clipped from: www.nzherald.co.nz 
A 1997 hand-made Aston Martin Vantage - believed to be the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere - went for"only" $140,000 at Turners Auctions.
That may sound a lot, but the reserve had been dropped from about $265,000 after it failed to sell at a previous auction.
Another star of the show was a Mercedes Benz CL1600 that went for $195,000 after being bought brand new in 2007 for $389,000.
Seven Mercedes Benz, two Maseratis and two Ferraris were among the 17 cars that sold. Twelve of the cars on offer were sold by finance companies after being repossessed from their over-stretched owners - a sign of the times, said Turners sales general manager, Todd Hunter.
"Cars sold at prestige auctions often end up going for around 30 per cent less than their retail value," he said. "The current level of motivation to realise metal into cash is unprecedented."