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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Kruse Auction Sells Duesenbergs At Cut Rate
Financially troubled auctioneer sells own collector prizes at bargain prices in Arizona sale.
David Kinney  |  Posted January 17, 2010   Glendale, AZ
This Duesenberg model JN Rollston-bodied convertible sedan in fine condition was sold at a recent Kruse auction for less than half what was turned down for it in September. (Photo: Kruse International)
The 39th annual Kruse International Scottsdale auction, this year relocated to the western Phoenix suburb of Glendale, featured perhaps 100-plus collector cars and a small gathering of bidders.

The two feature cars in the sale were Duesenbergs, and the big news of the weekend surrounds their sales. Both Duesenbergs were said to have been owned by Kruse International principal Dean Kruse, and they were posted in the Kruse brochure as "must sell."

The first Duesenberg to be offered was a 1930 Willoughby-bodied J model, a long-wheelbase formal limousine that sold for a reported $335,500, a bargain price for a J model in almost any condition. This car, however, was visually a very good example reported to have been restored in 1991, and a Classic Car Club of America Senior car.

It also was described in the auction brochure as a Category 1 car by the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club. Category 1 cars are said to be among the best examples of their kind; unlike many J Model Duesenbergs, they carry their original coachwork as well as chassis and motor.

So the sale of this car was a bargain indeed. In the catalog, it was stated that the Duesenberg “has had more than $1.5 Million spent on it.”

A beautiful 1930 Duesenberg Willoughby-bodied J model long-wheelbase formal limousine sold for a reported bargain price of $335,500. (Photo: Kruse International)
The second Duesenberg, a Model JN Rollston-bodied convertible sedan, was announced as sold to a well-known Houston collector for a reported $792,000. Not as fresh as the Willoughby Limo, it was still a complete and visually stunning presentation.

Convertible Model J Duesenbergs generally sell for more than closed examples, and this price was generally perceived by auction observers as a bargain.

Last reported offered for sale at the Kruse Fall Auburn sale in September 2009, it was marked a no-sale at a reported high bid of $1,700,000.

Does this mean that prices will be down for the upcoming sales scheduled this coming week? Not necessarily, as Kruse’s own money trouble probably led to these low-buck sales more than a drop in the general collector-car market.

Kruse has been reported in the press as facing many financial problems, and as recently as a few days before the event, there was speculation as to whether the Indiana-based auction would be able to meet Arizona regulations to actually hold the sale.

Their Arizona business license had been revoked, and there are many reports both locally and nationally of unpaid vendors and consigners, including those who had sold their cars at previous Kruse auctions. The Indiana Better Business Bureau has rated Kruse as an "F," the lowest rating possible.

Dean Kruse blames the economic downturn and buyers who have not paid up for their car purchases for much of the auction’s financial trouble. But consigners who have not been paid for their cars that sold at Kruse, or who were paid after complaining for months, said auction officials were unresponsive to their protests and treated them in a cavalier manner.

Stay tuned for more on the continuing saga of Kruse International.

David Kinney, ASA, is an American Society of Appraisers Accredited Senior Appraiser with an Automotive Specialties designation. Dave owns and operates USAppraisal (USAppraisal.com) in Great Falls, Virginia, and writes auction-report columns for both AutoWeek and Automobile magazines, a monthly column for the British publication Octane, and is an occasional contributor to the New York Times’ automobile section. Dave also is publisher of Hagerty's Cars That Matter Price Guide, (CarsThatMatter.com) a culmination of Dave’s automotive knowledge and passion. Partnering with Hagerty Insurance, the nation’s largest collector-car insurance company, Hagerty’s Cars That Matter has become an industry standard among post-war car collectors.

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale: Jan 19th-24th
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