Garbage Cans and Corvettes: Our Hilarious Take on Classic Car Pricing

Fancy yourself a classic car pricing expert? Our latest episode puts that knowledge to the test as we dive into the fascinating world of Hemmings auction results, where perception and reality often collide in surprising ways.

The conversation kicks off with a beautifully maintained 1956 Ford Victoria sporting fender skirts and what our hosts playfully debate might be "hoodlum" wheel covers. When the hammer fell at $18,375, it set the tone for a journey through automotive history and collector valuation that would deliver several shocks along the way.

Nothing demonstrates the unpredictable nature of classic car values quite like the 1969 AMC AMX that followed. This two-seat alternative to the Mustang commanded an eye-popping $41,895 – nearly double what our hosts estimated. Why such premium pricing? Numbers-matching originality and increasing rarity have transformed these American Motors offerings from underappreciated oddities to sought-after collectibles.

From a "rare coupe" 2009 Pontiac Solstice (one of the brand's final offerings) to a vinyl-topped 1988 Cadillac DeVille that could "fit four bodies in the trunk" (as one host humorously observed), each vehicle tells a story about automotive heritage and collector psychology. Perhaps most fascinating was the 2006 Pontiac GTO – an Australian-built Holden with Corvette power that sold for just $14,175, demonstrating how badge engineering and styling misalignment can dramatically impact collector interest despite impressive performance credentials.

The episode wraps with a gorgeous 1966 Buick LeSabre two-door that perfectly embodies what our hosts called "the floating luxury" and "near-Cadillac experience" of mid-century American motoring. At $13,650, it represents both tremendous value and the enduring appeal of Detroit's golden era designs.

Ready to test your own classic car valuation skills? Listen now, then head to Hemmings.com to browse their current auctions and see if you can beat our experts at predicting what these rolling pieces of history will sell for next!

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Transcript

Hemmings Sold Car Roundup Intro

Speaker 1 0:06

All right, let's see, let's do. The Hemings sold cars round. I got you Ready for that. The first vehicle up for bid that actually has sold. Okay, but we're going to guess the price of this 1956 ford victoria. You're going to look at that. Yeah, now it's got it's got fender skirts on it, and I don't believe that those are stock wheel covers. Oh, I don't know about that. Yeah, I think that those are those hoodlum hood covers, wheel covers on there, the hoodlum ones. I'm going to say that's hard, that's a hard one there. Gee whiz, I'm going to go 21. 21? Yeah, I have no idea. Mr Mars, are you joining us? Well, I was trying to. Well, let me turn your microphone on. Jeff Heitzman says 11,000. I was thinking maybe 15. 18,375. I could see that.

Speaker 1 1:15

Second car that sold last week was the 1969 AMC AMX. That's a good-looking car. It looks all stock and cool. Now, for those that don't know, the AMC AMX was a two-seat car, because I think it was the Javelin body, if I'm not mistaken, that had the four seats in it, and then they had a Matador after that. Yeah, but I don't think it was the same. They got into kind of like a four-door, didn't they? Yep. Anyway, this is a two-door. It kind of competed with the Mustang in a way, but it only had two seats in it.

Speaker 1 1:53

What do you think that that car sold for? 14. No, no, no, 22. Heisman says 17. Yeah, is George with us this morning? No, I haven't seen much George today. Well, this car sold for $41,895. I got a feeling it's a numbers matching car, and it is, and the picture probably doesn't do it justice. Yeah, with the garbage cans behind it. Why would you take a car picture with garbage cans behind it? It looks like it's like a golf course. It looks like it's a clubhouse or something. Could you not take a different angle of it? You got a Buick or something over here in the corner. 40 bucks on that Buick.

Cadillac DeVille and Corvette Values

Speaker 1 2:33

We talked about this particular car. This is a 2009 Pontiac Solstice. That's a rare coupe because the plate says it right there Rare coupe, oh, yeah, what year again, don? 2009 pontiac solstice, um 23 000, without even going any further 23, 18, 19, 950. We're in the park. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it looks like it's got the hard top option on it. That's what makes it a rare coupe. Okay, and the license plate a 1988 cadillac deville priceless. Look at that baby. That looks like a completely stock car with a vinyl roof.

