We’ve been keeping an eye out for big markups and wild auction results, but nothing could prepare us for seeing what a North Carolina dealer wants for an ‘89 Honda Prelude, a 2005 Pontiac GTO, and a 2000 Dodge Ram 3500 HD.
The dealer in question is Sanford Honda in Sanford, NC and they’re swinging for the fences on some cars they’ve deemed “classics.”
Say you’re in the market for a third generation Honda Prelude Si. If we look at Bring a Trailer, we can see a the results of a few recent Prelude sales. One with 30,000 miles sold for $11,000 back in August. An ’89 with a five speed manual and 65,000 miles sold for $21,000 late last year. Insurer Hagerty says the average value for an ‘89 Prelude is $8,700, but this one looks to be in much better than average condition.
With those numbers as a partial guide, even considering the new/used car market is wild right now, you’d think a Prelude with just under 80,000 miles could sell in the low teens. Not at Sanford Honda.
The oldest, an ‘89, is clean. But is it clean enough that you’d pay $28k for it?
While the ‘89 is more of an established classic, the other Prelude is a 5th generation car from the final year of production, 2001. It has just 2,245 miles on it. For a 20-year-old car, that’s impressive. Kelly Blue Book has trade-in values for a Prelude of this year, with the same options and mileage between $6,058 - $7,411. But this one is really nice, if not necessarily desirable. What do you think? I’d say $10,000 - $11,000 would be fairly reasonable.
Sanford is asking $49,000. Keep in mind this is a base Prelude with a four speed auto. It’s not even a Type-SH.
Want an old HD diesel pickup from the Big 3? Sanford Honda will happily oblige. As long as you’re willing to pay new pickup prices for 20+ year-old examples. A 2000 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab with Cummins diesel and 78,000 miles on it has a Blue Book value in the range of $11,000 - $14,000. Sanford is asking $42,720 for one.
If you prefer a Ford, a 1996 Ford F-250 XL with a five-speed manual and diesel is going for $42,560.
Oddly, some of their vehicles appear to be right in line with market pricing. For instance, a 1974 Land Cruiser listed as “coming soon,” has 67,730 miles on it, with a $28,500 list price that falls right in line with some that have sold on BaT.
But then again, there’s this 2005 Pontiac GTO. With just under 26,000 miles on it, KBB says it’s $21,000 on the high end. Sandford wants $33,540.
I called the dealer to inquire on an explanation or rational reasoning behind these prices. Here’s what I got:
These are classic vehicles so that’s classic car pricing, sir.
The manager I spoke with said this with an underlying “Why are you asking?,” attitude in his voice.
At this stage, maybe they sell. We’ll see.