My (miserable) experience with Bring A Trailer

An update: The auction ended with some great back and forth bidding.

It sold for $47,000 and the buyer was the gentleman who had swung by my house that morning to inspect.

He was happy, BaT passed all information between us. And he picked the car up the next day.

Seamless, and it sold for more than my deadbeat eBay sale.

One last thing that is a GREAT feature. The winning bidder has X% pulled out of their account immediately, so as a buyer, they are "invested" in the sense eBay holds zero accountability to it's winners.

I enjoyed it and will use it again if my wife wants to ever sell her E36 M3

 

Very good news! Congrats on the sale Ken! Was standing on the sidelines hoping this worked out well for you and your family.

 

Thanks Kim. Let me say, my wife was SUPER happy, because the night he picked it up, it got down to 16 degrees, and her M3 had been outside for two weeks... Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I will post my review from a BaT buyer/bidders perspective. It is with great regret I am warning the various forums I post in that the car auction site BaT has become seriously ethically compromised. There are still great cars and sellers there. I have recommended BaT to car friends in several clubs since 2008 when I started following them. But the leadership of the company has taken some turns that have compromised my trust in their transparency and representation. And BaT's mantra had always been transparency.

I bid on an early Datsun 240Z there recently and won the auction. Then, while getting all the further details from the owner about spare parts and history and arranging logistics, I discovered that the car had been in two accidents. One of the accidents I knew about from discussions with the owner. But the second was not discovered until after the bidding was closed. And the second accident looked as if it had been serious.

Now, I get that one has to do their due diligence when buying a car long distance and arrange inspections etc. I'm not new to this. However, now we come to BaT questionable ethics. The seller had written an extensive description copy for BaT to edit and draft into their auction posting description. But BaT then edited out all the accident information! See the attachment for a comparison of the sellers written description and how BaT edited out the critical accident information. I went back and forth with BaT for weeks as I withdrew from the deal. The seller was distraught, but understood the misrepresentation and did not protest my withdrawing from the deal. I gave BaT every opportunity to own up to the ethical compromise as a mistake. They never did.

So, if you see something on their site you really like then proceed with great caution. Know that BaT will actively hide critical information. It is very disappointing as this was such a promising platform. Make your own judgements. I simply an relating my experience as a buyer.

 

Is the final description copy something that the seller must approve, or does BaT require that you use their edited copy? If it's the former, then it would seem that the seller acquiesced to the deletion of the "scrapes happened in a parking lot" details.

 

Yes and no. You give BaT all the "facts" and your own write up, then they do their own "version". Here's the issue from my perspective. BaT will go back and forth multiple times even after you practically BEG them to change aspects or omission YOU would deem important to a buyer.
At the end of the day, this is BaT's biggest fault: they take almost ALL of the information power out of the seller's hands, and it creates strife (hence the about Datsun issue). I went back and forth with them 3-4 times then just decided it was easier to comment in the FS portion instead of fight with them. Their content writing sucks, and they certainly know how and when to leave "deal breaking" information out of the equation (prime example, I told them 5 TIMES, 5X, FIVE GODAMN TIMES, that CT doesn't issue vintage titles, and they STILL wrote "Clean and clear CT title blah blah blah..." not only on this, but my friend's Silver Wraith I sold for him.

Business 101, LISTEN TO YOUR GODAMN CUSTOMER, and work your damnedest to ensure their needs are met (within a reasonable and ethical amount).

 

As this thread indicates with 6 pages, BaT has really gone down hill in the past year. BaT's relaxed ethics is sort of like eBay's giving buyers the preference in disputes. Both open the door for potential scammers.

 

BaT as a company and organization is terrible!!! My conversations with them have been abysmal. I hate to give them any of my money. They say they are overrun with request and have a long waiting list of auctions in the pipeline. They are arrogant and rude as a whole. I researched the company some and it was founded by a family member of a long time CA franchise dealer. I infer that as an instant prick’. BaT as a forum for car nerds is fantastic. The concept is delicious! The execution and ethical background is questionable. I have tried to list 3 cars recently with no response. This past summer I tried to list 2 cars with only one going live and it was a mess. The second sold before going live, to a neighbor, but subsequent tries on listings have been terrible and I am sadly just an observer. Thankfully with patience and dumb luck my other cars have sold. I have another unique car to bring to market soon and BaT would be perfect [emoji20]


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That is true. However, the seller must approve the final language before BaT will list the car.

 

Yes, my point was that they grind you down by not listening to your changes, to the point it became a “ok just list it” type of mentality.

