GEAR Up with BigIron and get ready to meet the President and First Lady of the Collector Car industry- Gary and Muffy Bennett. Their personal stories exemplify the love and passion that they have for cars and the amazing background of experience they've built over many years in the industry. Find out about what sparked this passion, how the industry has evolved over the years and what their plans are for the future. Listen to this exciting interview from Mark Stock and get ready to Gear Up.
Listen Now: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-8-collector-cars-with-gary-and-muffy-bennett-part-1--62102574
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Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbPKkDljjpk
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Transcript:
Mark Stock 00:09
Well, hello everybody. Mark Stock here, we're gearing up with BigIron, and we have something so exciting going to take place today as we bring to you some of the most exciting collector car enthusiasts you'll ever meet anywhere in the world, not just in America, but in the world. We've got Muffy Bennett and Gary Bennett here as our special guest on gear up, and I'm excited because you don't have a chance to meet and talk to people of this caliber. It's not like we're selling a car that's worth $1,000 or $5,000 these folks have been selling cars for millions of dollars throughout their careers, and they are connected to people that sell and buy them all the time, and we're honored to have them here at BigIron and Sullivan collector cars, not only as advisors, but as part of our team as we grow this business. So we're going to get to know Gary and Muffy Bennett today, welcome Gary and Muffy to gear up.
Gary Bennett 01:22
Thank you, Mark.
Muffy Bennett 01:22
Thank you, very happy to be here.
Mark Stock 01:24
Well, I know. Let's get started with Muffy. Muffy is known throughout the country as the first lady of collector cars. Now, why don't you give us a little background Muffy from you know where you come from and how you got into this business?
Muffy Bennett 01:39
Well, Mark, I was actually born in Massachusetts, and I didn't have anybody within my family who was terribly interested in vehicles, generally speaking. And I remember it all started with a motorcycle. My mom and I were driving past a Kawasaki dealership, and I remember seeing one that was black and chrome, and I asked her if she could please take me in there, because I wanted to see this bike that was in the in the window, and it all kind of snowballed from there. I fell in love with our family, 72 Vega. And, yeah, I know, right,
Mark Stock 02:13
I had a 1972 Vega.
Muffy Bennett 02:18
It's a terrible car, but you know, it's all I had to work with. And from there, it just kind of evolved into a deep seated passion. I started learning all the models I would go to the car shows on the weekends with my friends in high school, I went to prom in a 59 Ford Thunderbird. It was just this bright teal, and I asked my mom to make my dress to match. It was horrible, but you know, it's all part of my history, and how I evolved into what I am and what I do and who I am today.
Mark Stock 02:50
So how did you come across a 1959 Thunderbird to go to your prom? I bet there's a story there.
Muffy Bennett 02:56
I was actually my boyfriend at the time's father's he was a car collector. He had a couple, and it was, it was his pride and joy. I remember he sold it for, I think, $14,000 and I was absolutely crushed. But hey, you know, I mean, I figured there'd always be another one, and right now, we have a 59 in the garage. That is my pride and joy.
Mark Stock 03:18
I'm guessing you have quite a collection that you have put together over the years. I mean, do you have a building full of cars that you open up to the public on occasion, or is this a something you just do by yourself, just for your own enjoyment?
Muffy Bennett 03:35
Well, the cars that we have most are at our house. We have a few in a storage facility. It's not open to the public. I mean, it is where we hang our dealer's license, but the majority of them are at home, yeah, and we love them.
Gary Bennett 03:49
We do. We try to use it too.
Mark Stock 03:51
So Gary, where do you and Muffy live today?
Gary Bennett 03:53
We live in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a mountain called South Mountain, and we look down on the city of Phoenix. It's wonderful.
Mark Stock 04:00
So Gary, tell us a little bit about how you got to into the car business.
Gary Bennett 04:05
Mark, I've always, since a little boy, been into cars. I've always it my toy cars, my the my, when I say go karts, it wasn't a go kart. It had roller skates for wheels, two by fours for a body. And we had a rope that would turn the front end. The front end had to be loose with a bolt so it would turn. And you built one of those, one bit in your life, one time. And I've always loved them. My first car was a 54 Ford. I paid $300 for it. It was my freedom.
Mark Stock 04:40
Gary, you were there at Barrett Jackson for how many years and in what capacity?
