Of the thirty C3 Corvettes at Mecum's Florida Summer Special, July 10 to 13, 2024, sixteen were sold with the remaining fourteen not reaching their respective "reserve" prices.
Does this indicate a softening of the C3 Corvette market or is it a seasonal occurrence?
I believe the Florida summer heat did not help things.
Of the two days I spent at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, the heat and humidity were high and unpleasant, and even though the auction takes place in a massive air-conditioned building, most of the cars are outside, some under tents, so you will be exposed to the weather as you inspect vehicles.
And inspect them you must.
I met a nice couple who bought a 1981 Corvette (lot W36). They did not inspect the vehicle before they paid $9,900 for it, which sounds like a real bargain.
I shot pictures and videos for the channel so I got to see quite a bit of it, and based on my experience "refreshing" my 1981 Corvette, I can assure you there was no way I would have paid THAT much for it. Maybe five grand considering all the work necessary to bring it up to my standards.
And that brings me to the other "factor" as to why so many good cars did not sell.
Between the possibility of buying replacement parts and/or doing repairs to auction vehicles, plus all the other "invisible" costs such as commission fees, insurance, registration, and transportation, that "bargain" price can usually exceed its value.
In other words, you don't want to spend say $5,000 fixing a $10,000 purchase so you can have a decent $12,000 car.
There were a couple of very nice C3s that sold for low prices. In those cases, the mileage of the vehicle played an important role.
A high-mileage vehicle may bring less money even if it is in excellent esthetic and mechanical condition.
It will be interesting to see what buyers will be willing to pay for C3 Corvettes next year during the two-week January Mecum auction in Kissimmee.
In the meantime, here's the list of videos, including timestamps, of the thirty C3s at the Florida Summer Special auction.
Enjoy!
Thank you for watching! 🙂👍🏻
00:00 Welcome to the Auction Action!
00:27 (F263) 1974 Corvette Stingray 454
01:41 (T109) 1979 Corvette
03:22 (F173) 1972 Corvette Stingray Coupe
04:42 (S107) 1981 Corvette
05:54 (F206) 1969 Corvette 427 Coupe
07:22 (W36) 1981 Corvette
08:22 (S167) 1969 Corvette 427, 4-Speed
09:47 (W275) 1982 Corvette Collector Edition
11:36 (T217) 1973 Corvette Coupe
12:48 (F44) 1978 Corvette Pace Car Edition
14:02 (W75) 1973 Corvette Stingray
14:46 (F94) 1979 Corvette
16:00 (F82) 1981 Corvette
17:51 (T157) 1974 Corvette Stingray
22:18 (F260) 1975 Corvette Convertible
23:24 (F258) 1973 Corvette Convertible
24:21 (W153.1) 1982 Corvette
25:31 (F264) 1976 Corvette Stingray
27:02 (W248) 1971 Corvette Restomod LS3
27:51 (T44) 1973 Corvette Convertible
28:53 (F170) 1982 Corvette Collector Edition
30:15 (F265) 1977 Corvette
31:44 (S167) 1969 Corvette 427 Convertible
33:36 (S106) 1978 Corvette Pace Car Edition
35:44 (S105) 1974 Corvette Stingray 454
37:53 (S98) 1969 Corvette Stingray 427
39:39 (F88) 1981 Corvette
42:41 (T33) 1978 Corvette Pace Car Edition
44:19 (T77.1) 1975 Corvette Convertible
45:12 (S276) 1968 Corvette 427 Convertible
CORVETTE LINKS (sponsored)
- C3 Assembly Manuals: [ Ссылка ]
- 68-82 Corvette Manual: [ Ссылка ]
- How to Restore Corvette: [ Ссылка ]
- 68-82 Corvette Resto: [ Ссылка ]
#c3corvette #mecum #carauction