I got so sick of them not listening I said **** it, (keep in mine they’d only answer back every 3-4 days...)

 

I'll echo similar issues of late with BaT.
I discovered some serious structural issues with a car being auction that had not been disclosed.
My comments derailed the auction. But IMHO, saved a potential buyer from "winning" a nightmare of a car.
Now before my comments go through they review my them and if my comment is deemed negative in any way they won't post it.
The entire purpose for the comment section is to bring to light any issues a car may have that a bidder may not have realized.
This past year I've physically inspected cars being auctioned on BaT that were local to me that in my opinion I deemed were not fully represented.
Kudos to them for their success, but it's at a cost to the ethics of the community.

 

Several years ago, Randy (the founder) and I were discussing a collaboration to create video content. We exchanged notes on the contract and then...poof! He totally ghosted. No returned emails, phone calls or texts. Amazingly unprofessional and discourteous. Even so, I still enjoy visiting the site (the knowledgeable community is their greatest asset) and just bought a 308 on BaT. I figured I'd drop Randy a line to check in, see if he was still flaky, and say that I was now an official customer and still...nothing. For me, the bottom line is that the cars are often interesting, the community is amazing, and the model has merits. Unfortunately, the management leaves a lot to be desired. BaT could be so much more than it is...

 

Second Daily Auctions is an alternative to BaT ... havent used them personally but I know 2 of the Ferrari's that were on there posted.

 

Thanks for mentioning- they could be an alternative in time. I randomly clicked on the 308 GTB, the 240Z, and the BMW Z8 and there were no bids. Most of the current vehicles in play are Range Rover-type vehicles. Hopefully this site can gain presence in time.

 

My Buddy has his 993 on Second Daily right now


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yeah, A little hard to know when something has sold and I thought that too on that seal grey 996tt that was on awhile back. That was a car from Wayne Carini's shop and was relisted a few times, the bidding history doesnt always stay up I believe. I asked F40 about the car back then and there had been bids but didnt hit reserve. So they reposted it until it sold. I know for a fact they reset the bids because I bid $90k on that 308 you're talking about (that's Cuker's Cooper Classics car btw).

 

nice, I saw that ... love those 993's, refreshing to see one in a "color" actually

 

I think that BaT has so many more eyeballs than SD, and will therefore get a higher selling price.

I've sold two cars, an MG TD and a BMW M3 convertible on BaT and was quite satisfied.

But there is lot of room for improvement.

Matt

 

Fewer eyeballs are good when buying

 

Well, I think by virtue that this discussion even exists...is enuff for me to avoid BaT. Nifty idea, for sure. Has a cool, in the know car lover feel. But editing, censoring or concealing relevant information about a car's condition?

Unethical, for buyer and seller, aka, who do you trust, certainly n-o-t BaT....and omitting high quality relevant upgrades (Dave Helm's) is too doing a disservice to the car community.

Irrespective of all the good reports of seamless transactions; sadly, the scope of the transgressions, low reserves and strong arm tactics, purposeful omissions...

I don't want to do business with them as a buyer or seller. Too much risk if there are yahoos running the front office. I don't want them 'learning the business' with my transaction.

Where there is smoke, there's fire.

Thanks for the heads up all who shared your nightmare.

 

I tried to list an outstanding #2 condition 1989 BMW 635CSi with BaT and they refused to list it or even respond after they turned it down. Customer service was pretty much non-existant. 'Sold the car off AutoTrader 2 weeks after listing.

 

I stumbled across this thread after talking with them about a Lamborghini I'm going to sell. If you're looking to get more than a wholesale price for your car don't go anywhere near BAT. Their assessment of a reserve is nowhere near reality, quite a joke actually. I've had dealers offer to write me checks for more then BAT will set the reserve.

 

Also, at their ridiculous reserve number they wanted me to buy "great" professional photos to get a listing. This website is a scam.

 

A “scam” implies dishonest fraud, which is wrong. In fact, the great thing about their website is that the top bidder is required to follow through and pay for the cars. That’s the opposite of a scam when selling.

BaT is also the wrong place to try to sell a Lamborghini.

As I said above, I happily sold two cars there.

Matt

 

I'd consider it a scam if they're tricking people into selling their cars for significantly less than market pricing so they can collect a 5% fee at a price where they know a car will sell (to their limited audience). If someone is desperate to sell this might be a quick way to sell a car, but you're going to likely get a low price given the small number of bidders and BAT taking 5%. I don't see tht they're capable of driving higher than market prices like some of the large auction houses. The requirement to purchase photos, which other have also mentioned, stinks of a scam as well.