Auction sales during Monterey Car Week fell 3% from last year, as a shift from older to newer cars left a pileup of unsold classics from the 1950s and 1960s. Total sales at this year’s five car auctioneers in Monterey, California — RM Sotheby’s, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Company, Mecum and Bonhams — fell to $391.6 million this year from $403 million in 2023, according to Hagerty, the classic-car insurance company. That followed a decline of 14% last year compared with the peak of 2022. Of the 1,143 cars up for sale, only 821 sold — marking a 72% sell-through rate, according to Hagerty. The average sale price was $476,965, down slightly from last year’s average of $477,866. Experts say wealthy collectors still have plenty of money to spend and are feeling confident given the recent rise in the stock market, but the types of cars they want are changing.…
