For classic car owners who have invested time, money and love in their vintage ride, nothing should be more satisfying than seeing their beautiful vehicle raise its top value at auction.
Spare a thought, then, for American enthusiasts, who were left powerless to rescue their cars as a storm descended on the site of a classic car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona last week.
As winds gathered strength, auction organisers Russo and Steele arranged for large trucks to shelter the event's temporary structures, but to little avail: visitors had to be evacuated as officials became increasingly concerned for the safety of two huge display tents.
Just three-quarters of an hour later, both tents were felled by the wind, dropping support poles and debris on the pristine cars underneath and exposing the delicate motors - some of them convertibles - to torrential rain.
But while insurers estimated that as many as half of the 600-strong fleet of classics were affected, Russo and Steele co-owner Drew Alcazar said he didn't believe any of the cars had "terminal damage".
Expressing his relief on Saturday that nobody had been seriously hurt, he commiserated with sellers, telling them: "I'm a car guy, I know what you're going through."
And despite the chaos, the show went ahead - though a unique Tucker Convertible failed to sell, after bidding apparently stalled at $1.4 million.
Meanwhile, auction day had a happier outcome for the Bugatti Brescia type 22 roadster recently rescued from a Swiss lake.
The un-restored wreck was expected to raise no more than 90,000 euros (£79,000) for a local charity, but instead confounded experts with a record bid of 260,500 euros (£228,000). According to Autocar, the new owner intends to display the car in its current condition.
