Mecum Harrisburg 77 TA. $440,000!!
 

We were there today and watched it unfold. This 14 mile car went to over $400k in seconds. It was crazy. https://www.mecum.com/lots/PA0722-53...c-trans-am-se/

Pretty good money for a car that won't keep up with a late model Honda Accord.

i have a lot of friends constantly making comments like this and cant seem to get it thru to them, it has nothing to do with being the fastest car. its all about reliving your youth and for most having the car they dreamed about. and they were the fastest production cars made back then.

Imagine what it would have brought if it wasnt restored.

They restored a 14 mile car???

It does look like under the hood has some fresh paint

I can't believe that a friend of mine sold a 79 black 4speed "completely original and unrestored" with 10 miles. I thought I got all the money when he sold it. Boy were we wrong.

Sometimes an auction result re-sets the market but many times it does not.
This (follow link) happened at BJ a few years back, but you can still buy a super nice 10th Anniversary car for 60K +. So very little impact...

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/201...tsdale-auction

This black car will not likely see 400K ever again....unless a picture appears of Burt sitting in it somewhere. :) It's an anomaly.

Funny how all it takes is a couple of guys with deep pockets to both bid on a car and presto everyone views the market as suddenly transformed.

If I was part of a group of collectors that happened to be sitting on multiple Bandit SE cars I would be quite pleased about now.

I get that. My first car was a 54 Chevy. I wouldn't spend close to half a million on another one. My second car (one I wish I had kept) was a 57 Chevy. I wouldn't pay a huge premium for that one either.

I don't see this car ever selling for that money again. Reminds me of the Ray Allen Chevelle convertible that sold for $1.2 million. That buyer got somewhere around $200k, IIRC. Car brought $450k in 2015. Pretty damn expensive way to relive one's youth!!! At least that car had some historical significance. If you just want a "Smokey and the Bandit" T/A, there are plenty available without paying $440k.

The 75 - 80 American cars are just slugs, IMHO. I have considered getting a 77 Z/28; just because it was a signal from Chevrolet that they were ready to get back to performance. It just took a really long time. GM was pretty much MIA from the day Pontiac killed the SD 455 until Buick gave us the GNX. It was like the light came on and they figured out emissions and performance did not go hand in hand.

The 77 TA may have been the fastest US built car (top speed) with a back seat. Figures from old rags have the Corvette a couple of mph faster; but that is all academic, as neither could top 132. If you are claiming the 77 TA as the fastest production car from that year, you must be excluding European models.

Wow, this sale makes me better appreciate the experience I got taking my brother's twin to this car out of the parents garage for a joy ride many times while he was on an overseas buisness trip, it was virtually brand new, he worked for GM and ordered what he liked every 2 years through a exec car program. My mom looked the other way which now looking back on it was insane. I thought that thing was fast, it would light up the tires and handled like glue (I remember more of the handling vs the acceleration, while in a trance looking at the shaker in awe). That was the feeling of that period compared to other cars you would have been in that had a back seat.

yes talking american cars. and for the record i cant imagine this one bringing that money considering it had been "redone refurbished or whatever" but it tickles me greatly given the fact that as i have been liquidating my collection over the last several years, the cars i have been keeping are my trans ams, especially the 76-79 se cars.

Didn't mean to come off so harsh. I respect anyone who appreciates certain cars. I agree; it isn't all about going fast.

But, when it comes to "performance" cars, that is certainly part of the criteria.

Hey, I have a 69 Opel GT with a 1.1 engine. I love driving it around, but it is way slower than your late 70s TA cars. I just never looked at it like a performance car.

Happy for all you make on your collections. This sale can't hurt.

The 50 mile or less Buick GNX cars are getting $250K or more. This is probably the only car in existance. So although the number seems high - where are you going to find another like it?

