"30"^^ . "2010-10-08T00:00:00"^^ . "3"^^ . "I consigned a $40k class vehicle at the last minute for the 2010 Monterey Car Show. The staff was very helpful and professional, did all dealings over the phone. 1st time consignment fee was $900 for me. If the car sold, another 10% of the auction price went to the dealer. It is not cheap to do this event. Consider it entertainment, not a smart way to sell a car. Good luck finding a junk motel for less than $200 per night. I stayed Saturday night only for the show. I drove in very early, middle of the week, the team was just setting up. I had to leave the car for three days before returning for the auction. You should have seen the guys unloading cars from semi trucks transports, what a mess. I saw a dozen damaged cars in a very short time of looking around! Glad I drove in! The transport companies were the expensive ones too! The entire show was reasonably well organized. \n\nI was not happy with my car showing for auction Thursday night, no one was there! The dang show had not started yet, people were still in route to the show! R&S had too many cars and expanded back to Thursday. I should have rejected the Thursday showing date. Apparently R&S had not done this Thursday auction at Monterey before, why did this happen to me?To make things worse, my car rolled through almost last, near 11pm. Bidding was a joke, it was a vulture fest, these guys were picking off the financially weak and desperate. There was no high value bidding going on, I mean zero! The crowd was full of shady used car dealers and predators. I was not comfortable in this crowd. I bet less than 10% of the cars up for auction sold. Of the ones that did sell, I bet 1 in 20 got the asking price or higher. I was horrified! This is not what I signed up for. Is the economy that bad, holy crap! The auction was well executed and clear, the real buyers just never showed up! The auctioneers were holding a good face, but I could tell they were frustrated, and longing for a repeat of 2007 style action. Party is over people, the bottom has fallen out of the classic car market. Only museum quality stuff is holding value.\n\nI was not happy with the multiple garage arrangement showing consigned cars. I was angry with being on the top of the farthest parking garage from the hotel and show! 5 blocks away, up three flights of stairs?!?! Top level, exposed to the environment?!??! I paid $900 for this! No kidding, my car was soaked in sea spray and seagull crap every night. I had no idea this was where they parked my car after Monday drop off, until I came back Thursday. I never park my car in conditions like this, Russo and Steele should know better. At least they could ask owners to provide car covers for their crew to install. Mine was in the back seat, no one bothered to do me a favor. You apparently have to pay a attendant to keep your car clean. My car arrived clean, and should stay clean, no need for damn attendant. The prime garage was 3 blocks down from the hotel, and had good foot traffic, at peak flow Saturday, I bet it was 1000 people per hour. Peak foot traffic in the remote garage, 3 floors up, was max 200 people per hour on Saturday. The crowd seemed to be very stuck up, California Elite, Golf Club crowd, not really my kind of people. It was entertaining, but not good old boy territory, I felt out of place. I really needed to sell my car! I enjoyed participating in a classy event, say I did it once, but never again. I should have just attended, left the car at home, and laughed at guys worring about their cars. I can sell my car online or at a county fair car show and get as much as these guys. If your car has a historical significance, ultra low production rate, and documentation that would make a lawyer proud, this might be the show for you. Anything less, even if it is a stunning beauty, should stay away!"^^ . . . "5"^^ . . "0"^^ .