Autojumbles

[fogey]

When I first started messing around with cars, during the winter months there were a fair number of small relatively local autojumbles. These seem to have all but disappeared with just the big events such as Beaulieu, Ardingly etc.
Are there any smaller jumbles coming up that I don’t know about - Hampshire area or surrounding counties?

[ducklooker]

Of topic but a reason they are disappearing...
Well, I run one here in Ireland and the single biggest issue is, I believe an age related/Cash only mentality.
Most of the regular sellers are older.
They wont, cant, or dislike, signing up and paying in advance.
But I can no longer have people just showing up because I need to register the insurance details well in advance to be able to rent the property.
But they wont sign up.
So I cant.....

[v8ian]

Another reason is probably the disappearance af small motor factors that would have got rid of stock, and no dealers keep spares stock, then that has then become obsolete, and then sold off.
Ebay has a lot to answer to, and, of course the main problem 99% of the stuff we want is Finite, and is very unlikely to be remade,

[Mercdan68]

I’ve mentioned this elsewhere
After a successful first classic car show in our village this summer
I’ve been in discussion with the parish councillor to try and have a few swap meets at the location in north Kent in the new year

[grumpybadger]

The North East restoration club in Washington near Sunderland have started having them monthly through the summer so we've gone from non to several in a year or two.

[akku]

There are Autojumbles still but I stopped going, then I started again...

Back in the day Autojumbles were great with lots of random stuff and I always came back with a bootload of junk.

Then folks started selling the good stuff on eBay and autojumbles became more and more like car boot sales. Newark has a stall which just sells toilet paper FFS. The car parts were more and more "modern junk" than classic/retro and even then not much of that. Seemed to be more that someone had broken up a Zafira and took all the parts along to try sell them. If anything they remained a reasonable place to buy cheap tools, consumables, and job lots of bolts, washers etc

I've been to a couple and we seem to have this "early doors" mentality in these events now. So I arrived at one Autojumble which has a decent reputation here, I found 1/3 of the stalls were selling household stuff, and the rest was a split of tools, car parts, bike parts but the stalls were packing up at like 12:30... So a lot of stuff I could have bought it did not because the stalls packed away before I could do so.

Also I spot that Autojumblers want 2x what you would pay for the same item on Marketplace or eBay....

I'd love to go back to the glory days of these events, we had such fun picking through the piles and finding gold for pennies

I remember Max Power had got the Press Release for one autojumble and ran it under the caption "Old people buy rusty old curse word in the rain" - great days.

[Zebedee]

I don't think i've ever been to a proper autojumble. Theres never been one locally to anywhere i've lived.

[jim]

Oct 27, 2024 17:39:41 GMT akku said:

There are Autojumbles still but I stopped going, then I started again...

Back in the day Autojumbles were great with lots of random stuff and I always came back with a bootload of junk.

Then folks started selling the good stuff on eBay and autojumbles became more and more like car boot sales. Newark has a stall which just sells toilet paper FFS. The car parts were more and more "modern junk" than classic/retro and even then not much of that. Seemed to be more that someone had broken up a Zafira and took all the parts along to try sell them. If anything they remained a reasonable place to buy cheap tools, consumables, and job lots of bolts, washers etc

I've been to a couple and we seem to have this "early doors" mentality in these events now. So I arrived at one Autojumble which has a decent reputation here, I found 1/3 of the stalls were selling household stuff, and the rest was a split of tools, car parts, bike parts but the stalls were packing up at like 12:30... So a lot of stuff I could have bought it did not because the stalls packed away before I could do so.

Also I spot that Autojumblers want 2x what you would pay for the same item on Marketplace or eBay....

I'd love to go back to the glory days of these events, we had such fun picking through the piles and finding gold for pennies

I remember Max Power had got the Press Release for one autojumble and ran it under the caption "Old people buy rusty old curse word in the rain" - great days.

Newark has become terrible, people want over the odds prices for rusty tat because they saw it for 1000's on ebay. The last time Mrs. Jim and I went we came home with a eucalyptus tree!

[akku]

Newark used to be my regular. In fact back in the early 00's I was going to Newark, buying stuff and popping it on eBay and selling to USA for a delightful mark up The yanks don't want toilet paper though.

[misteralz]

shows.acast.com/smithandsniff/episodes/lord-of-the-autojumble

[ironmighty07]

The Internet has opened up the market and displays your wares to needy buyers nationally and internationally - so by default means there's potential for better prices without the risk of spending a day in the pouring rain whilst "auld Ted" hangs on to last knockings to bid a fiver on the Morris Minor parts. Equally how many buyers are there for those Intermotor Rotor arms for a V4 Ford engine, let alone contact set for Hyundai Stellar & Pony

Equally those stashes of NOS spares are rarer(and often deemed more modern in context of many buyers - example I have a stack of Primera P11 brake pads amongst my hoards) and often the desirable higher value bits are sold via the Web to secure best money(and as noted with local motor factors disappearing and less stock on hand in stores means less products cascading through).


For me, Newark & Lincoln(Hemswell) are the 2 obvious one locally. Newark as outlined so eloquently elsewhere sells all manner of tat not that closely related to automotive topics that I haven't been in ages because I can't find what I need.

