Bring a Trailer (BaT) Auctions: Worth Listing Your Car or Not?

[gsxr]

Crazy R107 sold at Sothebys for $174k in Jan-2023 to a dealer in Canada, eh:

1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SL by Bespoke Restoration | Arizona 2023 | RM Sotheby's

1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SL by Bespoke Restoration for sale at RM Sotheby's Arizona

rmsothebys.com

Dealer listed on their website for $200k. Then they tried to flip on BaHaT in July 2023, bid to $132k in July, no sale:

1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SL 6-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SL 6-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #112,446.

bringatrailer.com

Now re-listed by the same dealer in Canada, 3 months later, this time - NO RESERVE!!
(Update - sold for $130k plus fees.)

No Reserve: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SL 6-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SL 6-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #124,642.

bringatrailer.com

I wonder if the seller wanted no reserve, or if HaT required it.

 

[Bogeyman]

Talk about a narrow market. Modified R107s are rare for a reason - no one is looking for them.

I would bet BAT demanded N/R because where else is he going to go?

 

[maw1124]

I wonder if the dealer actually thought it would make money at a $174k buy or was just disappointed after receiving the car. If the former, no sympathy but if the latter then that’s a shame. You pay that kind of money for something so “narrow” presumably it’s because you want it for yourself.

maw

 

[gerryvz]

Our 500Eboard friend “Cousin Pierre” pontificates on the declining quality of BaHaT auction cars:

 

[maw1124]

He’s right of course. I’m probably repeating myself when I say “no smokers, no pets, no paint, no stories” was the rule when buying cars. Now I see accident cars all day long on BaT and I wonder what people are smoking. Since most buyers are flippers I don’t care so much. But the poor soul buying some accident BaT flip without inspection, well, you can’t fix stupid.

maw

EDIT... for me, flying to see the car, meet the owner, etc is the story I'm interested in... and my 500E and E46M (the selling dealer's dad owned a 500E he wouldn't sell me) have been the best stories (or rather memories, as the stories are still writing themselves).

 

[gerryvz]

Not to mention that he indirectly references our law, about deferred maintenance costs. And the fact that people do their diligence after the fact, and don't factor this into the purchase price of the car.

I have always had a rule that I MUST see (and drive) any vehicle I buy up front, to purchase it. I have never been let down by this, and never purchased (ever, ever) a "dud" vehicle. I have seen and driven PLENTY of cars that either had obvious bad juju, or I just didn't have a general good feeling about overall. Often it is the small things, like interior wear, that are dead giveaways to the more hidden factors.

For me the biggest factor in buying a car is always the STORY -- the context around the previous owner, why they sold it, where it was located (southern and western cars only), and so forth.

As a general rule I only buy one-owner cars, or at least long-term owner cars. By the time a car gets to a second or third or fourth owner, the deferred maintenance gets pretty egregious. A one-owner car, the owner is going to make the investment to maintain the car as he/she (they/them?) bought it in the first place.

As Cousin Pierre says, with BaHaT most of the time you really never know what you are getting, and things tend to be slanted/staged (in terms of photographs, boilerplate description text and scanty maintenance history/story of the car) in favor of selling the car. BaHaT doesn't give a rat's ass about a car's provenance and story -- they just want to list and move the car so they can collect their listing and post-sale fees and move on to the next sucker car.

The only condition where I would purchase a BaHaT car would be from a proven, marque-specialist seller who unquestionably has done the provenance-gathering and work up front. And that would be @deanlaumbach or Dave Tobin.

 

[duuder]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda is my favorite theme rant!

Yea, bat use to be real cool with only unique special vehicles, it's just weird to see a plain Jane e320 from people that markets themselves as selling rare cars.

And to the fans that say yoy shouldn't bid or comment b/c you're affecting the sales - many are enthusiast, searchable, and experienced/specialized w/ a particular brand of vehicle and if you're just putting lipstick on a pig, it's very obvious and you'll get called out on. It's a social media platform of course we'll be social w/ it.

