5 cars. 2 drivers.About a dozen registered/insured and only 2 drivers.
How about you?
All cars get driven very very regularly.
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Bring a Trailer (BaT) Auctions: Worth Listing Your Car or Not?
- Thread starter ace10
- Start date
All cars get driven very very regularly.
About a dozen registered/insured and only 2 drivers.
How about you?
Dave, you are one major car kulak
. Please share full list with us
Wow. Amazing article. Definitely spells out BaT's arc in the car marketplace. The question is, where will it end, or will it?
Dan
BaT wants potential sellers to believe that all cars listed on their site will sell so they really push hard to get you to agree to a lower price which will lend to them achieving this goal. They offered me a $19K reserve on my 67kmi 16V the week after Leistung Auto had a similar one (condition, mileage, transmission, color, etc.) sell for $25k.
Robert
Robert
That's an insult. I'd tell them to go stuff it.
Yes, BaT is doing this on most cars. Recently they rejected a friends car and suggested a reserve much lower than he wanted on another, so he isn't selling either on BaT. BaT did the same thing to me, but after they received my narrative and CarFax, they agreed to my initial reserve. It got to the point where I told them at their suggested reserve, I will be removing parts from the car. BaT did not want me to do that, they wanted to list the car as-is. Took a week of back/forth and a extended period where I felt they were ignoring me, but finally got it done.
My impression is that they want every car to sell, thats where they get their real revenue from.
That sounds like a real painful back and forth to sell a car.....do you feel the results on BaT justified your hassle or would you have done it differently in hindsight?
My car is not on BaT yet, they accepted my car and are working on their version of a narrative. Once that is finished, I have to proof it, then it will be scheduled for listing. Probably another week at least before it goes live. But so far, the experience has not been positive.
There are discrepancies in what BaT is doing with the 500e. Although, I would expect your car to be allowed a higher reserve due to the mileage compared to my vehicle.
One thing BaT does not factor is all of the add-ons. I had to explain this to them and plainly stated that if they don't want to consider the value of these items, I will just remove them and we move forward with their suggested reserve. BaT has never had such a modernized 500E listed before, so they were having difficulty pricing it accordingly. After they reviewed my narrative and Excel spreadsheet of maintenance history, they agreed to my original reserve. I did give them some freedom on the reserve, as I do want the car to find a new home the first time around.
Best of luck with your sale
Wait a sec .... you're selling your 500E? Say it ain't so!!! Who am I going to extoll the virtues of paper cones and cassettes to?!?!?!
Please use the built-in forum "poll" feature next time, thanks!
I need @ace10 to scrutinize my auction and offer analysis. I've had a couple of bidders who have no history and/or are new accounts.... no shilling here.
I'll offer a wrap-up of my latest experience with BaT once the auction has closed. For the most part it's been a pretty good experience this time so far.
Dan
I'll offer a wrap-up of my latest experience with BaT once the auction has closed. For the most part it's been a pretty good experience this time so far.
Dan
Any unhinged trolls sh*t on your auction yet?
I have noticed something interesting (to me) on my finnie auction at BaT:
The recent spate of bidders appear to be long time BaT members who bid on a lot of different auctions, but never seem to win anything. I find this sort of weird. Am I seeing people who want to get a deal or are bottom feeders hoping an auction will get passed over or ignored and they'll score a nice car for cheap?
The most recent bidder on the car has many, many bids on auction going back some years, but they've never, ever won anything. And these are $5k and higher bids, too, so it's not someone just doing the token "$1965" opening bid.
Strange.
Dan
The recent spate of bidders appear to be long time BaT members who bid on a lot of different auctions, but never seem to win anything. I find this sort of weird. Am I seeing people who want to get a deal or are bottom feeders hoping an auction will get passed over or ignored and they'll score a nice car for cheap?
The most recent bidder on the car has many, many bids on auction going back some years, but they've never, ever won anything. And these are $5k and higher bids, too, so it's not someone just doing the token "$1965" opening bid.
Strange.
Dan
That does seem strange. It almost seems like BaT might have some phantom accounts used to "hype" the auctions, not unlike how some sellers use fake EBay accounts to place bids on their own auctions.
Exactly. The current bidder, "PeteyJ", does not appear to have ever won an auction, yet they bid pretty much consistently on a number of auctions without any particular pattern. They seem to be bidding mostly on German stuff, but there are also bids on domestic cars as well sprinkled in.
I wonder what the ace10 thinks of this....
Dan
The current high money belongs to a masterbatory bidder. Though their single bid on the early 997 should have been plenty to win it, if not for the BaT shyte crazy bidders who went over the top.
Dan has run the auction quite well, IMO. Good technical answers and has demonstrated a connection to the car.
I count at least 8 current auctions for "classic" MBs. Which feels like a lot.
There is one aspect of the auction which I think which could have received a bit more attention, and that's the composition of the exterior pictures. They are not doing anything to highlight the vehicle... the car blends into the background and the overcast sky is washing everything out. Better pics might have attracted more eyes in the early hours of the auction.
400+ watchers, so maybe there are two people who have the cash and desire to own it.
$0.02
Dan has run the auction quite well, IMO. Good technical answers and has demonstrated a connection to the car.
I count at least 8 current auctions for "classic" MBs. Which feels like a lot.
There is one aspect of the auction which I think which could have received a bit more attention, and that's the composition of the exterior pictures. They are not doing anything to highlight the vehicle... the car blends into the background and the overcast sky is washing everything out. Better pics might have attracted more eyes in the early hours of the auction.
400+ watchers, so maybe there are two people who have the cash and desire to own it.
$0.02
Thanks for the kind words!
