Mecum’s October auction in Chicago included a decent amount of cars from the 1980s. As always, I’ll concentrate on the cars and trucks that actually sold (remember that this is not a no reserve auction—a white 1985 Land Rover Defender 110 SUV with a black interior was a no sale bid up to $60,000) and add some of my opinions. Where I have covered the specific year and model of a car in this blog, I link to it.
Thursday:
- 1985 silver Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with a burgundy interior—$12,000 hammer price
- 1985 red Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with a black interior—$9,000. Why did the 380SL fetch more?
- 1984 black Porsche 911 Carrera coupe with a black interior and an aftermarket slant nose conversion—$24,000
- 1983 white Porsche 944 coupe with a black interior—$7,250
- 1989 white Pontiac Firebird Twentieth Anniversary Trans Am with a tan interior—$17,000
- 1987 black Buick Grand National coupe with a gray interior and 58,000 miles—$18,000
- 1987 black K5 Blazer SUV with a gray interior—$13,000
- 1981 black Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe with a black interior—$12,000
- 1987 gray Chevrolet Corvette convertible with a black interior—$8,500
- 1985 white Litestar coupe with a tan interior and 108 miles—$24,500 for this enclosed motorcycle.
- 1985 cream Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz coupe with a brown interior and 15,000 miles—$11,000
- 1988 black Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z convertible with a gray interior—$12,000
- 1982 maroon Ferrari 400i coupe with a tan interior—$23,000
- 1984 black Pontiac Fiero very custom coupe with a 383 V8—$12,000
- 1984 silver Chevrolet Corvette coupe with a gray interior and 89,000 miles—an ouch! at $2,750.
- 1984 white Cadillac Seville sedan with a white interior—$3,250
Friday:
- 1984 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with a red interior and 7,800 miles—$9,250
- 1987 gray Chevrolet Camaro coupe with the 2.8 liter V6, a gray interior, and 19,500 miles—$4,000. Perhaps the most interesting eighties car in this auction; how many base coupes are left, especially with this kind of mileage?
- 1982 silver beige Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition coupe with a silver beige interior and 62,000 miles—$9,500
- 1980 gray Pontiac Firebird Trans Am custom coupe with a black interior—$14,000
- 1981 black Chevrolet Corvette coupe with a cinnabar interior—$12,500
- 1983 black/silver two-tone Oldsmobile Hurst Olds 15th Anniversary coupe with a maroon interior—$8,500
- 1989 black Cadillac Fleetwood sedan with a gray interior—$5,500
- 1982 beige Jeep Scrambler pickup truck with a brown interior— $25,600 means that this is 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.
- 1989 black Bentley Turbo R with a saddle interior and 55,000 miles—$15,000
- 1989 maroon Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA with a tan interior, 5.7 liter engine, and 49,000 miles—$8,000
- 1986 red Toyota FJ-60 Land Cruiser mild custom SUV with a beige interior—$25,500
- 1988 cream Land Rover Defender SUV with a gray interior—$28,500
Saturday:
- 1987 black Buick Regal GNX coupe with a gray interior and 16 miles—at $112,500, by far the highest eighties vehicle sale of the auction and a top 10 overall result. How many ultra low mileage GNX’s are left?
- 1981 black and gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Special Edition coupe with a black interior, automatic transmission, and 572 miles—$45,000 is a lot of money for a Trans Am with (best case) 150 bhp 301 cubic inch V8.
- 1982 white Porsche 930 Turbo mild custom coupe with a red interior—$50,000
- 1981 blue Chevrolet Corvette custom coupe with a blue interior, tuned port injection engine, and 35,000 miles—$16,000
Prices were generally low for most cars, though some of the nicest ones brought good money. What do you think of this auction’s results?
Eighties Cars 