Auction House for Cars and Bikes

[Sonor]

A friend just turned me on to this site, https://bringatrailer.com/ . As such, I wasn't sure if y'all knew about it or not but it is rather fun. Apparently, when a bid is about to close and someone puts a bid in before it closes, the clock is reset to 2 minutes. That happens after each "last bid" until the new 2 minute clock runs out. Then the last bidder wins. There are also experts answering questions about each vehicle live during the auctions. So my friend says, it is fun at the time of close to watch the web traffic, get informed about cars/parts, and learn what things are bringing the higher prices today.

[9Mary7]

 

This is a good warning video re: BaT

Tyler doesn't name the site he bought this through but most believe it was BaT as several commenters watched this car get auctioned off there. Just an FYI

[roadscholar]

I'd call that an exception and a rare one at that. Most transactions get done with both parties satisfied mainly because of the vetting up front and the very knowledgeable gallery keeping sellers honest. Albeit most of the stuff are post war European and not some oddball muscle car that few care about on there. Then there's Hoovie, a self-promoting youtube star that admitted he stole it then bitched when it bit him, didn't watch the whole thing but pretty sure I got the gist. The old adage you get what you pay for applies, and he did say it was BAT early in the vid..

 

IMO BaT has done more for the collector car market than almost any other source simply because buyers think they can trust the transaction and rightly so, unlike some of the big live auction houses. Whenever an unscrupulous seller slips thru the cracks they get banned I believe permanently so that's a pretty serious incentive to keep things on the up and up too.

 

Again, BaT's helping drive values up for the really nice and important stuff because folks trust the process for the most part in a world otherwise seeping with fraud, I mean they're used cars : ) It's about time too because houses like B-J and others helped erode that trust with all the hype and BS shenanigans they deployed over the past 30 years. 

 

Edit, just watched Hoovie's  latest "How I got scammed on a Superbird" vid in which he admits he now works for Barrett-Jackson so who knows what's going on there.

  

  

 

 

[9Mary7]

 

Never bought anything without inspecting it myself........ Don't have the money to throw away. Hoovie is an interesting case though, he seems to look for the deal that is gonna make the least sense, and it has been profitable for him. 

[Rougarou]

1 hour ago, 9Mary7 said:

 

Never bought anything without inspecting it myself........ Don't have the money to throw away. Hoovie is an interesting case though, he seems to look for the deal that is gonna make the least sense, and it has been profitable for him. 

 

The house we bought on 2007 was sight unseen purchase.   We lived in Japan and didnt want to rush when we got back to the states to buy a house. 

[roadscholar]

6 hours ago, 9Mary7 said:

 

Never bought anything without inspecting it myself........ Don't have the money to throw away.  

 

Same here, amazing how many that do though. Been around and in the car biz a long time and it seems BaT has cleverly alleviated most of the pitfalls  which I really believe has helped the market flourish.

 

In the 70's and 80;s I used to go to the news stands Sunday mornings and check classifieds in big city newspapers. I've done Porsche fly and drives to Rochester, Philly (twice), NYC, Denver, Phoenix, and Miami, Atlanta several times. Sometimes I'd take a girlfriend and make a vacation/scenic drive of it, always an adventure (like driving a 58 Speedster from the Great Lakes to Fla w/rock hard minimalist seats, worthless side curtains and windshield wipers [5 inches long and work off vacuum so the faster you went the slower they wiped] and a leaky top, then blew the motor up 40 miles from home racing a 396 Chevelle at 2am on the freeway). Other than that it was a lot of fun : )

 

Only got burned once, in Miami I could spot the bodywork (on the roof no less) before walking through the glass exit doors. A few dudes were standing next to it (black '72 911S), I went outside walked around it once, went back in and got the next flight home, they never knew I was the guy..  

[Hosstage]

Internet sales for all products is of course the norm now, so people (mostly younger generation) assume buying a used car on-line is just like ordering a shirt from Amazon.

Carvana is trying to cash in on that mindset, but it is backfiring on them. Turns out, people tend to exaggerate about the condition of the used car they're selling. And they hardly ever mention the flood damage 

Who knew?

[RandyShields]

A couple of years ago when I was shopping for a car for my wife, some Carvana options came up.  I called and asked them if they would let me inspect and drive it before paying and they said no, that was not their business model.  I said fine, my model was not paying for something in that price range and relying on the ability to send it back for a refund.  Not one regret from that decision.  I thought then that Carvana would go the way of the many epic .com failures.  I read a number of those financial statements -- there was nothing there -- other than the hope that they would be bought out at a ridiculous multiplier

[roadscholar]

Here's an interesting one that ends in about 4.5 hours if anyone's inclined or just wants to watch/check out the process. Doubt it'll break the bank as it sounds more like a "rider"  albeit with just 29k miles. a pretty nice one. BTW if not familiar they are great bikes to ride, the original 'gentleman's express', first motorcycle with a frame mounted fairing, Hans Muth designed.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-bmw-r100rs-4/

 

 

[MikeB60]

21 hours ago, roadscholar said:

Here's an interesting one that ends in about 4.5 hours if anyone's inclined or just wants to watch/check out the process. Doubt it'll break the bank as it sounds more like a "rider"  albeit with just 29k miles. a pretty nice one. BTW if not familiar they are great bikes to ride, the original 'gentleman's express', first motorcycle with a frame mounted fairing, Hans Muth designed.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-bmw-r100rs-4/

 

 

It went for 7500.  I always liked the RS, my 1st BMW was a 1981 RT in smoke red.  Great motorcycles!

[roadscholar]

6 hours ago, MikeB60 said:

It went for 7500.  I always liked the RS, my 1st BMW was a 1981 RT in smoke red.  Great motorcycles!

 

Thanks Mike, got busy and didn't see the ending. Those were great bikes, in the late 80's I had an R80RT that a previous owner had converted to an RS with all original parts, then later an 88 R100RT, two of the more fun and memorable bikes I've had. That RT with a Parabellum windshield was the most still/quiet cockpit I've ever experienced including 3 generations of Goldwings.

 

In 1976 when the R100RS came out a cousin (known in the family as crazy Harry for his risky long distance exploits, ie racing seaplanes across Canada, landing solo on the North Pole several times, Barrow, AK to Key west in a J3 Cub, etc.) rode one non stop from Orlando to Montreal in officially 24 hours but remember hearing it was actually more like 18 which is averaging 79mph, maybe a little crazy : )