No Reserve: 22k-Mile 1987 Buick Skyhawk Custom Wagon for sale on BaT Auctions - ending December 3 (Lot #60,749) | Bring a Trailer If you are looking for an 87 Skyhawk, this is a nice one.
WOW! Is all I can say, Well sold, I have no Idea why one would pay almost $20K (remember they charge a 6% buyers fee so in this case the buyer paid BAT $1,110.00) for that car. I really didn't like driving J or X cars in the 1980's! I can't imagine the experiance would be better today.
my college roommate had the 1986 chevy version. it was good for going to grocery store, not so much for meeting girls.
Like eating a good steak versus a really bad meal sometimes it’s good to be reminded of what we liked as well as what was terrible. I always enjoy driving my panther body Mercury’s. They were great rides then, and they’re enjoyable rides now.
Now, I like this car, but I still can't fathom that kind of money for a J body. By the way, I do know someone who has -- or at least did have (I haven't seen her for several years, now) -- a small collection of J body wagons.
I like the J bodies, especially the box Cavaliers from 84 to 87. I owned several of them and enjoyed them at the time. I was chasing an 85 cavalier wagon that had 1200 original miles on it at an auction about five years ago. I was the high bidder but the owner (and owner of the auction house) would not release the reserve. I think I had bid up to 8000 for it. They said they would let me have it for 10,000 and I flat out refused. I wound up winning a low mileage 92 Vette instead. I went to that auction specifically for that car but I knew what the car was worth and I could not believe when I found out later on and that the owner would take 10 but had paid 12,000 at an auction a month earlier. If he would have sold to me for 10 he would’ve taken a $2000 beating. I was willing to overpay for the car at 8000 but certainly not 10. It had gone on eBay for 5000 a year or two earlier when it only had 500 miles on it. It was a really Nice car, two-tone silver and every option in the book including the aluminum wheels. I have never seen one before or since quite like that one. Sometimes when we want something, we are willing to overpay for it. But we all have our limits. This Skyhawk is a perfect example of a comment I’ve made before about why I stay away from BAT. When I said it, I did not mean to offend anyone I just think that things get bid up to high by a lot of guys with a lot of money to burn. And again, this is America, if they have the money and they want to overpay for things it is their right to do so. I’m just not going to play in that sandbox. And I’m not saying everything is overpaid for on BAT…I’ve seen some good deals go off…like mercman’s 72…that was a good deal. Also…of all the cars I own I get the most compliments on my 96 Buick Century wagon. I think it is because the kids that grew up in that era are now getting nostalgic about the cars that their parents owned. Probably the case with the Skyhawk.
Agree. Having a little Scotch in me I like to try not to overpay for anything. But, I can’t help but think of what a dear friend of mine that is a Packard restorationist tells me all the time. If it’s something you want find the best example and just buy it. You’ll be money ahead in the end. If someone would have told me 10 years ago I would spend $20,000 on a Ford station wagon I would have thought them crazy. However I think materials and labor have far outpaced car costs. I hear about $15-$20,000 paint jobs, plus to repair and replace metal fabrication is very intensive work and money. Add to that the endless stories you see of guys who buy “project” cars and 9 years later they’re still in the corner of the driveway. I can tell you being in my 60’s time is a lot more precious then when I was buying junkers at 25 to get them running. It’s really a catch 22. Sadly old cars are getting out of the realm of a lot of collectors. I remember prior to the 2008 bust being at Barrett Jackson and people paying high six and low seven figures for muscle cars and even ridiculous prices on tribute cars. Also sadly with the internet people think Grandma’s Delta 88 is a $30,000 car cause someone got $25,000 for a Cutlass, and after all the Delta was more expensive new. But I ramble. I guess there are great deals out there. You just have to scratch a lot harder to find them.
I hear you, that is exactly why I over paid for the Firebird I just bought. But I also can't imagine anyone actually restoring a Skyhawk wagon. But I did recently speak to a guy who restored a Lada Sedan! But he did import the best one he found from his home country. Then Spent 3X as much restring it! He was lucky he could still get parts from Canada!
The problem is not just with "internet guys". When cars get bid up to the stratosphere, it drags the price for anything even remotely similar up as well. And that's for sales both on and off the internet. Unlike a certain collector car magazine, I don't consider $20K particularly affordable. About the only wagons left that are affordable are Tauruses and Escorts, and even Escorts are a bit ridiculous when sold by dealers ($5K for >100K miles?). Private owner sales of these online seem to be very rare.