Speaker 1 3:21

88, 88. Cadillac DeVille Four-door sedan how much. If that was black on black, you could put probably four bodies in the trunk. Who would want that? Though That'd be like a funeral car, exactly no, I wouldn't do it. It's even got the Cadillac wire wheel covers. I had those on my Nova for the winter. Those are worth some money. Yeah, they are. How much? I'm going to go $22,000. I'm going to go $12,000. I was thinking the same thing. I should have changed it. If it had been black, all black, it would have been there. It might have been a funeral car and they painted it red. Anyway, they're negotiating UAW contracts right now.

Speaker 1 4:06

Next up is the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette. Ooh, that's a hard convertible with a stock wheel covers. Well, actually, they're beauty rings. Yeah and um, that's a convertible. How much? Do you think a 68 Corvette? Now, this is. This is not some sort of goose up, you know big engine or anything like that. It's probably got, but at 68, it would have been a three, 27. I would have thought it would be a 350 by then. Well, whatever, chevy Corvette, how much? 18. This looks all stock and clean. I'm going to go with 24. Heitzman says 31. Well, mr Mars, you won 24, 675 was the selling price of that one.

Pontiac GTO and Buick Models

Speaker 1 4:54

Next up, oh boy, here we go, is the 2006 Pontiac GTO, and we just talked about that a little while ago. Not this particular car, but this is brand Right. This was an imported car. It was built by General Motors as a Holden Originally. They put a new bumper on it and tried to make it look like a Pontiac, but it did have a Corvette motor in it. The last one that I drove had a six-speed manual transmission in it and it was fast, but it just did not look like a GTO. Yeah, a lot of plastic. The shape, the size was wrong. Yeah, just not All right. So how much do you think that the 2006 Pontiac GTO would go for? $16,000. Well, that's what I was going to say. So I'll bump it to $18,000. Mr Heitzman says $32,000. Sold price $14,175. Jeff, go buy the car. Go buy the car and then trade it.

Speaker 1 6:04

Next up, a Burek Riviera. Look at that 1984 model year. This looks all stock, $12,000. Very clean. I could see myself driving this. Look at the big, massive door. The doors are super heavy and a lot of times, like on the Cutlass, the doors would hang you open the door and they would sort of sag. Yeah, you'd have to adjust them after a while. Yeah, six footers, how much? I said $12,000.

Speaker 1 6:37

The Hemings sold car price for the 84 Buick Riviera that you see here was $16,800. I only got 12 on me. He said he'd give him 13. 84, would that be a 350? 350 V8? Yeah, our last one of the morning is another Buick and I picked this one because I like the body style.

Speaker 1 7:02

This is a two-door big boy car, a 1966 Buick LeSabre, oh yeah. And then it developed into a Wildcat after that. No, that was an option. Same body, but instead of having the LeSabre emblem on it, they put the Wildcat and that had the big Buick V8 in it, the 455 or whatever it was. So a 66 Buick LeSabre looks all original, looks super clean.

Looking Ahead to Next Segments

Speaker 1 7:29

What do you think that that thing sold for? Oh gosh, probably paying too much, but I'll go 18. 14. Heitzman says 13. Heitzman wins 13, 650. Oh, okay, nice. So the fun part about cars like that is that, sir, you can still find parts for and it gets for the year model, okay, but gas mileage, but it is luxury all the way. Yeah, that's the near Cadillac experience, the floating luxury? Yeah, absolutely, who doesn't want that Nice stuff? Yeah, it is, it's very nice. Okay, I think if we guess the price right, we should be able to get the car. Yeah, you can if you got the money. Yeah, yeah, you can if you've got the money.

Speaker 1 8:16

Hemmings Sold Car Roundup. You go to Hemmingscom and then click on down to what's on for sale on their online auction. Some are no reserve. Anyway, it's fun to get. Yeah, I do too. Okay, just ahead, jeff has the racing. Did you already do the racing? No, we're going to do the racing and the mic stuff. Okay, and the auto history. Mr Mars has that and I'll bring you some of the stories making automotive news headlines. The EEOC story is coming up. The In Real Time Car Talk Show continues right after this.