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Luxury car enthusiasts looking to cash in on the credit crunch should mark next Saturday in their diaries as $3 million worth of high-end vehicles go under the hammer at Turners Auctions in Auckland.
More than half of the 30 cars to be auctioned have been repossessed from finance companies.
One vendor's 2003 Porsche 911 Cabriolet is listed with no reserve, meaning the highest bid - be it $100 or $100,000 - will land the car.
Turners consultant Ben Nicholson said no-reserve auctions were popular. "It's a psychology - when people see no reserve, the perception is the car will go below market value, but in fact they often go for higher."
A Ferrari sold at no reserve in an earlier auction had attracted "more people than we could handle", said Nicholson.
Turners sales manager Chris Broadhurst doesn't believe prices have necessarily dropped, but said more cars were for sale because their owners were facing financial difficulties. Added to that, there were fewer buyers. "A lot more people have been taken out of the market due to the credit crunch - it's become very price-driven."
Other cars sure to attract interest include a 1995 bright yellow Lamborghini Diablo, in excellent condition and said to reach a top speed of 326km/h.
Its price range is listed as $190,000-$220,000, but Broadhurst hoped to see it go for up to $300,000.
A silver Aston Martin Vanquish S - one of only two in the country - is is also on the block, although the reasons for sale are unknown.
"Aston Martins really suit the high-flying property-developer types," said Nicholson.
Broadhurst estimated the Aston would have been bought new in 2005 for about $550,000 and its price would have dropped to around half that.