Gary Bennett 04:45
Nearly 20 started off there as a general manager and ended up leaving as a vice president, and I was responsible, Mark, for everything in the business that was automotive related, included like me, if you said the bidder department, the consignment department, the insurance sector that we got involved in Guest Services, it everything automotive related was under my, my responsibility. And in what was really interesting, I want to back up a second and tell you that when started working at Barrett-Jackson, and all those years I was a customer, they were a reserve auction. And I, when I went there, my goal was to see if we couldn't become a no-reserve auction. And it took four years to make that transition. It's a hard one to make and and it did a lot of things. It of course, we sold all the cars eventually, and no reserve model, but it also eliminated a lot of people that really just came there to get a big number on their car and not sell it. I couldn't be more proud when I started there. We were just like every other little thing we did one sale a year when I went there, and it did $18 million the year that I joined them, and our goal was to do one that sold 25 million. I never will forget one of the things that happened. Our goal was to try to create it into an event. And when we finally hit that threshold, that was what we really felt, felt like we reached our goal, and I'm proud of my contribution and what we did there. It was tough. It's, it's, it was, it's tough. That's a tough business, and but, but you gotta love it, or you can't do it.
Muffy Bennett 05:08
Guest services. Oh, auctions are tough businesses, but that it's, it's like an addiction. You know?
Gary Bennett 06:41
Mark, you guys live this, what people see looks seamless, like anybody could do it, right? But what goes on behind the scenes, getting there, during and after it's over, is amazing. That's where the real stories are.
Muffy Bennett 07:00
All the problem solving, yeah...
Gary Bennett 07:01
And dealing with personalities and the egos and the and the expectations and all those things that come with that, yeah, that's, that's a that's a major task.
Muffy Bennett 07:14
It's a real it's a passion driven environment. And people are very passionate, generally speaking, as well. You know, especially about their cars. So there's people out there that won't have pictures of their grandbabies, but they'll have a picture of their car in their phone.
Gary Bennett 07:28
Well, and that's interesting. You say that Muffy because, and I think that's a good point to make. If you in the equipment business, if you need a bulldozer, you need a bulldozer. You need it to do this job you've contracted to do, and you need to go buy one, buy from BigIron. If you you don't need a car. You want a car. It's, it's. And the difference there is obvious, between want and need, but the thing that drives the collector car world is emotion and passion. It's emotion driven, and it's usually always tied to some memory, a song, some music, a girlfriend, a time in your life. It's a car I've always wanted, but I couldn't have, and now I can, or I had this car, had to sell it because I got married, need to buy a house. I mean, there's a million, there's a billion reasons for all of us, but, and that's what drives this sector, and that's what makes it, in my opinion, so unique and so special.
Mark Stock 08:39
Muffy, you got ties into that space as well. How did that come about?
Muffy Bennett 08:45
Well, I met Gary in 2002 and as you can imagine, in this industry, there's a whole lot of nepotism, because if you don't work with your significant other, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, whatever, your husband and wife, then you don't really see them a whole lot. So as a result, Gary had an auction out in California at the Peterson Automotive Museum, and he asked me if I wanted to come with and maybe there'd be something there for me to do. So I went, and I was the tote board operator first, and then I clerked at that very first auction, and it was all over, I was an addict. Now I'm a paralegal by trade, and there's nothing, with all due respect to that industry is nothing more blase than sitting behind a computer screen and doing research and writing all day long. It's and I have like a Ferrari brain with stock Chevy breaks, so the auction world fit me best. I was so addicted to it at that point. So I started at one point, I was almost, I think I was volunteering and not getting paid, yeah, early on, except that first time. But from there, they had me come in and I was helping in the I helped them to work in the VIP department. I worked in the bidder department. I worked in the consignment department a lot, and I was like a sponge. I learned absolutely everything I could about that industry, and from there I went and managed a really large firm here in Phoenix that sold off personal property firearms. Police seized items from raids and liquidated estates and whatnot. So we did, like we used to say that if it didn't cry and call your mama, we'd sell it. So I, I got in there, and I built a lot of policies and procedures to help make that company scalable, until I was approached by Barrett-Jackson to operate their their dealership division, which works in tandem with their auction, because if you don't sell it at the dealership, then you know, you do your best to convert those leads into the auction itself. So it's kind of been this evolution into not only the auction industry as a whole, but but into my passion, which is collector cars. Being married with the auction industry. So that's how I got into it. And we started Bennett Automotive Specialists, aka the husbandandwifecarteam.com back in '06, so that I could buy cars, do light restorations, and then resell them. So that was also a component as well. And I and I, I remember golly, the first car that I ever sold. I was behind the auction block holding my hair, and I had the dry heaves. I was so terrified, because I always sold no reserve. I always did. I believe in that business model, and it's like, you guys, you guys are 100% no reserve, you know. And that's, that's the format that I prefer. You know the market's going to dictate what my car is worth. So that's my journey in a nutshell.
