MGBGTV8 sells at Barons auction

Our V8 Webmaster attended the Barons auction today at Sandown Park Race Course on the outskirts of Esher in Surrey and provides feedback from an inspection of the car and then on how the bidding went and closed at £18,300.

Background information
This car with the present VRN - HHN 72N - was registered with the V8 Database back in the early 1980s by a member in Gloucestershire with no mention of a CB conversion. We have had no notification of a sale and change of owner. The car is listed on the copy of the Factory production records we have as a rubber bumper car finished in Tundra with Autumn Leaf trim and was despatched from the MG Plant to a dealer in Darlington. So clearly it has had a chrome bumper conversion - this is not mentioned in the auction listing.

Awareness of a chome bumper conversion
Talking with a number of people at the auction it became clear none of them were aware the MGBGTV8 on offer was a chrome bumper conversion and that it had originally been a rubber bumper model. So it seems they had not seen our Pricewatch NEWS item released in May which highlighted that information. See our NEWS item

Barons auction charges
Buyer's Premium is 10% plus VAT on the premium, minimum of £150.
Seller's Commission is 5% plus VAT, minimum of £150.

MGV8 Price Guide update
Last update to the end of April 2019 released early in May. More

Updated: 190604

Barons auction listing
Tuesday 4th June 2019 at Sandown Park Race Course
1975 MG MGBGTV8 - Tundra 2301 - Lot 131
Guide Price: £16,000 to £20,000

Auction listing says "this extremely rare factory MGBGTV8 having just been recommissioned and is in its original Factory colour of Tundra Green, a rare colour and described by the vendor as looking stunning. The last registered owner in the log book owned the car from 1982 and has only covered a genuine 79,000 miles in 44 years. The vendor tells us that during his ownership he has not had any panels replaced and he presumes they are all original, original Dunlop wheels. It has recently been completely repainted including doors and tail gate off, repainted the original factory colour, new front and rear bumpers, new over riders, new grill, new headlamps, door handles, new side mouldings etc. Mechanical repairs include new starter motor, new battery, recent rear brake work, new water pump and a recent service. The paint work looks to have been carried out to a high standard and looks stunning in this rare colour. The interior is very clean and tidy with its original rubber floor coverings, side panels, door panels all in nice condition, under the bonnet is very clean and tidy and the V8 sounds wonderful. In the boot area the boot floor looks solid and clean. Rare find at auction in this condition and the vendor tells us that only a few were made in this colour and he thinks you would be hard pushed to find another. The car has been Zeibarted from new". Auction listing

Note: Barons, who published the auction listing, say "This description is provided by the vendor and unless otherwise stated is 'Not Verified' by Barons or any person employed by Barons. Prospective purchasers are advised to satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of any statements made, whether they be statements of fact or opinion". 		Auction result on Tuesday 4th June 2019
1975 MG MGBGTV8 - Tundra 2301 - Lot 131
Sold with a hammer price of £18,300
Sale price including commission and VAT was £20,496

With a modest turnout of people attending the auction, a number of people seemed to be checking this MGBGTV8 quite closely prior to the auction. Lot 131 came up just over 90 minutes into the auction and attracted bids starting at £13,000. The bidding progress was then:
£13,500
£14,000
£14,500
£15,000
£16,000
£16,500
£17,000
£17,200
£17,500 < phone bid
£17,800 < someone seen earlier inspecting the car
£18,000 < phone bid
£18,200 < bidder seen earlier inspecting the car
£18,200 < tense pause until a final bid was made
£18,300 < was the winning bid as the hammer fell

The final bid came from someone who was bidding in what seemed like a subtle style which was not easy to see, but on producing his bidding number at the request of the auctioneer, he appeared to be a private buyer in the age range 55 to 65. A couple of the early bidders appeared to be experienced traders well used to catching the eye of the auctioneer with minimum facial or body movements! They also seemed very mobile moving around from side to side at the back of room presumably to confuse other bidders. Another bidder sat on a staircase behind and to one side of the audience, so unless you were facing the audience his participation in the bidding was very difficult to see. The telephone bidding played an interesting part in the auction of this lot and for other lots too.
Alongside - the front side lamps are installed the wrong way round - the side lamps are usually outboard and the indicators inboard. There was no "V8" badge on the nearside of the grille mesh in the photos in the auction listing but on inspecting the car at the auction today a "V8" badge had been fitted. The car has undergone a chrome bumper conversion which was not mentioned in the auction listing or at the auction today?

Assessment of the auction result
In our updated MGBGTV8 price guide released in early May 2019 (based on Pricewatch monitoring and analysis of adverts and auction listings over the six months to the end of April 2019), the indicative price for a Condition 1 chrome bumper car is £21,009 and £19,373 for a rubber bumper model. Today the sale price for the Tundra MGBGTV8, including the buyer's commission and VAT thereon, was £20,496 - some £513 or 2.44% less than our guide price.

Although the paint finish from a recent restoration was good, the engine bay had not been similarly restored and there was some corrosion evident there, the Dunlop composite wheels appeared to be in reasonable (but see our inspection report) and the car was a chrome bumper conversion, these features did not seem to attract the reduced price one might normally see. Based on our inspection of the car a sale price of £18,000 to £18,500 might have been expected - in the event that was the hammer price range before the addition of the buyer's premium and VAT! The seller of course will have received a net £17,202 after the seller's commission and VAT thereon.


Review of this car
From an inspection of the car at the auction today at Sandown Park in Esher in Surrey, we saw:

> Chrome bumper conversion - the Car No/VIN is 2301 and a copy of the Factory production records shows it was 200 into the rubber bumper production run which started with GD2D1 2101G. So it appears that at some stage Tundra 2301 has undergone a chrome bumper conversion, possibly when the car was recently repainted. The quality of that conversion appears to be good.

> Non original features - the front side lamps are installed the wrong way round. The side lamps are usually outboard and the indicators inboard. See photo above.

> "V8" badging is misplaced on the nearside wing and on the tailgate - the "V8" and BL badges on the nearside wing appear to be replacements. Since the auction listing was released in April 2019 a "V8" grille badge has since been fitted.

> Dunlop composite wheels have been given an interesting "spruce up" - it appears any corrosion on the steel rims, which forms near the join between the rim and the alloy centre, has been removed and then the metal painted with a narrow strip of silver paint. Unless you make a very close inspection spotting that remedial work would be easily missed. The removal of corrosion on the chromed steel rim appears to have left a slight drop in the surface on the chrome rim as you run your finger over it so presumably the thickness of the steel rim will have been reduced slightly near the join with the alloy centre.

> Michelin XAS tyres look very old - the sidewall date markings suggest they could be over 15 years or more.

> Status of the vendor - it's not clear whether it was a private seller or a trader.

See our photo report on our inspection of this MGBGTV8 in the auction room. Photo report