Bring a Trailer (BAT) Thread

M

mrsrobinson

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2006
7,704
Virginia
Boat Info
2001 380DA
Engines
Caterpillar 3126
I recently discovered BAT, and for shits, grins and giggles I watch some of the bidding and comments. I'm curious about a particular car as well so I may end up buying one. And, I am considering selling one of mine on there as well.

Does anyone have personal experience (bought, sold, or both) with the site?

https://bringatrailer.com/
 
Oh that's one of my favorite sites! I don't like auctions but it's a great site to generally see the nicer examples of certain model cars. I have an alert set up for 300zx Twin Turbo. I'll buy another one of those in the future.
 
I have an alert set up as well. It's pretty cool to see the cars and also read the comments and learn.
 
Not sure I've ever seen a good deal go through. Seems like every car gets a crazy high sale price.
 
Yeah that's what I'm seeing as well for the alert I have set up. What seems to me like ridiculous prices for average cars. I'm still learning though. That's one reason I'm considering selling mine on there, to get a ridiculous price.
 
I watch it ever day to see what sold the day before and what's coming up today.

I've bid a few times and won two motorcycles and sold one. It was great fun bidding and a little anxiety selling.

In the old days there were deals to be had but now that the site has gained such popularity with collectors and dealers there's really very little chance of finding a steal. Also, many have unrealistic reserves on their cars.

If I ever decide to sell one of my two interesting cars I'm pretty sure I'd give BAT a chance.
 
Yes, I have purchased 2 vintage Honda bikes, a Porsche 968 Cab, BMW E36 wagon, E93 M3, BMW 525 wagon that I converted to an M5 Wagon, a 1954 Chev Sedan Delivery and a 1996 Jaguar XJS Convertable. I have sworn off buying anything more for awhile and sold the 968.
 
I find it a very frustrating and difficult way to buy a car. The cars are only up for one week so no practical way to inspect it. Annoyiny kibitzers love to rave how the car is such a good value but they dont bid and prices are much higher than on Hemmings or other sites. There is a buyers premium and then the car has to be transported. I have bid on several but either the car had a reserve or was outbid at the last minute and was not going to overpay just to win a pissing contest with some stranger. You can not bid automaticlly with a preset max as on ebay. Most of the cars are sold by dealers looking to flip a car they just washed and waxed. All cars look good in photos. One 500 SL I checked out in Jersey on inpection had fish eyes in the paint and parts from other year models, a frankenstein car.
I have learned to never bid on any car with a reserve as you can waste too much time for no purpose. The cost to bring a car from calif can approach 3k so I only look at east cost cars. Only bid in the last 15 minutes as prior biding is meaningless and only drives the bids up. Know what the car is really worth figuring both transportation costs and invarible costs of repairs. Sellers seldom have accurate repair records. I find the best way and least time consuming way to buy a classic is in person from a private seller or second from a local dealer.
 
There are members on BAT that have 1000s and 1000s of knit picking comments who've never bid on a thing, or if they have, it's been some stupid low bid on something they have zero chance of winning. They live to to be relevant there. I take most of what they say with a grain of salt.
 
copb8tx said:
There are members on BAT that have 1000s and 1000s of knit picking comments who've never bid on a thing, or if they have, it's been some stupid low bid on something they have zero chance of winning. They live to to be relevant there. I take most of what they say with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
Ditto all gun sites. They all think they Jesse James/Bill Hickock, Pistolerro Extrodinaire, know everything about pistols, and dont question their authority. and argue over why they cant hit the target at 20 feet. Of course its the manufactuers fault.
 
I hate BaT.

Just kidding, but not really. It's mainly because my wife sent it to my son, who then fell in love with classic Mustangs. That ended costing me a bunch and now I have this in my garage.

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I bid on about a half dozen cars on BaT and was out bid on all of them. I had my limits and just wasn't going to pay more. It's also pretty hard to really assess the state because, as said, you don't have the opportunity to see the car in person.

The one we bought was not on BaT. @Ididntdoit saw it at a show and told me about it. I still have alerts set for 1965-66 Mustangs, and it's fun to see what comes up.
 
We've bought/sold a half dozen cars on BAT. I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. I do know that they (BAT) can be selective about what they will put up for auction. They have turned us down on a few listings.

I also have an alert for 65/66 Mustangs.

If you are selling a car on there, my advice is to hire a pro photographer unless you are really good at it. Take pictures of everything. We sold an older Ferrari and the paint was perfect. The photos I took were okay for a few shots, but it was the high-quality professional photos that made the difference.

Disclose anything that's wrong with it, and make yourself available during the time of the auction to answer questions quickly so you look like an involved seller. As mentioned, tire-kickers and self-proclaimed marque experts will scrutinize every photo and de-rail the auction with commentary.
 
Lately the minimum reserve set by BAT and Cars & Bids is surprisingly low. Lots of potential sellers are not listing their cars. You want 30k and they want the reserve set to 21k. That's a huge difference.

Must be a sign of the times?
 
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