Barrett-Jackson Auctions has one team handling the cars and they help the show roll along.
RENO (July 7) – Barrett-Jackson Auctions requires a team of workers to make the show happen. One group of dedicated people working behind the scenes, are directly responsible for getting the cars on and off the auction block.
Jeff Catlin gives his team their instructions on Friday morning.
Heading that group is Jeff Catlin, the Showroom Service Manager at Barrett-Jackson’s collection showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“We handle all the cars, so we are bringing in the cars, setting the cars up, checking all the paper work, getting the cars up, across the block and then getting them back out the door after they’re sold,” he said. “Bringing them in is a whole process, getting them in, checking the paperwork and parked, that’s our first step.”
Since the cars to be auctioned are on display that process was completed before Friday morning. The team’s next step was getting everything ready before the auction began.
There were a couple of motorcycles auctioned and one of them, a Husqvarna dirt bike, was only ridden during the filming of the movie “XXX.”
“What’s happening now is what I call ‘loading the gun,’ getting the cars all staged and ready to for when they start at 1 o’clock,” he said. “So we’re going to start at the back of the room, and we’re going to line everything up in its order, by lot number because they all go in order. And the first six cars will go down, we have a tent that’s placed by the entrance to the block and it’ll hold six cars, so we’ll get them all set and ready to go.”
Cars are lined up in order before they are auctioned off.
He added that once the auctioneers are introduced and the National Anthem is sung, the first car is positioned at the base of the ramp.
The auction hall was virtually standing room only for Friday’s show.
“As soon as they sing the National Anthem and get things clear, we’ll run that first car up. And technically my machine will start turning,” he said.
After a car is driven on the auction block, two guys from Mothers gives it one last polishing.
After a car is auctioned he said they bring it back to the north and into the parking place they had.
Each car is carefully positioned on the block before its auction begins.
“We’ve still got a car show to put on as well,” he said. “So they’ll come back and have a ‘sold,’ sticker on them.
Just before an auction for a car ends it is pushed and not driven off the block.
If a buyer shows up and pays for the car they just bought they can take the car right then.
After Friday’s auction ends the team repeats the process again for Saturday’s auction.
“Everything will be sold by tomorrow night (Saturday) then we come back in Sunday morning as the people start coming and paying. We’ve got the big trucks coming in and we’ll start getting everything out over the next three days after that,” he said. “The room will be empty by Wednesday.”
Asked about his official title, Catlin mentioned that earlier he had said it was, “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.”
Then he added, “It’s just kind of logistics, I’m the service manager for the dealership in Scottsdale so in between shows I managed the service department. But really I handle the logistics for all the cars for when it comes to the shows.”
Catlin added he’s been associated with Barrett-Jackson for the past seven years. While most of that time he was a consultant he’s been full time for about a year and a half.
Although he works the shows, Catlin is a car guy and has a favorite type.
“I’m a Mustang guy, always have been and I get knocked about it all the time but I’m still a Mustang guy,” he said. “Like this particular show we have two unrestored Shelby Mustangs, on of them is a convertible, ’68, and another one I believe is a ’67. That gets me going, I see those cars, they haven’t been touched and they’re a piece of history sitting there. I’m kind of that geeky guy when it comes to the Mustang stuff.”
Many people feel what he does is a dream job.
“I get that a lot, a lot of people come and get to peer in the window into my world and I live it in everyday,” he said.
But like any job there are certain things that have to happen.
“There’s a lot of responsibility, everything has to happen at a certain time every day, everything has to be just so, we like everything set up just so and we’re very particular about how things are presented and look,” he said. “And now that I’ve been around long enough I kind of know what is to be expected so we can come in and make it all happen. But still I’m managing, what have we got here, 12 to 15 million dollars worth of cars, I got a bunch that are future event cars that we bring in at every show.
“We always have something that is at the next show to give you a little preview and I’ve got to manage all of that. And we handle everything, we’ve got charity cars going off today and different things that have to be on at certain times so there is a lot to manage.”
While Catlin is focused on the cars a Barrett-Jackson Auction is as much an automotive happening as it is an auction.
In the vendor area there are car companies, clothing, jewelry, accessories, trailers and even hot tubs as well as all types of cleaning and polishing products.
Mother’s not only has a display area but some of their people detail the cars and even polish them once they are driven onto the auction block.
Part of preparing the cars for display and auction is detailing them. Here Nicholas Morelle is polishing a car for display.
And a whole lot of what is called Automobilia is also auctioned before the cars. There are restored gas pumps, signs both regular and neon and a host of other things.
There is even a show-n-shine downtown and a contest for the Barrett-Jackson Cup that is awarded at the auction’s close on Saturday.
For the bidders and just spectators the Barrett-Jackson Auction is a sensory treat that needs to be experienced live if possible.
For the past three years the auction has been a highlight of Hot August Nights. Now that the original agreement has expired there are discussions about extending the event.
At the time this article was posted it was unknown if Barrett-Jackson will be returning next year.
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Here is a gallery of some of what can be seen in the vendor’s area at at Barrett-Jackson Auction.
