1976 Eldorado Convertible Sells for $87,000 on Bring a Trailer

[Richf1966]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-cadillac-eldorado-convertible-36/

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

If that isn't a new record, it's not far from.

[Carfreak]

I'm skeptical of the mileage based on the condition of the front seat and the ease in which many 76 Eldorado convertible owners were able to disconnect the speedometer.

Working for dad when I was still in high school, Don Massey Cadillac would send their cars to us for radio, cruise control, or other repairs. So many of them had the speedometer disconnected when they arrived at our facility.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Great catch Sue. I didn't study the pictures since I had no interest but the seats in the 17,000 miler I had were better. I often wondered how many of these had their speedometers disconnected.

[Vince Taliano #13852]

As a point of reference (although its a '75 vs '76), there is a '75 Eldorado Convertible on Bring A Trailer now with "1,600" miles.  View at https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-cadillac-eldorado-convertible-11/.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

I think many owners found ways of enjoying these cars without actually taking them out on the road. They'd hop in, start the car, perhaps move it around in the driveway- all in an an effort to preserve their "investment". Repeat that ritual once a month over the span of decades and it's not uncommon for seats to become worn looking even with extremely low mileage. As the seat foam decomposes, the extra space increases the stress on the upholstery further contributing to the problem. It's very difficult to find '76 Eldorado convertibles without rumpled leather on driver's seat regardless of how low the mileage.

[Carfreak]

The wife, kids or neighbor joined them in the passenger seat?   LOL

When we lived in S Texas early 1980s, a Minnesota dealer DROVE his 'low mile' (3 figure) 1976 Eldo down each winter. 

Amazing how the miles never accumulated. 

[TJ Hopland]

I don't get it.  You can find these cars that are pretty good looking and pretty good driving for $10k.  $20 should get you that much nicer.  $30 should get you nice and lower miles.  So crazy bidding war you get to $40 maybe $50?  Where is the next $37 come from?

[Carfreak]

Or if it was a Bicentennial.

With this car, perhaps someone really liked the colors?

[Vince Taliano #13852]

https://www.mecum.com/lots/1118143/1976-cadillac-eldorado-bicentennial-edition-convertible/?aa_id=586882-0

Mecum Indy 2024
1976 Cadillac Eldorado Bicentennial Edition Convertible
LOT S224 // SATURDAY, MAY 18TH// INDY 2024
19 Miles, 500 CI V-8, Automatic

Let's see how this one does vs. the recent Bring A Trailer auctions.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I am very reluctant to believe the mileage in many cars for sale, especially with such wear in the upholstery.

As has been said, Speedos are easy to disconnect.

Bruce.

[smokuspollutus]

Cadillac's first cars with the 6-digit odometer came along in 1985 with the deVille/Fleetwood front wheel drive cars. They were also the first Cadillac to lose the speedometer cable and rely on an electronic signal to drive the cluster/odometer. The Eldorado and Seville adopted this approach with their 6-digit odometers in 1986. Then of course the Brougham basically followed in 1990. So they were a little harder to defeat than the older setups, especially the ones that had the cruise control box mounted up by the master cylinder for convenience.

It's funny to see higher average mileage cars listed for sale at any given time are the 85+ deVilles, 86+ Eldo/Seville, and 90+ Broughams. The Broughams are really strange because they're basically the same car, yet the 1990+ models always have way more miles than the 1989 & older models. Why is that?

Eric is right about the peculiarity with the '76 convertibles. These cars more than probably any other were subject to the harshest storage wear, even on true low mileage examples. These were the first cars that were really stored en masse so they were the learning curve of how to store a vehicle long term. Never mind all of the other parts that didn't really age well regardless of storage. I'm sure we've all seen unused '76s wrecked by bad care methods.

Mileage is a driver of condition, but means nothing on the wrong car. This was definitely a really nice '76 and I think the mileage is probably accurate. 87,000 worth though? Well, adjust everything for inflation and whoever bought this car new didn't do as badly as some of the other original owners did!

[billyoung]

Man, I wish I could find where to get a seedling money tree to plant in MY backyard. Thank God I bought Raggedy Ann for $ 8,500.00 in November 2023. I have yet to do total cost accounting but I probably have a total of about $ 18,000.00 invested  plus all my labor. I Love the car and never intend on selling it. It is in getting it's sound system now and then I will be putting in the door and rear side panels and rear seat back in.

[Carfreak]

You can track costs but never total the numbers; has been known to cause health conditions. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Seats in the '76 ELC-Bic that Vince posted above look new.

[Carfreak]

Vanguard motors in Plymouth Michigan has a good reputation for their sales of  muscle cars and now they've branched out to vintage cars also. Mechanically the cars perform very well, are generally clean but pricey. A few examples:

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

They sure have taken "selling the sizzle" to a high art form. I watched that '77 CdV cross the block in PA for $14,500 last summer. Steering wheel was cracked, had narrow WW tires, needed exhaust, good tune up. Trunk lock cover lost its color insert in the crest. Then sold at Raleigh the following December for $14,750 which is where they bought it. At a  $30K/+ price bump, the car should have been sorted to perfection.

[TJ Hopland]

$50k for a 4100 car?  I guess if you just want to look at it?