We've seen countless sellers blatantly cover up metal cancer and just say, oh a shop just did it to freshen it up. And don't get me started when someone says, "I don't have skin in the game or idk the seller but I would definitely bid" thats typically code for shilling

 

[maw1124]

^^^ I think you mean "unsocial media platform" which is the problem.

But yes I agree.

It's all the reason why caveat emptor remains the law of the land. Maybe the kids don't understand that.

maw

 

[gerryvz]

I made a pretty good rant about Diesel Hipsters in Cousin Pierre's video comments in response to a poor fellow who thought that Cousin Pierre looks like a bearded liberal, lol. Have to be careful about calling out Diesel Hipsters too much, I know the @gsxr has some DH friends in the pacific northwest.

 

[maw1124]

How about not calling anyone out for their beliefs, which are just as valid as yours?

Actions of course are a different story.

Just suggesting a practical solution to the problem.

maw

 

[gerryvz]

How about not calling anyone out for their beliefs, which are just as valid as yours?

Actions of course are a different story.

Just suggesting a practical solution to the problem.

maw

The whole "Diesel Hipster" thing is a long-standing, inside joke. Sorry for not making that apparent up front. It's completely un-serious.....

 

[gerryvz]

I'm sure @gsxr is already burning up the email with links to @Zeitgeist and others.....

 

[maw1124]

The whole "Diesel Hipster" thing is a long-standing, inside joke. Sorry for not making that apparent up front. It's completely un-serious.....

I'm always careful calling out people for beliefs... sort of an 8Billion people thing.

By all means, please continue yanking @gsxr chain...

maw

 

[gerryvz]

@gsxr started out with Benzes as a W123 Diesel Hipster, less the tackiness/beard/greasiness and love for restaurant frying oil. Then he graduated to 124s, then the V-8 W124s.

Yet, even after all these years, you can take the @gsxr out of a diesel, but you can't take the diesel out of the @gsxr......

 

[gsxr]

Our 500Eboard friend “Cousin Pierre” pontificates on the declining quality of BaHaT auction cars:

Methinks Pierre's unsocial media manager needs some remedial grammar classes... "Why Bringing A Trailer Car Is A Terrible Idea" ???

Also, his opinion is that BaHaT is Photoshopping pictures to make them look better. AFAIK, they don't touch the photos... they upload whatever the seller provides. Those are either taken by the seller, or by a photographer hired by the seller. Yep, those may be taken to hide bad paint or rust, or Photoshopped, but that's not BaHaT's fault. (Not that I'm defending BaHaT, btw.)

The test drive complaint is valid, many "driving" videos are totally useless. This is where I like seeing a WOT video through several gears, as this provides way more useful information - in a very short amount of time. Sadly, few sellers ever do this. And, some peanut gallerists could wring hands about the "abuse" on the car.

 

[gerryvz]

Methinks Pierre's unsocial media manager needs some remedial grammar classes... "Why Bringing A Trailer Car Is A Terrible Idea" ???

Also, his opinion is that BaHaT is Photoshopping pictures to make them look better. AFAIK, they don't touch the photos... they upload whatever the seller provides. Those are either taken by the seller, or by a photographer hired by the seller. Yep, those may be taken to hide bad paint or rust, or Photoshopped, but that's not BaHaT's fault. (Not that I'm defending BaHaT, btw.)

The test drive complaint is valid, many "driving" videos are totally useless. This is where I like seeing a WOT video through several gears, as this provides way more useful information - in a very short amount of time. Sadly, few sellers ever do this. And, some peanut gallerists could wring hands about the "abuse" on the car.

Did you watch the video on 2x, or 4x speed?

 

[gsxr]

Did you watch the video on 2x, or 4x speed?

It was watchable at 2x for about the first half, then he started getting excited and I had to slow down to 1.75-1.5x....

