I’m always looking for places to find great muscle cars for sale. After watching Barrett-Jackson auctions for years, I didn’t think car auctions were a realistic place for budget buyers to look. A one-of-a-kind six figure car isn’t ever going to end up in my garage.

When a friend mentioned the Mecum auto auction I was skeptical that we’d find reasonably priced muscle cars there. On the other hand, heading to Florida in January seemed like a really good idea so off we went. I’m happy to report that I was wrong!

Unlike some of the other large national auctions, Mecum specializes in muscle cars. There are other types of cars and some specialty items auctioned as well but the majority of items at a Mecum auction are good old American muscle.

At the Kissimmee location, there were hundreds of muscle cars waiting to be inspected and sold. It took a while to get used to seeing potential buyers walk right up to a beautifully restored car and lay their hands all over it, get inside, get underneath and inspect every inch of the car. You could lose an arm at a car show for that kind of behavior. At the auction however you can ask to hear the car running, have the convertible top opened and closed, and in general anything short of driving it.

In addition to the large selection of cars, the range of quality and condition available was amazing. Any muscle car buyer could find something of interest at a Mecum auction. Whether you bring a big roll of cash planning to buy an investment quality car or just want to pay a couple thousand for a project car, there was plenty to consider. If you watched the live broadcast on ESPNHD, you saw the premium collector class vehicles that were auctioned. The part you didn’t see was the hundreds of affordably-priced quality muscle cars that were auctioned during the non-televised hours of the day.

Here are some examples we saw and the SOLD prices:

1965 Mustang Convertible - $11,000
1969 Plymouth GTX - $15000
1972 Olds 442 - $13,000
1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Pace Car - $8000
1998 Camaro SS Coupe - $10,000

For full information on the Mecum auctions, check out their website. Mecum muscle car auctions are held throughout the United States, most east of the Mississippi. Their next auction is in Indianapolis at the State Fairgrounds from May 13-17th.

By the way, this isn’t a plug for the Mecum auctions; they’re just the only one I have personal experience with. The popular car magazines advertise and report on other auctions such as Russo-Steele and Kruse but I’m not sure if those auctions have the same muscle car focus. I’ve recently heard about some local/regional muscle car auctions. You can be sure I’ll be checking those out for a future road trip.

If you have info on other muscle car auctions, please add a comment.

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