Mark Stock 11:47
Over all those years and all those customers. And I know you've got friends, both of you have friends in high places, and you have friends all over. Pick one, and you don't have to give a specific name if you don't want to, but pick one of these most unique emotional stories, or pick one of a very interesting vehicle that when it sold you, you saw more emotion from your seller than you could ever, ever imagine, and share that with our listeners.
Muffy Bennett 12:15
Okay, so I'm going to tell you one about myself as a particular seller and an emotional time. So I went out and I purchased an absolutely stunning 32 Ford restore mod. It was it was the winner of the Amber Award and a Great Eight placer. And this car was spectacular. It was built by Bobby Alloway. It was designed by Chip Foos back when he was working with Boyd Coddington, and I bought it for, I want to say, $80,000 and I fell in love with it. If I, if I could, I would have it in the living room and have uplighting and downlighting on it. And when, when it sold it, it, it broke the bank, but, but I cried, and not because it broke the bank. But because I was so in love with this car, this thing was phenomenal. It was just spectacular. So that was, that was really emotional for me, because I get really attached to cars, generally speaking. And as far as meeting interesting people, there's, there's just been countless people that we've met throughout our journey. It's, it's really hard to narrow that down. I mean, we've met, and I think one of my favorites was Sammy Hagar, to be honest, because I've seen Van Halen so many times in concert. He's a fascinating guy. I always say, generally speaking, when it comes to the people. You know, I started out with a passion for the cars, but it morphed into staying for the people, generally speaking, because the people in this hobby and in the auction industry are so genuine and kind and loving, and they're real people, and they're they've become some of our best friends. So I mean, I really can't narrow it down, as far as you know, personalities in that regard, because we're just so blessed to know so many great people through this experience. Gary?
Gary Bennett 14:06
I'm going to give you a personal story in '09 General Motors came out with the ZR-One, and I had a bet with my friends at General Motors that the car would not bring a million dollars. And the bet was, if it did, I'd have to cut off my ponytail. I wore my hair in a ponytail for years. And Jay Leno was there representing the car. It was a big, big thing. It wasn't even a charity. This car was for sale and Rick Hendrick, at the time, wasn't buying all the serial number ones. That, being said, a friend of ours actually a guy that ended up being a self-appointed wedding planner of ours, Dave Ressler, I knew he wanted to buy it because he had on a sport coat that matched the car they were selling. That's what he did. He'd have sport coats made to match cars he either wanted to buy or he was selling.
Mark Stock 14:58
Wow!
Gary Bennett 14:58
And the car brought a million dollars. Well, Jay Leno cut my ponytail off.
Mark Stock 15:03
In front of the crowd?
Gary Bennett 15:04
Yeah, Jay was up there, and he cut my ponytail off and and the plan all along was that I would donate the ponytail I have a lot more hair then, and to Locks of Love, which is a children's charity to make hair pieces for children that have cancer, and so we did all that, and Mr. Ressler put a $10,000 check in the packet with my hair and sent it off to Locks of Love. And that was, you know, the next day, I had a really bad haircut, and I'm on my way back up to the auction block in a hurry, and a guy stops me. He actually pulled my my shirt tail, and he introduced himself. And he was standing there with this gorgeous 13 year old daughter, and he said, Mister Bennett, we saw you yesterday getting your hair cut for Locks of Love. And he said, My daughter, and she had hair down to her waist, and I used to not be able to tell their story without crying. And he said she's going to get her haircut tomorrow and give that to Locks of Love. And my, my point here is, it's amazing the people you touch when you don't even know you've done it.
Mark Stock 16:17
Wonderful, wonderful story. And, yeah, that's, that's, it's all about how you make people feel in life. You know, we can, we can all do a lot of things, but people don't remember the prices. In a lot of cases, people don't remember even a lot of the stories, but they do remember how you made them feel. And that's, that's important the car you know, you go back to the how the car makes you feel. When you see that car, and how it made you feel during that special part and time in your life, which is why people always get attention when they see a car auction somewhere. People come to these car auctions and they're reliving their memory about something, somewhere, some shape, somehow, that moment in time that they were feeling something. And that's where the car comes from, whether it's a truck, whether it's a motorcycle, whether it's whether it's a car, you know, so there's, there's so many things that are involved and in the space that you guys have put your careers behind, it's it's something that you really should be grateful for, and I'm sure you are, because of all of the friends and memories that you have put together. Can we have you guys back again to have some more stories about your career, and maybe we'll do this again next week on Gear Up. Does that sound like a good idea?
Gary Bennett 17:43
Absolutely.
Muffy Bennett 17:44
We'd be delighted.
Gary Bennett 17:45
We'd be excited about that.
