Bicentennial for Cheap

[joeinbcs]

Curious to know if anybody here was at Mecum's Kissimmee auction.  This Bicentennial sold far below market.  Yes, it has some janky stuff going on...missing the driver side lower dash panel and wires sticking out of the passenger side.  But, steering wheel and leather condition seems to indicate a fairly low mileage example.  Did anyone see it?  Would be interested in some thoughts if anyone did.  One of my pet peeves with Mecum, is that they only occasionally list the mileage, one of the most important factors in determining value.  Seems like somebody got a great deal unless this was a lot worse in person than it appears in pics:
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0123-545684/1976-cadillac-eldorado-bicentennial-convertible/

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Odds are there was a reason why it sold for what it did. For whatever it's worth the presale estimate was $20,000 to $30,000 so the auction evaluators evidently felt the same. Also noticed the decklid is not fully closed suggesting the power trunk pulldown doesn't work.

[V63]

Many times cars just fall through the cracks at auctions. It's the shrewd bidder that monitors each vehicle as the opportunity presents itself quite often.

[joeinbcs]

Good catch, Eric...I missed the pre-sale estimate...must be more than meets the (virtual) eye.

[bctexas]

Hi Joe!  In person, Mecum is a very different experience vs TV.  In photos and on TV under the lights many cars look fantastic, and one is puzzled at the price being so low.  In person, the car may tell a very different story.  On the TV broadcast of the auction a few years ago, they showed a fellow identified as a dealer and frequent buyer laying down next to a car with a flashlight inspecting the underside.  When they asked him why he was doing that, he explained "I was told once that you can't polish a t*rd, but I know they were lying because I see people do it with classic cars all the time"! 

Happy Motoring!

[2011DTS]

Joe, I was there, that BiCentennial was rougher then the photos would suggest. First as pointed out there was a wireing issue that is why the lower dash panel was off. The car had 70,000+ miles on the odometer. As Eric pointed out the trunk would not close stright, it was latched but you see the drivers side gap, I tried opening and closing it and it never would line up correctly. More importantly the rear deck between the convertible top well and the leading edge of the trunk lid had been repainted (I do not know how that panel could have been damaged). Also after they repainted that panel the stainless/chrome trim had not been reinstalled and was missing (if you enlarge the photo you can see that the trim ends at the rear of the right and left rear quarter windows and the trim that goes around the top well opening is missing). Also, with the top up there was excessive wrinkling of the top fabric on the passenger side but not on the drivers side. Also the firethone dash was turning orange (i know the carpet does that but I had not seen a dash do that). Also and I could be wrong I believe the carpet had been spray dyed. I know Eric's expertise and I am sure if he had seen the car in person he could have found more issues but I would not have touched this car because there was just to much lipstick.... if you get what I mean. And believe me a the men and women that buy cars at Kissimmee for the most part are very knowledgable about the makes and models in their lane so that may explain the low bid and estimate.

[TJ Hopland]

That doesn't sound like an especially special car.  What did it sell for?   

Is it being a bicentennial that they think made it a 20-30k car?

Aren't there still low to no mile 76's floating around?  Or are those estimated way higher?

[2011DTS]

TJ, there are only 199 BiCentennals (GM Keep the last one). They do command a good price but most are low mileage cars as they were put away as an investment that did not exactly pan out as planned considering they sold for sometimes double sticker price when new in 1976. A few more recent owners drive them but there is a number of low mileage ones are out there in garages and collections. If a person wants a low mileage 76 Convertible if you look for a while you can find one in almost any color and most were loaded with options when ordered. Remember they built 14,000 and most were not driven very much when they were new.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

With all those obvious problems, it is no wonder that it was a low price, and I would be pretty sure that there would be a lot more issues that would be expensive to fix.

Bruce.

[V63]

From what I can see it looks pretty good, the largest issue being the top fitment. Even if the column dash pieces were missing they fit every 1976 Cadillac save for the Seville. What price did it sell at?

I sold one of these at least a decade ago with similar miles,  at $45k if memory serves.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

What price did it sell at?
 

$30,000 + 10% buyer's fee. Presale estimate was $20,000 - $30,000.

[Bryan J Moran]

OK, I may be vilified by some but I do not see what makes the last 200 so special. White is a subjective color, commemorating it as the last 200 American convertibles made has obviously been made a lot less relative and important. 

So a person/collector pays more for these for what reason? 

I love the 75-76 Eldorado convertibles but would much prefer to find one in a better color choice, from an owner that took great, documented history of it. 

Now the new owner has one of 200, with 70,000 (high) miles on it. So?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

But, I wonder what the actual reason to omit the trim around the rear as when installing the hard boot, now there would be every chance to scratch the painted area.

Bruce.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

What makes the final 200 special was that these cars marked the "end of an era" (for the time being at least) and the occasion was commemorated with much celebratory fanfare. Each of the final 200 were individually numbered with a dash plaque lest no car lose its rightful place in this period of Cadillac history.

Time has a way of putting things in perspective and in retrospect all the initial euphoria surrounding the Bicentennial convertible seems like a quaint PR stunt today. But in 1976 it was a big deal and Cadillac gave it a sendoff second to none. 

That said, the fact remains that the survival rate of the '76 Eldorado Convertible is very high, particularly the Bicentennial model. Seems hardly a month or major auction goes by in which there is not one being offered for sale somewhere and that hampers value somewhat. Because of that I think other combinations are likely to command equal money or more than a Bicentennial. Double black w/red leather or triple black could possibly command significantly more.     

[J. Skelly]

But, I wonder what the actual reason to omit the trim around the rear as when installing the hard boot, now there would be every chance to scratch the painted area.

Bruce.

I'm guessing something fell on the car, necessitating a repaint of the panel, a poorly fitting replacement top, and maybe the owner couldn't find a nice piece of trim for the top surround molding?