 

[Bogeyman]

It's called the used car business. All kinds of players - some honest, some not. Never gonna be perfect.

 

[sheward]

The used car business, as well as the new car business, has always been known for wide open deceit, going WAY back. What's sad, is the rest of "buisness america" has now caught up. Now I focus my disgust on businesses where I have no choice but to be lied to. I see the car guys as amateurs.

 

[RicardoD]

I just completed a series of back and forth with BaT on my 1994 E500, took all new photos, wrote a lengthy service history, and basically they spend days pressuring me to lower my reserve to the point where the reserve was equivalent to NO RESERVE for me. I think it is a tough market out there now, they are on the front lines, but it wasn't so fun dealing with the back and forth. And they consistently take 24hrs to respond to any email, dragging things out further. I ended up walking away and may try again in the spring if my vehicle continues to sit unsold. They cited the high mileage on my vehicle and the last two crappy E500E auctions as the reasons to encourage a low reserve price. No amount of reasoning on my part made any difference.

 

[gsxr]

They cited the high mileage on my vehicle and the last two crappy E500E auctions as the reasons to encourage a low reserve price. No amount of reasoning on my part made any difference.

More specifically, the HaT Muppets cherry-picked terrible comps, linked below. The silver car was nice but located in Canada, which automatically comes with a lower price / lower interest. The other is the in-famous flipper who doesn't want to let buyers pay for a PPI because it's a waste of his time.

SOLD - 1991 500E, Silver/Black, 231kkm, BaT auction - Euro-spec (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) | Cars for Sale - 500E / E500 ONLY

No affiliation. Looks decent in the photos, and it has the correct Euro headlights! Pity it doesn't have SRS (airbags). VIN = WDB1240361B598263 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-mercedes-benz-500e-6/ Datacard: https://www.lastvin.com/vin/41My62Y8WW3Eve9Ng Euro 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500E...

www.500eboard.co

SOLD - 1993 500E, Pearl Black/Black, 122Kmi, $45k (Stonecrest, GA) | Cars for Sale - 500E / E500 ONLY

Moderator edit 1: Price reduced from $35k to $30k May-2023, see post #9 below. Thread title updated. Moderator edit 2: For sale by flipper June 2023 on BaHaT, see post #11 below. Thread title updated. Moderator edit 3: Re-listed by flipper August 2023 on BaHaT, see post #37 below. Moderator...

www.500eboard.co

500E & E500

Browse and bid online for the chance to own a Mercedes-Benz 500E & E500 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.

bringatrailer.com

 

[maw1124]

Geez Man… the kids don’t pay attention these days… resorting to some sort of graphical data is all they can muster… they don’t understand information (the interpretation of data), only data… or worse, they understand only the information from the data that supports their business needs at any point… hence, traveling and meeting the sellers, driving the cars, etc. becomes the smart and revolutionary thing to do.

Something about a world of universal deceit…

maw

 

[sheward]

Good move, Ricardo. It's not a good time seasonally, economically or politically to sell.

 

[gerryvz]

It won’t be a good time to consider selling until after early November, 2024.

 

[duuder]

@gsxr started out with Benzes as a W123 Diesel Hipster, less the tackiness/beard/greasiness and love for restaurant frying oil. Then he graduated to 124s, then the V-8 W124s.

Yet, even after all these years, you can take the @gsxr out of a diesel, but you can't take the diesel out of the @gsxr......


View attachment 176113

thx for the explanation. these hipsters are making a comeback minus the diesel thing in nyc. fun fact, people use to call me a hipster back in the day but it was before the bearded, burley look was established

 

[gerryvz]

Hipsters have always been around. There was a major explosion of them in the 2000-2010 time frame, but as they grew up and had to get jobs, have careers, start families and such their ranks have diminished. It was really bad when I lived in Portland OR, not so much when I lived in the Houston area. Nowadays I just don't care - hipsters don't own boats so I don't come into contact with them much.

