This year’s Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction included some interesting vehicles. As usual, I’ll concentrate on the 1980s cars (and some trucks) that sold and add some of my opinions.
Friday:
- 1982 gray Buick Electra Limited sedan—$11,000 hammer price. For 1980s cars, this auction definitely kicked off with a What? First, who saved this car for all these years? Second, who paid $11,000 for it in 2014?
- 1982 Silver Beige Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition coupe—$12,000
- 1984 Apple Red/Frost White two-tone Chevrolet K5 Blazer SUV—at $13,000 the first vehicle in this auction to meet my criteria for serious 1980s collectability of original cars or trucks: selling for equal to or above its original base list price. I’ll mark these vehicles in bold green.
- 1988 Pearl White Lotus Esprit Turbo Commemorative Limited Edition coupe—$19,000. An interesting car in a good color, but what is the future for Esprit values?
- 1988 black Bentley Continental convertible—$35,000
- 1989 white Bentley Turbo R sedan—$21,000
- 1987 Raven Black Buick Grand National coupe—$20,000
- 1989 gray Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV with 55,000 miles—$30,000. Eighties Grand Wagoneers have a strong following and it shows at auction.
- 1983 green Jeep CJ-7 SUV—$12,000
- 1987 white Toyota Land Cruiser SUV—$12,500
- 1985 red Chevrolet Silverado mild custom pickup truck—$11,500
- 1985 Schwarz Black Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible—$12,250
- 1983 blue two-tone Volkswagon Vanagon van—$9,500
- 1981 Gold Metallic Pontiac Firebird Trans Am coupe—$12,000
- 1984 silver BMW 633 CSi coupe—$5,000
- 1986 black Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible—$7,500
- 1987 Raven Black Buick Grand National coupe with 1,786 miles—$38,500
Saturday:
- 1982 blue Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible—$4,000. Some SLs were getting killed at this auction—perhaps due to their reputation for being quite expensive to bring back if they’ve gone to seed?
- 1986 black Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with 72,000 miles—$8,000
- 1987 Raven Black Buick Grand National coupe with 981 miles—$23,000
- 1987 Raven Black Buick GNX coupe with 290 miles (the top 1980s sale in yet another auction)—$90,000
- 1988 yellow Pegasus coupe—$30,000 for this rare (only 25 built) Trans Am-based car.
- 1987 green Dodge Ram custom pickup truck—$19,000
Sunday:
- 1981 silver Jaguar XJ 6 sedan—$8,000
- 1988 white Pontiac Grand Prix Daytona 500 Pace Car experimental coupe (no complete VIN so not drivable on public roads)—$4,000. Stock looking, but not stock at all—what does the new owner intend to do with it?
- 1981 white Chevrolet Corvette mild custom coupe—$8,500
- 1980 black Chevrolet El Camino very custom pickup truck—$32,000
- 1981 red Jeep Scrambler custom pickup truck—$13,000
- 1989 blue/silver two-tone Ford Ranger mild custom pickup truck—$5,800
Looks like a lot of Mercedes-Benz SLs, turbo Buicks, SUVs, and trucks. What do you think of this year’s results?
Eighties Cars 