Non Original 1977 SE sold for $145k

[kentucky yeti]

https://www.mecum.com/lots/1121099/1977-pontiac-trans-am-se/?aa_id=600035-0

Reserve was $85k.  Maybe I should sell mine... 

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Just make sure that you actually sell it at Mecum or BJ, lol.

[kentucky yeti]

Just make sure that you actually sell it at Mecum or BJ, lol.

Ain’t that the truth!  No one else gets that kind of money for non- numbers cars.

[N PRGRES]

Just shows that people don't always care about a 100% correct numbers matching car but want a vehicle that performs.

[roadking77]

I am going to an all pontiac show in a couple of weeks. The guy who sold that '77 is the head of the group that puts the show on. I go every year and have never seen that car. It is sponsored by a GTO club so maybe that is what he takes to that show.

[kentucky yeti]

Just shows that people don't always care about a 100% correct numbers matching car but want a vehicle that performs.

Granted, but a non-numbers performance-enhanced Trans Am that WASN'T A SE wouldn't bring that kind of money.  I see those sell all the time, and I'd guess that  they are just as fast and handle every bit as well as this one.  Its only reason for bringing so much is because it is an SE.  I remember multiple posts on here years ago (when this was the premiere site on the internet) arguing that an SE without its original engine only retained the same value as any other common Trans Am.  That mindset has changed over the years, it seems.

[N PRGRES]

Just shows that people don't always care about a 100% correct numbers matching car but want a vehicle that performs.

Granted, but a non-numbers performance-enhanced Trans Am that WASN'T A SE wouldn't bring that kind of money.  I see those sell all the time, and I'd guess that  they are just as fast and handle every bit as well as this one.  Its only reason for bringing so much is because it is an SE.  I remember multiple posts on here years ago (when this was the premiere site on the internet) arguing that an SE without its original engine only retained the same value as any other common Trans Am.  That mindset has changed over the years, it seems.

As they move into a more desirable car class that is probably true, however as those  SE prices climb, the clones will bring more money.  A well done protouring classic, such as a '57 chevy will bring very good money.

on na side note, its been said that classic cars are a bubble.  As baby boomers die off, the market will go down as this new generation from millenials on, don't care as much about these classics like we do.  It's going to be interesting to watch if the market can sustain the insane prices that are currently being seen.

[kentucky yeti]

I actually liked it better in the 1990's- 2010 era, when they were still affordable to most enthusiasts. 

[N PRGRES]

I actually liked it better in the 1990's- 2010 era, when they were still affordable to most enthusiasts.

Rich people like usual screw it all up, not that I dislike rich people, but like most items, once they see a value, the pricing goes insane

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

I actually liked it better in the 1990's- 2010 era, when they were still affordable to most enthusiasts.

That makes two of us. I've been a member here since that era (rather the tail end of it) and would regularly post on here looking for an SE clone and asking questions, and I got one in 2008 for 11k even though it was a disaster of a car. My '79 I have now is eons better.

I really do miss these cars being more of an entry level collector car. I have fond memories of listening to RUSH and surfing classifieds on formerly more relevant sites like Cars-On-Line in like 2007 or 2008, and regularly see nice non-SE drivers going for 9-10k, while show-worthy SE's were usually 25-30k or so. 2010+ is when they started gaining traction in the collector car market, and went through a few drastic spikes in between general upward trajectory (one spike in 2012/2013, one in 2019 when Burt died, and in 2021/2022).

The prices these cars see at auction are not reflective of rear world transactions. The most money to be saved is, was, and always will be private sale among enthusiasts. FB groups, forums, etc.