kokolyia

What do you guys think of these auction websites? I've repeatedly seen cars going for more on these online auctions than the equivalent does in a typical online ad. On top of that, I don't see much of an opportunity for people to perform PPIs or test-drive or simply just check the car out. It kind of blows my mind.

Newport IRL

They have driven up the price of collectible cars pretty substantially and have created a market for professional car flippers. How many BAT listings have you seen that is car acquired in the last 2-3 years. A neighbor sold his GT4 on BAT and did fine, but it was a lengthy process to get it listed. I wouldn’t consider a purchase unless it was local to me. No thanks otherwise.

docwyte

It depends? My friend sold his extremely nice arena red 993 c4s on BaT and it brought what it should've. He was disappointed it didn't sell for more. I sold my corrado vr6 on BaT and I feel it under performed there, based on what recent sales before and after of like corrados brought. So I do think there are some decent deals to be had there. An issue is unless you're local to the car, you're bidding blindly as there's no way to inspect it...

Turbo Racer

I have mixed feelings but slant toward the negative after reading some posts on the 964 sub forum written by people who know a heck of a lot about these cars.

1. Did not sell a car that should’ve sold, but on any day, you need 1-2, preferably more people who want that car enough to go crazy. A little or a lot.
2. Bought some wheels that quite a bit better in the pictures compared to when I got them.
3. In the 964 forum, there’s been some talk that comments critical to a car have been censored. Actually helpful comments censored.
4. Buyer needs to do due diligence quick, like see it, drive it or get PPI asap o/w you roll the dice.
5. Pictures don’t show details like seeing it in person. Some make things worse, others don’t show nearly enough.
6. This was/is a great platform for cars that resemble the need for the webs namesake, but it’s dicey when it comes to expensive vehicles, especially restorations when who knows what has been done and hidden.
7. A lot hinges on the sellers integrity.
8. The peanut gallery. Honestly, there are people with 10s of thousands of comments with nary a bid. These people should be deleted on. Just a bunch of noise and there are so many who comment who have no idea what they’re talking about and post incorrect information. I’d make a rule that comments could only be made by vetted people who are knowledgeable on that particular car with legitimate bona fides or are actually bidding on the car.
9. People get insane on this sight. Like this isn’t Vegas and you aren’t about to win the lotto. Like dude, you just paid $20k more than the going price of a car that you could buy from a dealer where you cans do all the things listed in 4. above.
10. Shill bids from sellers friends or allies. Shady but I’ve heard enough mentions about this to believe it happens.
11. Car sales not completed, due to a variety of reasons.


That said, I will buy again off the sites if I find something I like/want and believe there are good buys to be found, but I go in with both eyes open. I would hit the contact seller button right when I see something I’m serious about in order to weed through a lot of this stuff. Ok, rant off. Hopefully this was helpful and not to negative. Just what I’ve seen.

TrillyPop

Modded and "lower end" niche cars that aren't super popular amongst the general collector crowd tend to do worse on the auction sites. I think it's just an audience exposure factor combined with the fact that it's a timed auction. I'm sure I could fetch more for my modded VW and Audi cars (and heck probably my 996) on a forum or fb group that caters to those cars, for those reasons. And maybe it's listed for a while before the right buyer comes along, but I think the result would be better.
And yes, I think the prices get out of control sometimes from bidding wars, pride, boredom, money laundering, who knows...

docwyte

Yeah, the thing is a corrado sold for 50% more a few months before mine, same color, not as nice as mine. Several have sold for 80-100% more since. So whatever it was, there weren't the buyers that day when my auction was coming to an end. Nothing I can do about it, I just bring it up to illustrate that not every car that sells on BaT is selling for a premium.

wross996tt

I am getting ready to sell my 996TT Cab (1 owner, <20K miles, garage queen). It has just gotten to the point that I don't drive it and it should be driven. It is modified, carefully with components from respected sellers. No doubt it is customized to my liking and that may not appeal to others. I'm not sure how to go about the sale so I've been watch threads like these to get fellow enthusiasts opinions. I was thinking of BAT, but really I'm a complete novice when it comes to selling cars. Open to any and all suggestions. TIA

ram_g

I have twice tried to list what I thought were perfectly acceptable cars (a '93 Mustang and a Factory Five Cobra) on BaT and both times was rejected as not meeting their standards (with no other explanation). Given that there were several very similar cars before and after my attempted submissions, I have no idea what their standards were/are, other than "somewhat random".

I will say this - BaT is an unparalled platform to research a car model that you might be interested in buying. The peanut gallery is actually very good at turfing up the sorts of model-specific questions that you should be asking, and since BaT seems to maintain the photo gallery of every single car they've ever listed (no idea how much storage they're incurring for that!) it's a fantastic place to understand what a car should look like on the interior, under hood, suspension, etc. etc. In fact I've used it every now and then to check out some feature of a car that I already have, that I want to check if what I'm seeing looks appropriate for that model.

2fcknfst

I had a good experience on BaT with the 85 targa, now going to try them with an 89 Rolls Royce Silver Spur...

Anyone want a Rolls...?

gietl

I bought my turbo on BaT, I placed a bid I didn't think would stick and it did (but I was willing to buy it at that price otherwise I wouldn't have bid). I have no complaints. It was well presented and the things I feel a bit nit picky on I missed in the abundance of photos. Granted I bought 4 years ago, but felt like I did well even with the BaT fee.

g-50cab

I sold a 74 911 for good money and got a good deal on a 560sl that my wife is still driving. You have to participate as a seller - and you have to answer the questions, even the stupid ones. Other than that - yes there is a huge peanut gallery that you have to cater to - but overall I have been happy as both a buyer and seller