UPDATE: Second auction announced in Irvine 8/18/08: HERE
08-12-08: In clearinghouse style auction with little warning, Saleen Inc/ASC is putting what looks like the entire operation up for sale today. Virtually everything in the house is on sale including some 20 brand new unconverted 2008 Mustang GT’s, all remaining Saleen parts that would have been put onto cars. If that was not haunting enough, the entire factory lot of machines, tools, cabinets, office equipment is being sold off as well.
This does not bode well for the company which says it is “restructuring and consolidating”. The auction being handled by Meidma Recovery & Sales is reminiscent to the one that was held for Unique Performance of Texas. That company had been raided by the authorities and sold off to the highest bidders right down to boxes of No. 2 pencils.
In this auction you will find everything you could want to build a new Saleen Mustang. Looking through the auction catalogue you can find brand new Saleen wheels starting at a minimum bid of $10. If you want a new 2008 Mustang GT coupe, there are 20 of them starting at $100 each. A full palette full of Saleen leather seat covers starts at a miserly $5 or you can buy a cat back exhaust system starting at $10.
All the factory furniture, tooling, and facilities are on the block as well. Computers, milling machines, work tables and office equipment hastily piled is listed for sale. Want a CAD/CAM station, they are selling them.
If you have a bank full of cash this could really be an opportunity as the auction has had little forward notice or publicity. It happens today from 8am to 6pm online HERE. Check out the catalog, drool over it. Act fast and bid well because you could really cash in.
What this means for Saleen Inc. remains to be seen. It is one thing to sell a couple of cars and parts. But when you are selling off all the tooling, equipment, and office infrastructure that enables building them it is ominous. Is this the final end to the troubled company?