 

[puchak]

Reading the comments/posts in here, I have a story about a deceptive BaT seller.

Several months ago, I purchased a 300TE 4Matic from a seller on eBay that had won the car in an BaT auction about a year ago. On the surface, it looked great via the FaceTime call we made, looked like it just needed some TLC. I paid him and then I arranged it for shipping. When the car arrived, holy sh*t... I could not believe how poorly taken care of the car was.

It was plagued with problems. Broken interior pieces, snail shells everywhere, low power, poor transmission (that was stated as only needing a "modulator adjustment") which is now getting entirely replaced, and lots of disgusting stains. Mind you, the guy had owned the car for about a year. There is just no way he could have destroyed it that quick.

The buyer whomst I bought the car from, was most certainly decieved. Here is the auction, look how pepped up the photos and comments are: No Reserve: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300TE 4MATIC

Lesson learned: Inspect the car in-person before buying it, would've saved me a headaches/money.

Albeit having to get a new transmission, I have had a lot of fun fixing it. Hoping to translate this knowledge to a 500E build I will take on one day. Yes, I know the 4Matic is a pain in the ass - don't remind me. Here are some photos...

 

[LWB250]

I just completed a series of back and forth with BaT on my 1994 E500, took all new photos, wrote a lengthy service history, and basically they spend days pressuring me to lower my reserve to the point where the reserve was equivalent to NO RESERVE for me. I think it is a tough market out there now, they are on the front lines, but it wasn't so fun dealing with the back and forth. And they consistently take 24hrs to respond to any email, dragging things out further. I ended up walking away and may try again in the spring if my vehicle continues to sit unsold. They cited the high mileage on my vehicle and the last two crappy E500E auctions as the reasons to encourage a low reserve price. No amount of reasoning on my part made any difference.

At least now they give feedback. Prior to the corporate buyout, they didn't tell you squat, just that the reserve you proposed was not acceptable, good day. I think it was my former 350SDL that I ended up selling NR because they didn't like what I proposed. I emailed them back and asked them to tell me what they thought was appropriate. They ghosted me. I relisted a few days later at NR. I came out OK in the end, but the buyer was a total nutjob.

For example, he didn't even look into a temporary plate or something similar, so he flies in early one morning, comes to pick up the car, hangs around for an hour or so, and then asks if I can leave my plate on the car until he drives it home to MD! Of course, the answer was a very direct 'No!" I told him he needed to go to the tax collector (our DMV) and gave him the address of the closest one. This was about 10:00 am. He texted me about 4:00 pm and said he had everything and was on the road.

About six months later, I started getting dunning notices from the University of Maryland's parking department for unpaid fines. Whaaaa?

Turns out that nutjob never registered the car but was driving it. They ran the VIN and it showed up under my FL title. I told them I would gladly provide a copy of the bill of sale if they liked. That was the last I ever heard from them.

Dan

 

[gsxr]

Several months ago, I purchased a 300TE 4Matic from a seller on eBay that had won the car in an BaT auction about a year ago. On the surface, it looked great via the FaceTime call we made, looked like it just needed some TLC. I paid him and then I arranged it for shipping. When the car arrived, holy sh*t... I could not believe how poorly taken care of the car was.

It was plagued with problems... (snip) Lesson learned: Inspect the car in-person before buying it, would've saved me a headaches/money.

You had to look closely at the BaT photos, but that car was in ROUGH shape inside... and the undercarriage was bad too! I'm not sure what process was used to dress up the underside and remove / hide most of the rust. Does dry ice treatment make that gray/silver appearance, like on the exhaust? The coil springs were one of the cues that something was amiss.

With only 76kmi, this is a classic case of buying an odometer, and a lousy odometer at that. Yeeesh. I hope you got it cheap from the Yorkie on eBay.

@Mercedes>BMW, hopefully this warning example is helpful... be careful out there. With a $50k+ purchase, the price of airfare for an in-person inspection is well worth it.

