Indian At Auction

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May 18, 2009 | 11:44 AM

D6CS

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Indian At Auction

I went to an estate auction last weekend and they had a 40 Indian with side car, in pieces. It looked as if the only work done was getting the frame ready. They indicated that as far as they knew the bike was 99% there, but it was hard to tell with everything in boxes..

They also had a Scout motor and a Chief motor with a Triumph motor in another box, and a trailer full of other parts , 70's HD Stuff and some British pieces but really from my point of view nothing of "great " value..

So they sold the Indian as a lot ......$10 K
the three motors as a lot .........$3,800
and the trailer load as a lot for ....$3,400.00

You just never know what people will pay ...

May 18, 2009 | 11:51 AM

08blacksporty

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you can sell anything, for any price...just gotta find the right people. ever heard of the guy that traded his way up from a paper clip to a house?

May 18, 2009 | 11:52 AM

Lincoln33

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From: 2000 Softail FXST

I always check out the local estate sales hoping to find a basket case deal. I don't know if those folks that bought the parts got a good deal or not but I guess if they knew the value of the parts and what they were doing with them they could get a good return on the investment.

May 18, 2009 | 12:01 PM

DGlide04

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From: Hudson Valley- NY

A full (and professionally done) restoration on a 1940 Indian with a sidecar might be worth a whole lot more than the sum of the parts. There may have also been some real gems in the old 70's HD parts, you never know. Kind of like the stories you hear of someone buying a Picasso at a yard sale because the owner had no clue what they really had. There was a woman in NYC last year that picked up a large sofa-sized painting someone had set our for junk, turned out it was worth about $500,000.00.

Or they may have bought $10,000 worth of crap.

May 18, 2009 | 12:11 PM

Unome

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From: Ellenwood, GA - The Ghetto Part

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGlide04

A full (and professionally done) restoration on a 1940 Indian with a sidecar might be worth a whole lot more than the sum of the parts. There may have also been some real gems in the old 70's HD parts, you never know. Kind of like the stories you hear of someone buying a Picasso at a yard sale because the owner had no clue what they really had. There was a woman in NYC last year that picked up a large sofa-sized painting someone had set our for junk, turned out it was worth about $500,000.00.

Or they may have bought $10,000 worth of crap.

That reminds me of the "Antique Roadshow" episode I saw last year.

Can't remember what town but a guy came in with a jade figurine about a foot tall that his dad had gotten in China when he was assigned there as some kind of minor diplomat. The guy was in late 60's and said his dad had picked it up around 1928 or so.

The professional appraiser he was talking to starting trying to talk and his voice started cracking and you could see his hands shaking. They panned to his face and he had tears in his eyes. Come to find out this figurine was worth about $300,000 and the appraiser had never seen one in as good of condition as this one.

Oh, the old guy? They had been using the thing as a door prop in their house.

May 18, 2009 | 06:15 PM

D6CS

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Yea guys the estate rep said that there was about 250-350 hours of restoration needed on the Indian but then the value would be in the range of $45K. The buyer knew what he wanted and got it. Very interesting to watch.