11 Cars and 2 Bikes We’d Have Bought for $100K (or Less) at Monterey

Monterey Car Week has wrapped. An unrestored but often-enjoyed Bugatti won the Concours, seemingly countless restomod reveals took place, and the auctions showed how the top of the market is slowing. While we at Hagerty Insider are unpacking the results, we can't help but look back at the week's sales and daydream about what'd we'd have bought with a theoretical wad of cash.

This being Monterey, the average sale price from across all auctions wasn't cheap at $477K. We knocked the budget for this exercise down a good ways to $100,000-still a lot of money, but decidedly less stratospheric than most of the cars that crossed the block. We set parameters of just one car, but the deals out there motivated a couple of our staff to pick two, and we can't blame them for spending pretend money how they wanted. Without further delay, here's what our staff would've taken home:

1972 DeTomaso Pantera

Broad Arrow

I love DeTomaso Panteras, and there were a lot of them up for grabs this year around Monterey. Mecum had an entire collection of them, two of which fell under the $100,000 limit of this exercise. But for my Pantera budget, this 1972 model that sold at Broad Arrow for $75,040, with its delicate chrome bumpers, 30,000 original miles, and a Marti Report, was the pick of the bunch.-Stefan Lombard

1979 Ford F250 and 1965 Ford Mustang GT

Mecum

So many possibilities! I'd scoop this 1979 Ford F250 pickup for $16,500, because it would make chores around the property a bit more enjoyable. Plus, I just love the pickups from this era-and I'm not even really sure why! Then after a hard day's work, I'd want something fun to take out to celebrate with my wife.

Mecum

Which leads me to this sweetheart 1965 Mustang GT. I really enjoy these notchback bodies, and the 289 would provide plenty of power without being unwieldy. That one sold for $33,000. At just shy of $50,000 between the two, I'd feel satisfied and happy. The extra money would probably go towards gas and maybe some car-based adventures with my wife. (Or perhaps some truck-based adventures with my wife and dog!)-Nathan Petroelje

1923 Star Model C Touring Car

Bonhams

Bang for the buck is out of this world for this 1923 Star. Nothing would start more interesting conversations than constantly having to explain that "no, actually it's not a Model T." The conventional controls would make sharing the driving experience easy and possibly open more drivers up to pre-war cars-all for under $7k.-Kyle Smith

1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible and 1979 Honda CBX1000

MecumMecum

I'm going with a big/small combo. The Biarritz is just excess-excess in design details, luxury, and technology for 1956. Just a friggin' moonshot of '50s optimism. And at $88K for the Caddy, there's still enough left over to fork out $3300 for the bike. I confess to knowing very little about this CBX, and I'm not even a bike dude. But I am an inline-six obsessive, and the notion of 1.1-liter straight six in a Honda is way too interesting for me to overlook!-Eric Weiner

1961 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible

Mecum

Like Stefan, I'm drawn to DeTomaso Panteras-for me, the combo of Italian styling and an engine I can get parts for at NAPA is hard to beat-but something about late summer says big convertible to me. This '61 Bonneville for $49,500 hits the right notes: The white over burgundy works well with the cleaner jet-age styling of the early '60s, and little details like the wheels and pattern on the seats and doors caught my eye.-Eddy Eckart

1970 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior Zagato

Bonhams

Lot 103 at the Bonhams Quail auction on Friday was a 1970 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior Zagato, which sold for $39,200, or about 12% below its condition appropriate value. Some detail issues can be overlooked by examining the aerodynamic and lightweight Zagato body, which later inspired the Honda CRX. If the 1290-cc engine isn't big enough, it comes with a spare 1600-cc block, too.-John Wiley

This Junior Zagato caught my eye too. They share many mechanical parts with the other 105-series cars, so most Alfaholics (etc) performance mods bolt straight on, but you still have a rare Zagato body.-John Mayhead

1967 Volkswagen Beetle Custom Jolly Roadster

Mecum

I live a few miles from the beach, so my choice would be this VW Beetle "Jolly" for just less than $25K. It would make a great pairing with my VW camper, and would be just the thing to buzz down to the sea for an evening swim. I love the "Jolly" conversions, and this one seems like a lot of fun for not a great deal of money.-John Mayhead

1954 Allard K3 Roadster

Darin Schnabel ©2024 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

The K3 is one of Allard's later, lesser known creations, but it's basically the same formula as the more famous J2 and J2X. Namely, monster American V-8 (usually Cadillac or Chrysler Hemi) in a small, simple British roadster. Allard made just 63 of them, but we were spoiled for choice in Monterey this year because there were two of them up for grabs, one blue Chrysler-powered car and one red Caddy-powered one. I'm going to go with the red. At $84,000, it's a few grand cheaper than the blue one, and nearly 10 grand cheaper than its #4 value despite being in really good shape.-Andrew Newton

1982 Kawasaki SR250

Mecum

This bike is really cool: It's a 1982 Kawasaki SR250 factory team race bike. While the $71,500 final price is a lot for any bike, I am assuming the budget we're talking about is not using my own money, and I would happily spend someone else's money on a frivolous bike purchase for something so cool. I've wanted a 2-stroke bike, so why not this? I'd spend the rest of the money on race gas, Kawasaki KPO 2-Stroke oil and landscaping at the family property up north to build a mini MX course… and if anything else is left over, I'd stash it away to make sure I can make my medical copays if I send it too hard…-Greg Ingold

1957 Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Coupe

Bonhams

There were a lot of oddball Zagato cars to choose from this Monterey, but I'm going to go with this 1957 Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Zagato at Bonhams. I've always loved the "double bubble" and this one was a steal! At only $78,400, it hammered 30% below low estimate with a final price almost half the $149k Price Guide Value for the #3+ condition given by our auction staff.-Adam Wilcox

1973 Porsche 911 T Coupe

Broad Arrow

The Fiat-Abarth Adam picked stood out to me, too. I thought about one of the factory five cars at Mecum, but I have no idea if I'd actually like them. The car I'd want if it drove past though is this '73 911 T. Finished in eye-catching Aubergine and coming in at a hair over $85k, it's a great-looking early 911 at a not outrageous price.-Richard Salmons

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