'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison offered $70,000 for a Hot Wheels toy and the deal still fell apart
It's very tricky to get a significant amount out of Rick Harrison's pocket on "Pawn Stars," even if vintage artifacts are on offer. But in a special episode, he was ready to shell out $70,000 for the rarest Hot Wheels toy car in the world. The miniature '1969 Volkswagen Beach Bomb Rear Loader' luckily showed up at the pawn shop, and while Harrison tried his best to match the owner's ask of $150,000 by going as far as $70,000, he failed to make a deal.
The item immediately amazed Harrison, who was too scared to even touch it. "It's one of those little tidbits of history and collecting that you generally see in some guy's personal little Museum," he noted. He then explained that when Hot Wheels came out in 1986, they blew up with their faster Mustangs and Camaros, leaving their competition, Matchbox, in the dust.
He then noted that the VW bus in front of him never made it to the market as it was a prototype. "Being a Volkswagen bus it's got a dual collector base. I have no idea what this is worth but I know it's not going to be," Harrison assumed. The owner of the item explained that he had over 6,000 Hot Wheels in his collection, but the toy on the table was the rarest of them all.
"So what do you want for it?" Harrison asked. The collector told him that he wanted $150,000 for the toy car. "A bargain for the rarest of all rare toys," he reasoned. Hearing the huge asking price, Harrison called in his expert, Johny Jimenez, the owner of Toy Shack. "Wow, this is supposedly the greatest most expensive Hot Wheels ever. All the rumors are true about the rare Beach Bomb," the expert noted as soon as he saw the item. "I couldn't believe it and I couldn't get here fast enough this is the rarest and most sought-after Hot Wheel in existence," he added.
He then put on his white glove to inspect the authenticity of the car. Jiminez explained that the car had all the hallmarks of a prototype and the elements distinguished it from the early production models and the knockoffs. "There's certain things in the lettering the bumpers even like the flaws in the casting that are only available to the prototypes," he said.
Coming to the appraisal, the expert told Harrison that back in the day, these cars sold for 60 cents. However, given the rarity of the item, in the market at the time, the model would easily go for $100,000. Once the expert left, Harrison got down to negotiations. Despite the high appraisal, he started the negotiations with a $60,000 bid for the item. But the seller said, "Nah, we're not in the same neighborhood. I'll go down to 140." Harrison made one last-ditch attempt by offering the seller $70,000. However, the owner wasn't willing to go that low, thus, the deal fell apart.
"Unfortunately this is truly my pink baby. I appreciate his offer of $70,000 but in this case, I think this car is worth probably at least twice that much," the owner said in the end.
