American auction bargains

Scottsdale in January generates a million old-car headlines: you’ll hear all about remarkable automobiles, about financial records being set, and about the bar for ownership being pushed ever further away from the reality that most of us live in. It’s a fun spectator sport, watching all of that shiny iron rolling over the auction block, but the big numbers leave the impression that car auctions are a rich person’s game – one that might put some of us off travelling Stateside and buying an old car. Might we suggest buying off-season?

If anything, this does car auctions a disservice: you can find your own perfectly serviceable American car at bargain prices... if you