Mark Stock 17:46
For all those people that are watching, if you're listening, that's great, but Gary and Muffy are on camera, and behind them is an unbelievable chromed-out motorcycle. For the people that are watching, why don't you tell us what that is.
Gary Bennett 18:00
It's a 1957 Mustang motor scooter that was made for 14 year olds or 16 year olds, a replica not it's how you could legally get around when you weren't old enough to have a motorcycle. And it was freedom. That means the next day was better than a bicycle, because you could go a lot further faster. But it was made in Glendale, California, and very much like the Cushman Eagle was, got one of those right here in Lincoln, Nebraska. These were the two mainstays in the motor scooter world in the United States in the 50s and in the 50s and 60s. And I couldn't be more proud. That's like the one I had. This Cushman is like the one I had. And buying and selling gets back to back to that again. As a kid.
Mark Stock 18:50
How long have you had that?
Gary Bennett 18:52
I've had that for probably 10 or 12 years. I bought it from the Ron Pratt collection, when Ron sold all his cars. But these, these were in his museum, and I said, I'd like to have those. He said, I just won't sell them. I'll just sell them to you. And, so we bought both of these from him about 15 years ago, 14 years ago.
Mark Stock 19:13
What's a question for both of you? What's more fun buying or selling?
Gary Bennett 19:20
Buying?
Mark Stock 19:20
It's easier? The hunt? Is it the thrill of the hunt?
Muffy Bennett 19:23
It's the rush that you get when you finally found, you know what it is you've been looking for. Yeah.
Gary Bennett 19:29
It is. It is. It's a good accomplishment. You feel like you've done it and and when you selling is hard for me, because I don't, honestly, don't buy anything to sell. I'm serious. I always, I don't, always have bought what I love, not something just because it was cheap and I could sell it and make some money. That that was never a motivator. Muffy is a little different that way. But at the end, at the end, at the end of the. Day to me, selling is hard because you're saying goodbye to something that you if I hadn't really wanted it, I wouldn't have bought it to begin with.
Muffy Bennett 20:09
We've got five motorcycles in our dining area, right? He doesn't sell anything ever. I'm not complaining!
Mark Stock 20:20
And then you like to buy as well, Muffy, but what was the hardest one you ever had to sell or that you did? So you told your story about the one you sold. Muffy, which one Gary did you sell? That was really, really hard.
Gary Bennett 20:32
I had, I had a Tucker. I've actually had three Tuckers and and one of them was Preston Tucker's personal car, and that car because of what it represented to me, and not even taking into consideration the automotive world, I just thought it was so special, and I knew when I got it, I was the luckiest guy in the world, and when I sold it, I was the dumbest guy. Because I thought, you know what, I shouldn't have done that. The minute I did it, I wished I hadn't done but, and only because I just thought I'll never get it again. I'll never have a car like that again. And, and that, and that's sad, I mean. And because of the way I'm wired, Mark, I I get emotionally involved in my things. I have them because I want them and I love them. I'm serious, and that sounds really corny, but at the end of the day, that's just the way I'm wired. And it's hard for me to sell things.
Muffy Bennett 21:31
We've got two cars that, I swear, where we're going to be buried with. One of them is my 59 Thunderbird, restomod convertible. And the other one, I think...and correct me, if I'm wrong, is the truck, the H1 Humvee.
Gary Bennett 21:45
Oh, yeah.
Muffy Bennett 21:45
I don't think we'll ever sell those.
Gary Bennett 21:47
Yeah well, there's, yeah, we'd have to need the money to do that. But, yeah, they're, they're special. Yeah, they're just special. So, you know, it's been a
Muffy Bennett 21:57
My heart's like a timeshare. It's terrible. I'll fall in love. Like, if we walk down an aisle of a car show, I'll fall in love like, 10 times. It's, it's I'm awful. I'm just, I'm terrible that way.
Gary Bennett 22:08
I'm just glad you're not that way, the guys, I'm not that way, and I'm not like that at all. I can walk down the line of cars and and appreciate them all. But ask me if I want to, no, you know, there's got to be some something. And you not spoke about this earlier. It's just there's a trigger somewhere, it's unidentifiable, that causes us to act on those emotions.
Mark Stock 22:35
We have been so honored to have you on the Gear Up podcast, and we're going to ask Gary and Muffy back again next week. So stay tuned. I'm sure we're going to have so much interesting stuff that our listeners are just going to love to learn more about Gary and Muffy Bennett, the time seemed like one minute has gone by for Mark Stock in listening to Gary and Muffy this morning. So it's been a pleasure and more information next week. If you like what you're hearing on Gear Up, please share this podcast with your friends and your neighbors and send us some information on what you would like to see on any upcoming Gear Up podcast editions.
