AstaGuru opens auto innings with tepid response to online vintage auction

Many serious car enthusiasts would rather do a face-to-face deal than buy virtually

Having dabbled in paintings, timepieces and even celebrity memorabilia such as actor Prem Chopra’s pipe, Mumbai-based auctioneer AstaGuru made its online debut of vintage cars on Tuesday. The two-day auction, that ended Wednesday, featured brands such as Rolls-Royce, the Volkswagen Beetle, among others.
 

"It's a new field for us and so we are a little nervous about how everything is going to play out but we know there are plenty passionate collectors out there, so we see potential," said Vickram Sethi, chairman of AstaGuru and an art dealer.

Sethi is right, as worldwide auction categories are broken up between art, jewelry, memorabilia and cars. Specialists define vintage cars as those made before 1940 and classics as those made after 1940 and before 1970. AstaGuru, which has about 45 employees, generated a turnover of around Rs 1.10 billion last year, said director Tushar Sethi, adding that the exhibition lot this time is just 10 cars. Getting more dealers to sign up has been a challenge because serious car-buyers aren't that keen to buy online. 

"I honestly prefer to sit across a table and do business face to face when it comes to buying vintage cars, instead of an online auction," said Raymond boss and car collector Gautam Singhania.  

Mohit Kapoor, director at Imperial Auctions, a Pune-based numismatics auctioneer, said a customer basically can't test a car, which translates to a longer buying process. "With a coin, there are no parts or mechanics that need to be checked out. It is either there, or it isn't. There's no grey area."

Originally, the auction was to have 30 cars but there were last-minute withdrawals by owners. Reasons ranged from documents not being up to date to a wait and watch approach, said a collector.  Petrol-heads felt AstaGuru's prices were high, especially with a 15 per cent premium on top of the final price but even so, good deals may abound, Harit Trivedi, another collector, said. "A 1947 Rolls being sold for under a crore is a no-brainer when new ones cost four or five crores. Similarly, the Volkswagen Beetle is an iconic car," He said. 

However, on the last day of auction, as of 7:30 pm, very few, if any, bids reached the upper end of the bid set by the auction house. The Rolls had gotten a bid of around Rs 8 million which was the same as starting reserve. The 1951 Mercedes-Benz, whose lower end reserve price was Rs 2 million, got a bid of around Rs 2.4 million. The 1969 Beetle, which started at Rs 1.8 million and was expected to generate a lot of interest, did not get any bids, said Siddhant Shetty, vice president strategy at AstaGuru, adding that a Studebaker also got no bids. 

Big bang or not, such auctions encourage the vintage and classic car scene. "One way or the other, online auctions do end up helping spread the word to a larger number of buyers across the country," Singhania said. The other good news is there is a robust pipeline for the future. "You can easily pick up between 100 and 150 vintage and classic cars in a few weeks with most in Pune, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, but conditions will vary," said Trivedi.

Pratik Desai, Automobile Specialist with AstaGuru, said many cars in the auction have changes that are likely part of restoration that may have transpired over the years. Desai indicated prospective buyers will be told that vehicles are being sold in an “as is” condition, meaning they may or not be in a running condition. "There is no hide-and-seek. We will give buyers a condition report. They are free to bring in their mechanics and check the cars out," Desai said. 

Still, prospective customers will want more details. AstaGuru's sales guide has photos of the cars but no background to their owners or to their individual, specific history. They are instead accompanied by generic details, the kind one can find on the internet.  In short, the buyer is left wanting more.

It’s encouraging that AstaGuru has taken the lead in launching classic car auctions in India, but more ground must be covered, Diljeet Titus, a Delhi-based lawyer and a collector said. "It becomes difficult to make informed bids as almost nothing has been written about mechanical and cosmetic condition or the ownership history, provenance, title of these cars, leaving lots of questions," Titus said. "AstaGuru needs to better research offerings, considering the high prices, at which they are to be sold so the process is more transparent."