A small Chevrolet dealership in Nebraska kept hundreds of cars for decades, including some that had never been sold. By the time collectors could buy them, several had barely more than a mile on their odometers.
The cars belonged to Ray Lambrecht, who ran a Chevrolet dealership in Pierce, Nebraska, with his wife, Mildred. Instead of clearing out old inventory, he often kept unsold vehicles. He also kept used cars taken in as trade-ins.
Some Chevrolets spent decades inside storage buildings, while others sat outdoors as grass and trees grew around them. A few had barely been driven, but years of sitting still had taken their toll.
In October 2026, the YouTube channel Dotts Lots revisited the collection and the massive auction that followed in September 2013. The sale brought thousands of people to a small Nebraska town, where some forgotten Chevrolets fetched surprising prices.
Why Keep Them?
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Lambrecht began operating the dealership in 1946. Ray handled sales, Mildred handled the books, and a mechanic worked on the vehicles. The small family business remained open for 50 years.
Ray had an unusual approach to selling cars. He preferred to offer customers his best price rather than negotiate. When a new Chevrolet failed to sell, he sometimes moved it into storage instead of cutting the price.
Trade-ins were another matter. According to his daughter, Jeannie Lambrecht-Stillwell, Ray preferred selling families new cars because he believed they were safer. Many used vehicles ended up parked on the family’s property instead of returning to the sales lot.
Over time, his collection grew into the hundreds. Some vehicles stayed protected indoors, but many were left outside. Rust spread, windows broke, and vegetation surrounded cars that hadn’t moved in years.
Almost Brand New
The dealership gave up its Chevrolet franchise in 1996, but the vehicles stayed put. In 2013, the family hired VanDerBrink Auctions to sell the collection.
About 500 vehicles went up for sale. Most were used cars, including some in very poor shape. However, dozens were unsold Chevrolets with extremely low mileage.
One standout was a 1958 Chevrolet Cameo pickup with just 1.3 miles on its odometer. Another was a 1963 Chevrolet Impala with approximately 11 miles. A 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car had traveled only four miles.
Those low-mileage cars drew serious interest, even though some needed repairs after decades in storage. Buyers were getting vehicles that had barely been driven, along with the problems that can come from sitting for so long.
The Big Payday
Thousands of collectors and spectators traveled to Pierce for the September 28–29, 2013, auction. The crowd was enormous for a town with fewer than 2,000 residents.
The Cameo pickup brought $140,000, making it the highest-selling vehicle. The 1963 Impala fetched $97,500, while the four-mile Corvette sold for $80,000.
A 1963 Corvair Monza also brought $40,000. According to the official auction results, other cars sold for far less, including several rough examples that brought only a few hundred dollars.
By the end of the two-day event, the collection had generated approximately $2.88 million in sales. Ray Lambrecht died in 2014 at the age of 96, one year after the vehicles he had kept for decades finally went to new owners.