The Mecum Auction Company begins each year with their largest event in Kissimmee, Florida. In 2018, total Kissimmee sales were $96.6 million and 3023 vehicles were offered for sale and 2,208 sold. This year’s auction achieved a sell-through rate of 73 percent. A total of 295 Corvettes crossed the auction stage and 212 sold for a sell through rate of 72percent. As a point of comparison in 2017, 2700 vehicles were offered for sale and 1,981 sold and total sales were $86 million. A total of 277 Corvettes were available for sale in 2017 and 191 found new homes. Last year’s Corvette sell-through rate was 69 percent. The good news is Corvette sales are trending upwards this year, which is a good sign for owners who might sell their cars. Each Corvette that did not sell was directed to Mecum’s “The Bid Goes On” staging area. This allows prospective buyers the opportunity to negotiate an agreeable purchase price. Many found new homes with this “Bid Goes On” feature.
The staff of Vette magazine covers this auction at the beginning of each year to provide you with Corvette price trends. Mecum gives us a broad look at Corvettes from the inexpensive non-collector examples to top dollar NCRS or Bloomington Gold certified collectibles. So let’s dig into what we found. This is the 13th year that Mecum has held this auction at the Osceola Heritage Park complex. The site is perfect, because it offers easy access and the large facility offers plenty of room to showcase Mecum’s offerings. During this price check we spotted two Corvettes that were among the top ten highest paid cars at Kissimmee. The sixth highest sale of $583,000 was for Lot S144, a Tuxedo black 1967 award winning 427/435hp coupe. In eighth place at $456,000 was S140.1 a Sebring Silver 1963 Z06 fuel injected coupe fitted with the NO3 big-tank option. Last year at Kissimmee this same split-window coupe did not sell when bids stopped at $425,000. Waiting a year paid off for this owner.
The Osceola Heritage Park was filled with over 3,000 vehicles being offered for sale this year. We wandered through this massive collection of cars and picked out a few Corvettes to document price trends below and in our photo captions. When buyers arrive at a Mecum auction they are required to register as a buyer. Once approved, they can inspect any car they are interested in before it is taken to the auction stage. Large tents store all of the cars so a buyer has plenty of time to determine a Corvette’s condition. Lot numbers lets you know when it will cross the auction stage and the letter tells you what day it will be for sale. Once again C2 and C3 Corvettes were the top selling generations this year. Here is a breakdown of the highs and lows of each generation of Corvettes that crossed the auction stage.
| Generation | Available | Sold | Percent | Low Price | High Price |
| C1-1953-1962 | 43 | 31 | 79% | $38,500 K249 | $253,000 F111 |
| C2-1963-1967 | 98 | 67 | 68% | $44,000 W168 | $583,000 S144 |
| C3-1968-1982 | 72 | 61 | 85% | $8,250 U123 | $575,000 S155.1 |
| C4-1984-1996 | 28 | 23 | 82% | $7,700 J153 | $33,000 G178 |
| C5-1997-2004 | 29 | 20 | 69% | $8,800 L38 | $74,800 G180 |
| C6-2005-2013 | 23 | 8 | 35% | $18,150 U94 | $66,000 K116 |
| C7-2014-2017 | 2 | 2 | 100% | $58,300 S55 | $83,600 W200.1 |
| Totals | 295 | 212 | 72% |
Mecum’s website www.mecum.com, is a perfect way to determine what is selling and what kind of prices a certain model sells for. You can locate a Corvette you might be interested in before you attend a Mecum auction. It is also a great way to preview Mecum’s 2018 schedule.
Photography by the Author
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