While I don't dispute the comment about the other vintage Mercedes', I also think that the same people who are looking at an SL aren't going to give my car a second look. I've watched the other Mercedes auctions that have come up during mine, and didn't really feel like any of them were much of a conflict for the most part. I believe that someone looking for a vintage Mercedes has probably got pretty specific things in mind.
I would agree with the photo comment. Our weather here has been awful for this time of year, with heavy overcasts and rain. I tried for over a week to get decent outdoor pictures without success. I was lucky the second time I went out that there was actually sunshine occurring. I did have some "glamour shots" in the beginning at our local country club, but BaT wouldn't run any of them as the lead photo.
I've had a number of people contact me directly, a couple from overseas - Germany, specifically. I didn't get the feeling that they were serious about purchasing the car, however, based on the communications I had with them. Hopefully I'm wrong about that.
It's the lull before the storm. I suspect this will end much like my former 1991 350SDL did, where there was minimal activity until the last few hours when things heated up. At least I hope so.
Dan
I got well beyond what I expected and nearly soiled myself at the end of the auction. As a buddy just texted me, "It's the BaT crack."
Someone far better versed in these vintage models was adamant that it would fetch good money. I'm sorry to say that I didn't have that level of confidence. I'm certainly happy they were right.
Looks like the buyer is in the Fatherland, as they've got a .de email address. This should be an interesting experience.
Dan
$13,800
Harv,
As you're plugged in to the resale market, I'm curious as to your thoughts on this auction. Do you think it was overvalued or not?
Dan
Is that related to a "silent but deadly"?
It is what people will pay. I thought you did very well. I had $10,000 in my mind as a "fair for both parties" number. Interesting it's going to Germany. We lost another one.
Thank you, Harv. I totally understand the, "It's what the market says it's worth" thing, but I was thinking much the same as you - if it hit $10k I would have been pleased and made a decent profit on the sale. As I mentioned previously, someone well versed in these cars who also helped me decide to go no reserve on this was not surprised.
I'm making the assumption it's going to Germany, as the buyer has a .de email address. BaT had the contact information to me immediately following the auction, so I reached out to them to introduce myself but have yet to hear back. Considering the time difference they have probably tucked in for the night.
Here's one I've been watching that things are starting to get raucous on:
1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe
I think the UHT needs to go in there and settle people down.
Dan
1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe
I think the UHT needs to go in there and settle people down.
Dan
I found this completed auction well worth the read.
bringatrailer.com
So much noise. So much Audi fanboi-ism.
1994 Audi RS2 Avant
Bid for the chance to own a 1994 Audi RS2 Avant at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #22,575.
So much noise. So much Audi fanboi-ism.
More super-sketchy activity on BaT....
bringatrailer.com
1991 Porsche 911 Turbo
Bid for the chance to own a 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #23,542.
About half a dozen vehicles which have been on my radar in the past six++ months have found their way to BaT (including the silver JDM 036). The thing that I find interesting is that whether they are being re-sold or simply re-marketed, all of them are hammering on BaT at roughly the same price as what they were reaching elsewhere. Some are selling, while some are still going RNM.
I suspect that the BaT-shyte, ego-driven premium might be evaporating.
The next car I'm watching which I suspect will fit this same pattern is this clean E34 M5.
bringatrailer.com
This is the third time on BaT for this car. I was in the bidding mix when it came through in mid-2017.
The days of simply throwing a car up on BaT and then counting your pile of dough may be over.
$0.02
I suspect that the BaT-shyte, ego-driven premium might be evaporating.
The next car I'm watching which I suspect will fit this same pattern is this clean E34 M5.
1991 BMW M5
Bid for the chance to own a 1991 BMW M5 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #24,484.
This is the third time on BaT for this car. I was in the bidding mix when it came through in mid-2017.
The days of simply throwing a car up on BaT and then counting your pile of dough may be over.
$0.02
Did you know that Hemmings started a "curated" auction site several months ago?
IMO, it's a weak effort and doesn't "feel" like there's any smoke there. The format is a bit too long. There are too few listings to make it a daily destination. The peanut gallery commentary appears to be an afterthought.
BaT fills the text of their listings with ambiguity, caveats. squishy wording and non-descript descriptions, while Hemmings pours on the seller BS and flowery prose. It's an interesting contrast.
Oh, and that goddamn popup on Hemmings is beyond irritating.
IMO, it's a weak effort and doesn't "feel" like there's any smoke there. The format is a bit too long. There are too few listings to make it a daily destination. The peanut gallery commentary appears to be an afterthought.
BaT fills the text of their listings with ambiguity, caveats. squishy wording and non-descript descriptions, while Hemmings pours on the seller BS and flowery prose. It's an interesting contrast.
Oh, and that goddamn popup on Hemmings is beyond irritating.
Those days of irrational BaT-xuberance have been gone since this past spring, and the heady days of 2017-2018 are long gone.
And will be until after November, 2020.
@8899 with his pristine car (very deserving of BaT-xuberance) was pretty much the last BaTter to score big and ride the wave. It's been downhill since then on the E500E market on BaT.
Patterns I've seen over the past 20 years is that irrational exuberance periods for cars tend to be brief and intense, but never last. But they always come back.
Generally the stock market is the best barometer of when these periods are beginning and ending. It's generally because many of these folks are using their 401(k)s and home values as bank-machines to finance their car acquisitions. 401(k) goes up by 20-30%? Yep, time to take a loan out ("after all, I'm just borrowing against money I've already saved, and am paying myself back, with interest....") and get that $50K "collector" 500E or BMW M3.
Timing is everything! Watch that Dow number! Ride that Wave, or wait until the next wave comes along.
Another repeat BaT car...
bringatrailer.com
Sold for $24500 13 months ago.
1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet
Bid for the chance to own a 1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #24,652.
Sold for $24500 13 months ago.
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