 

[LWB250]

You had to look closely at the BaT photos, but that car was in ROUGH shape inside... and the undercarriage was bad too! I'm not sure what process was used to dress up the underside and remove / hide most of the rust. Does dry ice treatment make that gray/silver appearance, like on the exhaust? The coil springs were one of the cues that something was amiss.

With only 76kmi, this is a classic case of buying an odometer, and a lousy odometer at that. Yeeesh. I hope you got it cheap from the Yorkie on eBay.

@Mercedes>BMW, hopefully this warning example is helpful... be careful out there. With a $50k+ purchase, the price of airfare for an in-person inspection is well worth it.

The fact that the undercarriage has a consistent finish across the board, yet things like springs are rusty, is a red flag to me. While I'm not sure what would make the undercarriage that color, this is an example where experience pays off and you get a little question mark popping up in the back of your head. Like, "What's wrong with this picture?"

My CL600 was clearly (in my opinion) parked over dirt, grass, or a gravel driveway for a while, because the undercarriage looks just fine, as do all of the suspension parts. But when you get underneath and look up at plated parts like ferrules on hydraulic lines or the metal line clamps, they're rusty. That's an example of condensation on the underside of the car from my experience.

Dan

 

[puchak]

You had to look closely at the BaT photos, but that car was in ROUGH shape inside... and the undercarriage was bad too! I'm not sure what process was used to dress up the underside and remove / hide most of the rust. Does dry ice treatment make that gray/silver appearance, like on the exhaust? The coil springs were one of the cues that something was amiss.

With only 76kmi, this is a classic case of buying an odometer, and a lousy odometer at that. Yeeesh. I hope you got it cheap from the Yorkie on eBay.

My biggest regret is not getting it for cheaper, but I'm not going to mald over something I can't change. I'm still pretty young and very new to the car world in general.

I have a lot of free time and I'm willing to put some money in. I have a good mechanic and a slowly growing arsenal of tools. Luckily, my father is great with basic mechanicals and advanced electronics so I've been able to learn and fix a lot along the way. I think I can definitely get this 300TE into tip-top shape.

Any advice would be appreciated, I'm already familiar with your website and have used it quite a bit.

 

[gsxr]

My biggest regret is not getting it for cheaper, but I'm not going to mald over something I can't change. I'm still pretty young and very new to the car world in general.

I have a lot of free time and I'm willing to put some money in. I have a good mechanic and a slowly growing arsenal of tools. Luckily, my father is great with basic mechanicals and advanced electronics so I've been able to learn and fix a lot along the way. I think I can definitely get this 300TE into tip-top shape.

It's not fun starting out with a vehicle that was not as described and not as expected. You can definitely restore your wagon to top condition, including replacing/repairing some of the worn interior components so the appearance better matches the odometer. Being willing & able to do DIY repairs is a huge plus. I don't know much specifically about the 4Matic system (or M103, or CIS) but the majority of the chassis stuff is similar across all 124's. There's over 2 decades worth of information across multiple discussion forums, the trick is being able to sift through all of it and find what you need.

 

[Jlaa]

It was plagued with problems. Broken interior pieces, snail shells everywhere, low power, poor transmission (that was stated as only needing a "modulator adjustment") which is now getting entirely replaced, and lots of disgusting stains. Mind you, the guy had owned the car for about a year. There is just no way he could have destroyed it that quick.

The buyer whomst I bought the car from, was most certainly decieved. Here is the auction, look how pepped up the photos and comments are: No Reserve: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300TE 4MATIC

Ugh. I looked through all the photos --- I am not very familiar with the TEs, but I do see all the broken interior pieces and I think the thing that all of us don't easily remember to pick up on (at least I don't) is that for every ONE OBVIOUSLY broken interior piece (transmission gate not fitting right, delaminating door pockets, missing panel above driver's ankles(?), loose driver's door "gathered vinyl" insert, beat-up center console storage box, etc.) there are MANY not-easily-seen associated / related interior issues which are causing this ONE issue.