Hemswell, lot smaller and it was free entry in a classic and not marred to the same extent with non motoring tat(although one guy did have fishing tackle on his stall). Wandered around twice in little more than an hour and saw little interesting stuff and nothing I needed(granted most of my needs are USA related so I can't be too harsh)

Frustrating I have a stack of stuff(70/80s mainly) I need to shift so I will need to attend at least one autojumble(and that might be Newark😬) next year in the aim of clearing the decks but I really struggle to be bothered if I'm honest.

[akku]

Oct 28, 2024 19:51:40 GMT ironmighty07 said:

Frustrating I have a stack of stuff(70/80s mainly) I need to shift so I will need to attend at least one autojumble(and that might be Newark😬) next year in the aim of clearing the decks but I really struggle to be bothered if I'm honest.

I know exactly what you mean, I have a ton of stuff which has presumably some value but the pain of trying to sell on eBay / Marketplace these days and the rain related woes of our weather and autojumbles means it continues to pile up here and not get dealt with.

[fogey]

Oct 28, 2024 20:42:22 GMT akku said:

Oct 28, 2024 19:51:40 GMT ironmighty07 said:

Frustrating I have a stack of stuff(70/80s mainly) I need to shift so I will need to attend at least one autojumble(and that might be Newark😬) next year in the aim of clearing the decks but I really struggle to be bothered if I'm honest.

I know exactly what you mean, I have a ton of stuff which has presumably some value but the pain of trying to sell on eBay / Marketplace these days and the rain related woes of our weather and autojumbles means it continues to pile up here and not get dealt with.

But over time, it will hopefully increase in value . . . . maybe . . . .

[undernutter]

I used to go to one of the two beaulieau's each year, and go to the beach afterwards and make a day of it, but haven't been for a few years now.

The Admission price is a major factor, it was about 15 pounds (visitor) last time I looked, which is a bit keen when there's no gauruntee you're going to find anything you like.

The tools/consumables/sundries etc sellers but again, aren;t

Oct 27, 2024 17:39:41 GMT akku said:

The car parts were more and more "modern junk" than classic/retro and even then not much of that. Seemed to be more that someone had broken up a Zafira and took all the parts along to try sell them.

Interesting. I generally found that Beaulieau was, on the face of it, great for old british parts of all eras (morris minors, MG's, Jaguars etc), but it simply wasnt the place for parts for european cars (I had 1980's sharknose BMW's during the 2010's).

Oct 27, 2024 17:39:41 GMT akku said:

I've been to a couple and we seem to have this "early doors" mentality in these events now.

Never, ever understood this. Bit like those people who smoke exactly half of their cigarette before throwing it away. You've paid for a ticket for the entire day for pitys sake, why not use all of it?!?!

[The Jackeria]

Oct 27, 2024 17:39:41 GMT akku said:

The car parts were more and more "modern junk" than classic/retro and even then not much of that. Seemed to be more that someone had broken up a Zafira and took all the parts along to try sell them. Interesting. I generally found that Beaulieau was, on the face of it, great for old british parts of all eras (morris minors, MG's, Jaguars etc), but it simply wasnt the place for parts for european cars (I had 1980's sharknose BMW's during the 2010's).

We went this year and this is our frustration too. Aside brochures, we found nothing of use. Not even a waterpump or thermostat which are the sorts of things brought in bulk by some. I go for tools more than parts these days.

I appreciate the rarity/quirkiness of the majority of the items on sale but the prices being asked for some parts was insane, which is otherwise scrap stuck in their drawer and will forever be at the prices observed. I'm not saying give stuff away, but even just a few years ago a voltmeter was a few £. I think some care needs to be taken to recognize that just because an item is old, it isn't automatically hugely valuable. I guess this may have something to do with the cost to pitch for the individual, the distance they travel to sell it.

Our local car and coffee shop tried a swap meet last year which I was hugely excited for but sadly only 3-4 stalls arrived all of which where trying to sell very valuable porsche parts/branded clothes which is their aspirational customer base but not actually the people who frequent swapmeets or most of their customers I don't think. They have an Aston Valkyrie spider in the foyer so that should give an idea who they're aiming at.

The best autojumble I have been to sadly was the last one before they stopped doing it. The slough swapmeet (held in Newbury),

[ProjectBobcat]

I went to the one at Rufforth (York) on Saturday. General feedback on their facebook page was that it was a great day and the biggest in years. It wasnt what I was hoping for really, it was 'OK', maybe my expectations are off.

The majority was market type stalls, a lot of tools in fairness, but a high proportion of low end tat and prices the same as anywhere else. There were quite a few dog beds, toilet rolls, incense stick type stalls. There were quite a few used motorbike parts which is great if that's your thing, but very minimal manufacturer made car bits. If I wanted an aliexpress quality waterproof terminal, I'd buy it from there for less. I managed to find one good seller with some secondhand mini bits, who happened to have a handful of very small Fiesta parts at a decent price (switches/fog light). Apart from those I just stocked up on primer and angle grinder discs as I was there. The prices were the same as my local market tool chap.

I really miss a good weekend scrapyard rummage, there's nothing similar out there these days that I've found.