Maybe post #7! 😂

That was a 79, this one is a 77 :wink:

The price paid is an outlier, unless there are other equivalents selling #'s. To compare a GNX which at the time was pinnacle in performance and special built car to 77 Trans Am SE is incorrect. Yes, the 77Trans Am SE is unique and have always had extra value compared to other 77 Trans Ams but the multiple paid is beyond the norm. The seller is happy and buyer as well so a win...win.
My question is where are you going to find another buyer at $440K. Perhaps the under bidder:smirk:

I know a guy with one of these GNXs and I am pretty sure its in the 50 mile and under range. I seriously doubt he has been following these new prices and will update him. wow.

14 miles on the odometer :wink:

The S.E. a.k.a. "Bandit Edition" was just a color / trim package.

The T/As from this era are not "rare" per se as 68,745 were built in all variations and "PMD records indicate that 15,567 Special Edition Trans Ams were built in 1977"

They do handle and drive much better than stock first gens and feel faster than what they are. They have enough torque to smoke up the rear tires even with the tall rear gears. They are fun and nostalgic cruisers and were all over the place when I first got my licence.

The 4 speeds and WS6 Disc brake cars were made in lesser numbers and the vast majority of guys looking for these cars seem to desire more options and T-Tops.

GNXs with aprox 547 produced were collectable just about, right out of the Gate. The Buick dealer I was working for recieved two and let them sit for a couple of years. He made enough off the one to pay for the other.

You all are missing the point.

14 miles on the Odometer. How many other 77 TA SEs are out there with 14 miles on them?

I have seen at least a dozen GNXs with 50 miles or less. Another dozen with 500 miles or less. Plenty of supply - plenty of buyers.

It has nothing to do with the performance of the car. It's all about the literally brand new condition. If the car had 2000 miles on it - do you really think it would have reached $440K? I don't. Maybe half or less.

If thats an untouched 14 mile time capsule,then ive learned nothing in 40 years . I was in the market for them back in 77 78 79 This one was way too nice.

That engine compartment didn't look that good when the general let it leave the house.

On one pontiac forum they said it was used in parades, which would contradict the 14 miles and that on fox news the owner said it was damaged and repaired at a local vocational school at some point......

Lee perhaps you've missed the point. Please stop trying to rationalize the pricing on this car. It's not rare, or well optioned since it lacks rare performance options. It has the SE cosmetic option. Loved the movie and look of the car.. but not that much!!!

It is a bit odd that there arent alot of under 100 mile trans ams given the fact that there are probably 500 super low mile 78 corvettes, which is also a non performance vehicle

Sorry Steve. I will not stop. It happened. The fact that YOU don't think it's worth the price - all that matters is the buyer did.

Or . . . he has more money than brains. It wouldn't be the first time or the last time someone over paid for a car.

It's still a brand new never driven 1977 Smokey & The Bandit edition T/A.

This surely won't help the seller's estimation of value on their cars.

Around here, people think their clapped out '77-'81 Trans Ams are worth 25k-40k.

That's right.

And it is a fact that each and every restored 1969 Camaro is the same.

At all of the big shows the Norwood guys noted custom cars on display that were called "restored" by their proud owners.

That's just the way it is. The big money, the big award- always seems to go to the "beyond perfect" beauty queen.

If people want something, and have the money to do it, I think that is what happened here. An example, I live in an area of where the average home is 300-450K. Some super rich folks love the lot next door, tear down the house after paying 500K, spend another 2mil on the new house and landscaping insanity so they have 2.5mil into something they can not sell for even 1/2 after their recent divorce. They had the money to do what they wanted. Does not matter if it is worth it to others, it was worth it to them. That is how I see this T/A. Whether the car has been fluffed or not, no one is disputing the 14 miles shown. Maybe that is all they cared about owning (a virtual new car). This sale is a unicorn situation. It made one person happy that had the funds to get it.

...two people,don't forget the seller. ;)

Maybe three after the losing bidder sobered up!

car was for sale last summer on Facebook ffor a lot less than 440k.
being sold by a broker working for a collector of low mileage T/A's
He also had a 30th anniv T/A ragtop and a CP T/A that were never prepped,still in plastic.