of carbon monoxide and overpriced food without buying anything.  Most people believe Nel is the "voice of reason" when it comes to things like this and would give her the credit of getting me through day 1 without purchasing anything.  They would be wrong.  She talks a good game at home, but when we walk through the doors she gets Auction Fever:  "Oh, buy that!"..."Ooo, that's pretty!"..."What's that? I want that!!"

This is the only thing we came close to buying on Thursday - 1970 Mercury Marquis Convertible.  It was used in the movie "This Is 40", which I haven't seen and didn't care about.  We were the high bidders, but the seller wouldn't let it go.

 

Gored!!!  I really thought I wanted this El Dorado, but the color just didn't work for me.  Nel liked it, and I thought about it but it went for just a little more than I thought it was worth.

I have it in my head that it's a good time to buy a Ferrari Testarossa.  They had two here, but both were a little too low on the miles.  I want one I can drive without killing the value.

Branelle couldn't make it Friday so my friend Barry assumed the mantle of "voice of reason".  He didn't do a very good job.  There were a LOT of cars that I wanted, but I ended up buying one I had little interest in on Friday morning.  

1984 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit.

I don't know what I'm going to do with this thing except drive it around with a jar of Grey Poupon in the glove compartment just in case.  I'm not sure what possessed me, other than that it was in fantastic condition and seemed cheap when it was going through.  

Mecum was fun again this year.  I'm sure they'll be back again next year with even more cars.  I'm also sure I'll go, but it's really not a good place to buy cars.  The bidding is just too high.  Other Mecum auctions around the country seem to have lots of good deals every day, but Houston both years and Dallas last year were definitely sellers markets.  I assume the strong economy in the state is the reason, so maybe we'll head to Kissimmee, Monterrey, Kansas City, or Indy later this year to look for more toys.