Thoughts on "Bring a Trailer"

i've now bought two, listed 4 directly and 1 thru a broker.

if the planets align, you'll create asales number not repeatable anywhere else sans BJ on Saturday night.

that said they are swamped and likely understaffed.

 

I've bought three cars there so far. All of them have been fine. One I definitely overpaid for (the most recent one), one was a bargain, and one was about right.

 

https://insider.hagerty.com/trends/is-there-really-a-bring-a-trailer-premium/

 

Listed the 512M, fell short of the negotiated reserve
( Recently sold for asking price through " Just Red " )

Wanting to list my 2003 Rs6, been well over a month, no listing date in sight.
( They did take my money right away and photo shoot was scheduled in a timely manner )

When I finally got an email reply, I was simply told, they have a lot of cars to list, and it would be another few weeks before mine listing came up ( total 6 weeks from payment of premium fee so far )

I have a Ferrari Lusso to list, I want to use them, I may just list it here and Just Red...

Steve

 

You have to be more specific than Hagerty was, though. Certain sellers on BaT absolutely bring a premium (911r, for instance) while others do a poor enough job that they probably end up at a discount. Seller matters a lot.

 

I think people's expectations for BaT are probably too high. You remark on the time it takes to get a car in the queue to go 'live', but others would complain just as loudly if they started to run 120 cars a day through the site because that is the choice they face at the moment.
Just sold my VW bus on BaT a week ago. I had listed two cars in previous years, neither met reserve; One of them was my Ferrari 330 listed five years ago and I believe it was probably one of the very first "high dollar" cars on a site that was mostly cheap & cheerful or basket case; it IS called Bring a Trailer for a reason you understand. Now, I would hazard a guess that the average selling price is in the range of $50K, with at least a couple of 7 figure cars in the last couple of months; not many need a trailer anymore!
I can say that by, if my recent experience is anything to go by, the quality of their staff has really improved over the intervening years, My 'auction specialist' Trevor was top notch, putting together an accurate, comprehensive listing that only needed a few slight changes before going 'live'. Keep in mind they can only deal with the material you submit, so if you send them good photos and a detailed description you're much more likely to get a satisfactory result!
As for the 'reserve', they do press a bit too hard on that, but I think their rational is that the percentage of cars that don't meet reserve don't really generate any revenue, and buyers & sellers often put together a commission free deal after the fact via the 'contact buyer' link. If you have a truly reasonable reserve and push back, they'll generally relent.
They are on top for a reason; they sell cars & usually at a premium to market!

 

i'd agree. there was just a listing on a 2014 sls convertible that was a relist. car is horribly prepared and seller did a lousy job. both times RNM

 

out of the 4 cars i listed.

2 met reserve and 2 were sold to bidders in the crowd for the reserve after...

 

My DMC - fastest in the world, shown at 2021 Quail and making itself internet famous - is headed there soon.

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Do sellers have a back door out to NOT sell the car if it just barely meets an undesirable reserve price? For example, a cars reserve is $50k and it sells for $51k. Can a seller just decide to back out and not sell the car at that point without any legal troubles?


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of course not, what kind of auction would that be? the seller could back out but would sure be a scum bag after wasting a week of peoples time- They would be banned from BAT and hopefully their car black balled around the net

 

I’m upping this.

Bat has the potential of making most traditional means of selling cars obsolete.

 

I asked to list my old Ginetta there, got no reply (10 years ago when they were first selling). Bought an S2000 CR that was previously sold on BaT for roughly what the seller had paid on BaT. That tells me they probably sell at a bit above market. Recently sold a car through a Facebook classifieds group (not FB marketplace) for a fair bit above what BaT would have likely brought. I enjoy watching the auctions on BaT, but it does not seem to be anything that will work for me.

 

The only occasion I can recall in the last few years where this has happened was a seller from Spain reneging on the valid auction result for an unused Alfa Montreal crate engine. The seller was permanently banned. It seems that BaT will take forceful measures in order to protect the good reputation of their site.
M

 

Just me - and being completely ignorant I realize - but there is no flippin way I would buy a Ferrari from a service called "Bring a Trailer" - which to me means you either a) must bring a trailer because the car is undriveable or b) it is so valuable you would not want to drive it - neither of those appeal to me.

Again - total ignorance so take it for what is worth - which is probably not much I have seen many people on here with positive experiences and many with negative experiences - Probably the same for any service of this nature - or any Dealer for that matter.

I will never be wealthy but I buy my Ferrari's (and other cars) from proper Dealers - The ONLY other option I would consider is a private sale with an FChat member.

Cheers

 

What's the difference if you have the car PPI'd by one of these "proper" dealers within the auction timeline, and all checks out well? Then what?

 

Then you have probably wasted a bunch of time and money because one of the following probably occurs:

1. You get out bid by a nutjob with more money than sense
2. A shill takes the bidding higher than it's worth
3. You win because you overpaid

I don't understand the appeal of auctions....put me face-to-face with a seller.

 

What is the reason for people being wait listed on BAT? Is it bc BAT only wants so many live auctions at any given time to chase a limited amount of dollars?

 

Thanks - Well-stated and more succinct than my response - As I said, each to his/her own - Just my thoughts (and apparently some others) on BaT - IF (read: IF) I was going to purchase a car from an auction it would be Barrett, Mecum, RM etc. - not "Bring a Trailer" - Again, probably just my ignorance - Cheers

 

Well I feel the same way about all auctions....ever seen the drunk old guys sitting next to 25 year old bleach blondes up in the balcony at BJ? Powered by money, Viagra, and no common sense.....no way am I bidding against that.

 

Ha!!! Very very true - From my minimal experience it does seem that the RM and Sothebys type auctions attract less of the B-J type you are describing - but what they have on their dockets is usually WAY out of my price/knowledge range. Mecum is a bit more laid back than B-J with less of the type you described - depending on location. Like I said, call me dumb and I am probably leaving lots of $$ on the table but for me If I am going to spend money on an exotic/rare/special car it is going to be from either a Dealer I trust and have a relationship with or one that has a stellar reputation and lengthy history - Again, just me

 

Interesting thread..


Obviously BaT is going where the money is. I think they've fundamentally changed the on-line car selling market; just look at Hemmings and Petrolicioius launching their own similar auction features. BaT has also obviously stopped posting any external ads or auctions, period - which was their original attraction. The cars on BaT seem less interesting in terms of variety and obscurity, but then again, they seem to be going a bit upscale, and nice rare cars do show up..

However, their auction descriptions are increasingly boilerplate and repetitive, same story line, same catch phrases. And recently what I think I've noticed is the increasing number of 'troll' commenters on any given auction, asking nitpicky questions of a seller, staying on an irrelevant topic for way too long, wasting time, and not even bidding. Like it's slowly turning into an internet free-for-all..

But - it's easy to access, I've bid on a few select cars and talked to a few sellers, there's always something going on, and the pictures and comments can be educational.

Cheers,
- Art

 

So true, and all of them think they are experts when they are actually trolls without 2 nickels to rub together.....getting to be like you tube video comments.

 

You nailed it.

 

I think the appeal of BAT is an interactive conversation on a vehicle for sale. There have been interesting facts found out about a car due to the conversations, good and bad. You are likely to learn more about a used car on BAT than you are at a dealer. due to the group conversations. Yes, some of the conversations go off course, but it's typically on topic.BAT does a good job of disabling any comments that are not constructive.