Bruce Weiner museum up for auction

[Jonathan Poll]

Maybe Bob was right, its all up for sale, check out his website: http://microcarmuseum.com/

It's a shame to see it go, I loved that museum...

[marcus]

Quite a surprise despite recent rumours!

So once he has sold this collection is he going to start yet again? Does he just like the thrill of getting and restoring them, then loose interest once he has a good collection? Quite possibly!

[Big Al]

Like the Hemulen that had a complete stamp collection. What do you do with it? Owning it is a whole different activity and responsibility to collecting it. The Hemulen eventually took up botany after a lot of upset. If your a collector and a deal maker there is no doubt that a complete collection is boring in the end. Better to find something else to collect. Bruce collects all sorts of things already. Maybe those have got more interesting.

If he sells up then what effect does the access to many rare or good cars do to the market. Might be that it is coming up to buyers time shortly for those who thought they might be out priced for our fav local cars like Messerschmitts.

[Bob Purton]

So much for the trust the museum was put in that prevented him from selling it!

[steven mandell]

It will be interesting to have the shoe on the other foot so to speak, when the pride of the US micro car scene gets scattered across the world.
Should I start crying for retribution in advance- or just let the other shoe drop?

[marcus]

Interesting comparison with the Hemulen Al, a character from the Moomins...once he had collected every stamp he needed something else!

[richard]

weird that the only moving image to click on shows that DISGUSTING bad taste Isetta with enormous engine and wheels as big as an excavator - not really the desired image is it ? maybe that will reach the most ! there are a lot of people out there with bad taste  !
now who the heck is going to buy my Bruetsch ?   

[Jonathan Poll]

weird that the only moving image to click on shows that DISGUSTING bad taste Isetta with enormous engine and wheels as big as an excavator - not really the desired image is it ? maybe that will reach the most ! there are a lot of people out there with bad taste  !
now who the heck is going to buy my Bruetsch ?   

I'll take it off of your hands free of charge if you want

I can understand it being funto collect, but not too fun to keep. I wouldn't be suprised if he starts collecting again. I hope he does.

It will also be interesting to check out the auction prices, and also to get some photos of both Nobels he has hidden away!

[Bob Purton]

It will be interesting to have the shoe on the other foot so to speak, when the pride of the US micro car scene gets scattered across the world.
Should I start crying for retribution in advance- or just let the other shoe drop?

Just view it as repatriation Steve.

Dont worry, I dare say most of them will stay in America.

[Big Al]

So much for the trust the museum was put in that prevented him from selling it!

As I had intermated before, the Trust thing I took with a pinch of salt. It is akin to the old trick of persuading a reluctant owner to part with his pride and joy 'as I always wanted one'. 'I will never sell it'. 'I will send you pictures of it during and/or finished'. The next thing is the same car is on sale after a rub with an oily rag and a bit of botching for a profit. We know folk who pull that one time and again. This really is just a more sophisticated version. I have met Bruce a few times. Great guy, but what came over is that he loves the thrill of the chase and the deal. He is very good at it. He probably likes it more than the end result. That he has achieved this fantastic collection goes to mitigate any negative feeling I might have about his reasons for doing it. Its a one off really as you need to be very wealthy to pull it off.

Looking forward, however, I do see a negative. Should a sell off go through peace meal then many cars, some very rare or unique, will be left torn away from their historical background. It will become quite easy for them to become meaningless, just an anachronism to be laughed at as a failure in the back of a small collection. Now that is sad. Not just for the car but also the place it came from, where their is some connection to the people, time and society that all went into finding the machine created. Isn't this why Richard has a Gordon. My own area still takes pride in what was produced from Cowley and Abingdon. The difference is there are lots of MInis and Cooper S racing cars left, enough to be scattered. Are there enough Gordons?

[richard]

Well I do know that bruce never had a Gordon , or a Bruetsch Pfeil come to that, as for chasing he never enquired so not sure about that one. He liked acquiring ! Definition of RUM - not in Weiner Museum 

[Big Al]

You did not tart yourself in his direction like many though, did you Richard?

The joke is he refused to buy cars from me as I was a 'Dealer' most of that time. Yet he happily bought the cars I found from people who bought the cars from me and for much higher prices than they paid me. (never bothered me as I got the margin I wanted out of each deal, or I would not have done them). Never did understand that one unless it was that I played with a straight bat ignoring the fact he was very wealthy and treated him the same as everybody else. The message that came back, though, was I would not drop my prices so it was not a bargain. So, one and all, learn from that and ask a silly price, except half of it and still clear twice the profit the car warranted in the first place. Ah, you nearly all do, well done!

[Bob Purton]

"Yet he happily bought the cars I found from people who bought the cars from me and for much higher prices than they paid me." 

 Well I guess thats partially true Al, take the Inter for example, it came from you as a wreck with a huge hole cut out of the rear bulk head and no engine. After a five year restoration and thousands lavished on it he paid a higher price for it than I paid you!

[Big Al]

Ah, the Squinter was a bit different. That had major works and lost bits found for it. It bore little relation to the car I sold and while I could go on about how I should have kept it the fact is it would still be in that condition like many other things I did keep back. No it was the stuff that got no real work done to it between my selling and Bruce buying that I am on about. Crumbs, one even came back to me with instruction as to turn it from an Invalid Carriage to a Car. This I did using an Isetta pedal and some other parts as it was a paying job. Seems that Bruce refused to buy IC but offered a healthy profit on the car I sold, assuming it could be altered convincingly. I assume I was successful as it is still in the collection. Probably ought to go on the RUMcar fake list.
Fairs fair though. I will not get to buy any cars from the auction as I will not move my buying offer either!!!

[Bob Purton]

"The Squinter"  I like it!!