Ugh, I hate interior issues b/c they remind me that a previous owner did not treat the fittings with enough sympathy.

My biggest regret is not getting it for cheaper, but I'm not going to mald over something I can't change. I'm still pretty young and very new to the car world in general.

This is a great attitude. You are off to an early start!!!

PS - take care to investigate that little bit of rust just inside the driver's side cargo-bay window. Make sure there's no leak there that's causing that.

 

[gsxr]

Oh, and I also had to look up "mald"! LOL! Yeah, I'm not a gamer (other than playing the NLA Game, which is a massive time-suck).

 

[Jlaa]

Oh, and I also had to look up "mald"! LOL! Yeah, I'm not a gamer (other than playing the NLA Game, which is a massive time-suck).

I am even more behind than you are. I actually looked up MALD and came up with “Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy.” …… so being extra confused, I gave up on that.

Now I just looked it up AGAIN and found this -

 

[puchak]

It's not fun starting out with a vehicle that was not as described and not as expected. You can definitely restore your wagon to top condition, including replacing/repairing some of the worn interior components so the appearance better matches the odometer. Being willing & able to do DIY repairs is a huge plus. I don't know much specifically about the 4Matic system (or M103, or CIS) but the majority of the chassis stuff is similar across all 124's. There's over 2 decades worth of information across multiple discussion forums, the trick is being able to sift through all of it and find what you need.

I've managed to proxy some stuff from Japan, UAE, and Germany. The unique 4Matic drag link was on it's last legs, I was lucky enough to find a lightly used one from Dubai -- I'm going to replace it when I get my transmission from Sun Valley.

The only real headache I've had is finding the inner mirror trim in parchment, as 1993 was the first year for the twin electric motor, and the last year of that style of W124 generation. Can anyone confirm this? I have a newer inner mirror trim piece but the fitment is slightly off as well as the color.

Ugh, I hate interior issues b/c they remind me that a previous owner did not treat the fittings with enough sympathy.

I think the car was passed down to some careless kid. The shot transmission, terrible aftermarket sound system, and various broken interior pieces all point to it. I'll take a look into that rear cargo space, thank you!

I appreciate the kind words, sorry for derailing the topic!

Also: I didn't know mald was unique to gamers... LOL.

 

[gsxr]

The only real headache I've had is finding the inner mirror trim in parchment, as 1993 was the first year for the twin electric motor, and the last year of that style of W124 generation. Can anyone confirm this? I have a newer inner mirror trim piece but the fitment is slightly off as well as the color.

This is correct. 1993 was the first year of driver side electric mirror, and the last for interior xx5 = Cream Beige. As of 1994 (USA model year) / facelift, xx5 color changed to Parchment.

Photos of the color change are at this link.

Easiest solution may be to obtain the correct trim piece in any color, from any 1993-up 124, and dye (paint) it Cream-Beige. I like to file down the prong on the trim piece so it doesn't stick so damned tightly that it breaks upon removal.

 

[puchak]

Easiest solution may be to obtain the correct trim piece in any color, from any 1993-up 124, and dye (paint) it Cream-Beige. I like to file down the prong on the trim piece so it doesn't stick so damned tightly that it breaks upon removal.

Any recommendation on paint? Attached is the weird fitment of the piece I picked up. The part number is accurate, all prongs are in, obviously the shade is slightly off. Maybe the door panel has some sag?

Seeing this is BaT thread, the last MBMarket thread hasn't been touched for a couple years. With time passed, what does everyone think?

 

[gsxr]

Any recommendation on paint? Attached is the weird fitment of the piece I picked up. The part number is accurate, all prongs are in, obviously the shade is slightly off. Maybe the door panel has some sag?

@Jlaa had the same question for matching dye/paint - not sure if he found an answer. Click here. The triangle trim and/or door panel may have some deformity over the years resulting in the imperfect fitment, but over time you may not notice (much).

