Scottsdale 2024

The auctions in Scottsdale are historically some of the most popular events of the year. Together with Amelia Island and Monterey, they form the “tent poles” of the traditional auction calendar that analytics and data geeks like us use to judge the market. However, as we stated in our Year-end Report, the collector car world is changing and one of the trends we expect to see this year is the reduced importance of these “tent pole” events, with results more spread-out throughout the year. The results from Scottsdale 2024 show that this trend has already started.

Totals in Arizona were below recent highs but in step with long-term trends. Good cars did well, lesser cars did not. Long-term holds provided returns; quick flips were mixed. For vehicles sold this week in Arizona that had been auctioned within the last four years, the median return was zero percent, and these short-term owners had a 50/50 chance of earning their money back. Vehicles previously auctioned before 2020, on the other hand, had a median return of 26 percent.

This year, talk of a cooling market is on market observers’ lips, and total sales are expected to drop in Scottsdale this year despite a similar number of vehicles on offer. Even so, there are always incredible cars on offer in Arizona each January, and below are the best ones in 2024.

Before the Pandemic started in 2020, Scottsdale saw a record number of auctions and total listings, with 7 auction houses bringing over 3,500 cars to the event. This year, 4 auction houses* will bring just over 2,000 cars. We break it down on our blog.