Preamble: By posting this I do not wish in any way to promote an auction, auctioneer, or anything else.
Interesting to see that french auction houses have found a new vein - they sell cars from italians.
Artcurial seems to have secured the collection of a Lancia collector from Perugia, who had among others Augusta, Aprilia, Aurelia, Appia, up to Flavia and Thema.
The descriptions have to be digested with a grain of salt, and where it gets too effusive, you might wonder if there is something wrong.
The auctioner for example normally gives the engine number, which is fine - however the interested reader has to do his job, and if he does it, he will find that in some cases the type of engine is non original and from an earlier model.
Also some times the notion "charming patina" has maybe to be translated as "ripe for body off restoration". However the plentiful photos give a first idea...
Finally do not forget to check the general conditions of the auction: up to 30'000 Euros they charge a buyer fee of 25% + VAT - an additional 5% of the hammer price !! over 30'000 those charges drop to only 20%, and 4% of VAT!
And finally I wrote elsewhere on the forum my comment about the Lambda Casaro barnfind, that came from the US of A via Holland.
http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3706.15However, I cannot remember having seen as many as 20 different Lancias, from Lambda to Delta Integrale, for sale at one auction before.
Additional edit:
Reading the small print again I find:
7 - Biens soumis à une législation particulière
Les conditions précédentes s’appliquent aux ventes de toutes spécialités et notamment aux ventes d’automobiles de collection.
Cependant, les commissions que l’acheteur devra acquitter en sus des enchères par lot et par tranche dégressive seront les suivantes :
Automobiles de collection
• De 1 à 600 000 € : 16 % + TVA au taux en vigueur.
• De 600 000 à 1 400 000 € : 12 % + TVA au taux en vigueur.
• Au-delà de 1 400 000 € : 10 % + TVA au taux en vigueur.Which translates:
7 - Goods under a special legislation
The above conditions apply to all type of sales and specifically to collector motor cars.
However the charge that the buyer has to pay additionally to the hammer price are computed as follows:
Collector motor cars
From 1 to 600'000 €: 16% + VAT at the applicable rate
From 600'000 to 1'400'000 € : 12 % + VAT at the applicable rate
Over 1'400'000 € : 10 % + VAT at the applicable rate
So I am sorry to have quoted too high a commission above. For our Lancias you should use 16% + VAT - still a good amount!