Seeing this is BaT thread, the last MBMarket thread hasn't been touched for a couple years. With time passed, what does everyone think?

I don't even remember the MBM thread. My primary gripes with MBM are they have a plethora of UI/UX issues that they apparently have no interest in rectifying, which makes it annoying to use their site. I don't know if it's better or worse platform vs Hearst-A-Trailer, but it may have an edge since it's Mercedes-specific, but I don't know how well they are known in general - how many potential buyers might never find a car for sale on MBM?

 

[puchak]

PS - take care to investigate that little bit of rust just inside the driver's side cargo-bay window. Make sure there's no leak there that's causing that.

I just wanted to say thank you for this notice, I looked into it today.

Apparently these cargo bay window seals were poorly treated by Mercedes-Benz and they're very prone to rust. There is some surface rust on both sides, luckily the metal is intact without any serious structural damage. I'm going to treat this next year before I get a paint correction done, I'm a bit scared to remove the windows. Original seals are still available for ~$150 a piece.

Oh, how fun!

 

[gerryvz]

Note that HaT now has an "app" for all of you iPhone owners.

The @gsxr will, of course, never be able to experience this wonder of technology....

‎Bring a Trailer Auctions

‎Bring a Trailer Auctions are the best way to discover, discuss, and buy classic, collector, and enthusiast vehicles. We curate vehicles submitted by our users and craft transparent auction listings that present the vehicles as they are—without superlatives or dubious used-car-lot language...

apps.apple.com

 

[maw1124]

Classic car auction site Bring a Trailer's sales hit record $1.4 billion even as prices drop

Bring a Trailer's sales climbed in a rare bright spot for the classic-car market.

www.cnbc.com

maw

 

[maw1124]

Classic car auction site Bring a Trailer's sales hit record $1.4 billion even as prices drop

Bring a Trailer's sales climbed in a rare bright spot for the classic-car market.

www.cnbc.com

maw

You should read the article @gsxr... lots of gems in there... more volume, prices decreasing elsewhere but holding on BaT, more high dollar sales on BaT... very interesting look at what we know has become a Big Data auto play... all about the data... data > opinions.

maw

 

[sheward]

@gsxr started out with Benzes as a W123 Diesel Hipster, less the tackiness/beard/greasiness and love for restaurant frying oil. Then he graduated to 124s, then the V-8 W124s.

Yet, even after all these years, you can take the @gsxr out of a diesel, but you can't take the diesel out of the @gsxr......


View attachment 176113

I spoke with a good friend last night. Although he is the furthest thing from a "diesel hipster", he's bidding on this car.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-mercedes-benz-300td-turbo-41/

 

[maw1124]

I spoke with a good friend last night. Although he is the furthest thing from a "diesel hipster", he's bidding on this car.

That price is a revelation...

maw

 

[sheward]

Yes, for me too.

 

[gsxr]

I spoke with a good friend last night. Although he is the furthest thing from a "diesel hipster", he's bidding on this car.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-mercedes-benz-300td-turbo-41/

Drew, has your friend ever owned either a 123 chassis or OM617 engine? Or at least driven one?

 

[duuder]

I spoke with a good friend last night. Although he is the furthest thing from a "diesel hipster", he's bidding on this car.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-mercedes-benz-300td-turbo-41/

View attachment 182282

thats hipster money bro

 

[ccrelan]

David Hendy has a very cool yellow W123 wagon f/s for a fraction of the price. Fleet Liquidation: Mercedes-Benz 300E 300CE W123 W124 etc

 

[maw1124]

Drew, has your friend ever owned either a 123 chassis or OM617 engine? Or at least driven one?

I mean... I get it in theory... but my guys have been talking me off a 123 TD for some time now... "Marcus, you're not going to be able to get that car to act like you want it to. You should go drive one first." And so I took good advice and don't have one.

maw