On 29 December 2024, the Oldtimer Galerie Toffen hosted its seventh classic car auction in Gstaad. Serge Stotzer, principal, owner and auctioneer will again wield the gavel. He spoke with GstaadLife ahead of this year’s event to talk bidding, diplomacy and, of course, cars.

Why did you choose Gstaad for the auction?
For me the question is why not? We have so many clients around Gstaad plus there’s a lot of interest in classics and big car collections in the region. For me there is also a personal angle: I have many friends here, have been a frequent visitor to Gstaad since I was young and have always been fascinated by the region both in terms of the cars and the culture. So it seemed like a good mix.

Is it a lot of work to organise?
Yes, definitely, although happily not as much as the first year we came to Gstaad! The project starts about six months before the actual auction. We have to rent the auction location then coordinate plans with the guys who help with staging, lighting, sound and all the other logical details.

And of course we have to source vehicles for the auction. We list about 50 cars so this is a lot of work. It’s most important that we get good cars – quality cars that our clients are looking for and that we believe we can sell for the guide price. As these cars can’t be driven on the snowy, salted roads we have to transport them in closed trailers. It’s a big undertaking.

Ah! Your job must involve a lot of diplomacy?
Yes, for sure. Convincing an owner to submit their vehicle to auction requires diplomacy – showing them the advantages of selling through auction while also addressing any reservations or concerns with the right words to support their decision.

And there are also situations where the circumstances require not accepting a car. So if, for example, a client asks me if I could sell a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing at double the current market price, I’d say that’s probably a bit too high for a standard version. But if the seller insists on their price demand, I would probably say I can’t help because it’s far from realistic.

Let’s talk about the actual auction itself. How do you manage the bidding? It must involve reading the room?
(Serge smiles) Yes, I mean that’s one of the secrets for this job. You have to play a little with the emotions of the bidders. There are moments when the bidding doesn’t start at the price I’ve set, in which case I drop it to get things going. Our goal is to get people involved in the bidding – and to even have a bidding war – so bidders get the car they want at a price the seller is happy with.

Being the auctioneer these days means paying attention to bids from several sources – people in the room, bidders on the telephone, written bids and online bidders. We ran our first online auction during Covid and that was quite a success so we’ve continued with it. Livestreaming the auction is reliable and works well.

What makes a car attractive to bidders? Is it make and model? Condition? History?
Well, with so many diverse tastes, our goal is to offer a variety of car genres to suit everyone. But the most soughtafter cars are those which are rare or which have a fascinating history.

Sometimes we include a car which, for some reason or other, nobody wants, or at least not at the reserve price set by the seller. This means the car doesn’t get sold and we have to take it back and try to sell it another way. This is not ideal and something we try to avoid, but it does happen.

What would be your dream car to sell?
That’s easy: a Ferrari 250 GTO. There’s a lot of emotion involved in buying classics. We have so many clients who ask us to search for a car once owned by their family – it’s not so much about market price but about the actual car itself. This feels good because it’s like reuniting the family. And it’s fulfilling a dream for our clients. That’s what we do, fulfil dreams.

What’s the worst car you’ve ever sold
We’ve never really sold a car so bad that I could mention it here, but the worst situation that happens – though thankfully not too often – is when we have a car that isn’t described correctly. We stress to our sellers the importance of describing the cars accurately. No matter the condition, there’s no problem as long as they describe the car as it is.
If we’re auctioning 50 or more cars, we have limited time to look at each one in detail. We say in our general terms and conditions that the descriptions are made on behalf of the owner, but we do our utmost to check the details because we want our buyers to have the best impression of the car.

What’s your least favourite car you’ve ever sold?
That hasn’t really happened to me yet, but I’m not really into electric vehicles (EVs). I can’t really imagine selling one of those at auction.

Do you think there will ever be any classic EVs?
I can imagine the first Tesla Roadster could be interesting, especially if it has relatively low mileage. But right now there are a lot of questions, especially regarding the technical components like battery packs. Will these cars last as long as others so they can be sold as classics? I mean you never know. I’m always open to change. We’ll have to wait and see.

What advice would you give to auction attendees?
I’d say talk to us. Ask us your questions. We’re happy to give advice. You can browse the cars on our website or even come to Toffen and see the cars before the auction.

And if you’re interested in locating a specific car beyond those in the auction, talk to us about that too. We’re happy to help where we can.

ANNA CHARLES

For more information, visit www.oldtimergalerie.ch