Rare barn find of 150 classic cars to be auctioned in SA

Classic-car “barn finds” usually involve a handful of vehicles and the occasional forgotten cache of 50 to 100 that make the headlines.

But a South African collection to be auctioned later this month is much larger.

“Louis Coetzer’s treasure trove of about 150 collector cars, discovered in a barn in a remote corner of the Eastern Cape, is a very rare find — on a scale that even we don’t come across in the US,” said Joseph Mast, lead auctioneer of global auction giant Barrett-Jackson.

Besides the scale of the collection, what makes these cars even more incredible is the state of the preservation, Mast added.

“Barn find-type autos tend to be discovered in hidden outdoor locations. They’re often just shells, inhabited by critters and sprouting vegetation. That’s not the case with Louis Coetzer’s collection. The cars may have been coated in inches of dust but for countless years they were stored indoors, protected from the elements both by the building in which they were found, and by its inland location nearly 1,800-metres above sea level.

“Collectively, this means these cars could possibly be among the best-preserved barn finds ever brought to market.”

Mast says the unique preservation of Coetzer’s cache in the Barkly East barn should reflect in the prices they achieve at auction.

The 10-day, online-only sale starting on March 25 is being conducted under the auspices of SA-based Creative Rides. Creative Rides CEO Kevin Derrick says the incredible discovery of this “lost” collection was made last year, more than three years after the death passionate car enthusiast “Oom” Louis and his beloved wife Hermien.

“Adding the Barkly East inventory to Oom Louis’ previously known collection, it now appears that through five decades and with more than 600 vehicles, he amassed what is believed to be the largest privately owned classic car collection ever recorded in SA,” Derrick said.

“In this auction Oom Louis and his family’s lifelong passion for Mercedes-Benz collecting will be highlighted, along with a phenomenally wide range of American, European, UK and SA classics.”

Derrick says the collection is already attracting significant interest from prospective buyers. The cars include 1950s, 1960s and 1970s Mercedes-Benzes, Chevrolet Novas in hard top and convertible, Chevrolet Impalas, Mercedes-Benz bakkies, Volvo coupes, Cadillac Devilles and Ford Fairlanes.

The online auction is accessible online at creativerides.co.za or via a Creative Rides app available on iOS and Android. Live bidding begins at 8am on March 25 and runs until April 3.

To register for the auction, email admin@creativerides.co.za.