Mecum car prices

[SIR-VIVOR]

I wrote the check for the Boss 9. If you can find me another unrestored black California one, I'll buy it too! Way easier to replace the money than the car!

[ohhawk]

I watched most of Saturday on TV and viewed some of the sales that are now posted on their website. As has already been noted it looked hit and miss but in general I think if you went there with money to spend and an open mind there were some good buys.

If you were there to buy a hot rod or restomod there were some steals. Cars with racing history seem to continue to bring good money. A number of documented LS6 hardtops could be had in the 70's range. A couple of cars I've seen at auctions earlier this year ended up bringing nearly 20% more at this auction and sold......so go figure.

Can't argue with the thinking that too many cars/too few buyers but perhaps part of the reason there were too many cars is that there is a general softness in the market.

[Les Quam]

Sir-vivor,
Very sorry about the comment but I looked at the Boss 9 twice when Dave owned it and thought it was a nice driver, with fantastic paperwork and history, I also looked at it when it was for sale before Dave bought it. Two Gold card MCA judges looked at it again Friday and told me they thought it was "crappy" I told them I thought it was a nice driver with a bulletproof history. I figure the judges know more than I so I went with their opinion. It has all original paint except for the two doors which were painted. Ed Meyer the Boss 9 guru thinks it is one of the best around period end of story. I paid 300K for my 9000 mile all original black Boss 9 and later sold it for a lot more during the market frenzy about a year ago. I know of a red 4000 mile Boss 9 purchased from the original owner that can be bought for 350K right now if you want another original one or know someone that does. I simply think you paid strong money for the car in a down market but you can't pay too much, just too soon and who is to say you paid too much when you consider what was paid for the Boss 9s at Barrett Jackson the last two years. Your car is clearly better than any sold there in the last two years. Black is rare for a Boss 9 and your car runs really well which is also rare for any Boss 9. Your car has had nothing done to it while at Dave's and with some detail would probably win a MCA unrestored Gold. My two cents.

[SIR-VIVOR]

Thanks. I love black cars and enjoy the challenge of cleaning up unrestored cars with a tooth brush and fine tooth comb. Every car I own has a story, and I'm okay with that. Dave and I went to high school together. It was a great time this weekend with great friends. That's priceless.

[olredalert]

------Chris,,,Congratulations!!! Have toothbrush will travel. Now you will have to get some blue-oval stuff for the Garage-Mahal. Its never ending......Bill S

[Les Quam]

Chris,
I meant no disrespect towards you. Your integrity, knowledge and reputation in regard to unrestored cars is widely known. As is your prestigious collection of unrestored Vettes. The Boss 9 market much like the rest of Ford world is impossible to predict and much less stable than Vette world.

January before last an restored Boss 9 that had never been judged but was marketed as a Thoroughbred went for 660K. This past January some sold in the 360K range and your car is better than all of those by a wide margin.

The two MCA judges who looked at your car Friday were comparing it to a unrestored Black Boss 9 that had sold for 550K so I don't think that is fair? If anyone can detail an unrestored car to high show standards it is you.

The problem with Boss 9s compared to Vettes is that the Boss 9 runs like a turd in relation to a big block Chevy( and some would say a Chevy Vega) and as a veteran of MCA competition Its my observation the Ford meets are highly political and the MCA unrestored class is similar to your Vette benchmark class in that the MCA requires all the parts to be original and precede the cars build date including tires, battery and exhaust and 80% of the paint for which they use a paint gauge.

More problamatic is a lack of uniformity that Vette shows have in judging standards that the MCA doesn't. The MCA doesn't have a survivor class like the Vette world does for cars that aren't benchmark level. Your new Boss 9, I would think would sail through the new survivor program Dave Burroughs has put together? I am not sure if it has date code correct tires, exhaust etc that MCA judges are looking for and think any unrestored car without them is crap. The MCA guys are just beyond anal when it comes to originality, they evaluate every original Mustang from a benchmark level status.

[SIR-VIVOR]

No problems at all. They are just cars. I actually bought it because I know it will clean up. A friend here in Dallas loves these, and he wasn't able to make it and couldn't be reached by phone, so I bought it. If he wants it, it's his and I'll help him clean it up.

[Charley Lillard]

I was amazed at what a nice facility it turned out to be and the amazing amount of quality cars. Dave and Dana are happy with how the sales went. Try selling off 21 cars and wading thru 21 cars worth of tire kickers. It would probably take a couple years to go thru those cars. Dana did it in a couple hours. Real bids, real money. Nobody in the car world can say they didn't know the cars were for sale. If you wanted one of the cars, you came or bid from home. The reserve on the blue RS ZL1 was 675K but it sold for 800K. I don't think having two ZL1's there had anything to do with the prices. That just appears to be where the prices are now. If you are buying and selling you are taking a hit but the cars in reality are getting more affordable. I don't need a family resort, just cars. Everyone there that I asked about it thought the whole setup was great.

[sixtiesmuscle]

Well said Charley. I agree totally. Chris, you got a great car at a fair price IMO. Les, you should have actually attended.

[442w30]

I just checked the Mecum website and saw the red W-30 ragtop go for 55 or so, the black one 80. The 4-speed reddish one went for a buck fifty. I wonder the level of documentation on the first two as it seems too low.

On the other hand, perhaps there were other variables affecting prices, such as being 2nd tier cars among 1st tier cars? There's not a lot of Chevy guy who are interested in spending that kind of coin for an Olds.