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Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids Appreciation Thread

Philpug

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I know @Muleski, @bbinder and @The Dad hang out on BaT and I am not sure who else but this place is Barrett-Jackson, Mecum and Bonhams all rolled into one...but with cars that working class guys dream of and can afford...well most of them, there is still some 6 digit cars that roll through but for the most part, if you are looking for fun cars that you want to collect or even that are still good for daily driving or a third car as a toy, it is a fun place to drool.

Some examples...
One of my favorite cars from my youth...83 GTI. I have this car in 84...same color too.
2-7-940x705.jpg


Want an old pick up? How about this 63 F-100 with 3 on the tree.

DSC07040.jpg


Are you into rally cars? How about a Renault R5T2 Evolution?

59ca86fbd02ff_Renault-R5-Evo-for-sale-A-GC.com-1-1-e1506532728760-940x635.jpg


What about Miata's, here is a nice Sunburst Yellow that sold a few months ago..I think it was to help fund a website.

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Check out there current auctions and even spend some time searching through the completed ones...there is some really cool stuff there.
 

Muleski

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Great thread.

BAT is pretty fascinating. I love cars, and always have. Have neither the budget nor the space to be a real collector. This is a site that is really interesting, in many ways. Lots of knowledge among the folks who post during the auctions. Some really interesting cars, and many cars from the days of our youth.

It's fun to watch the auctions unfold. Sometimes there seems to be a feeding frenzy as the clock winds down. Last minute bids reset the timer. No "sniping" like EBay.

Most of these cars are really well presented, with great pictures, detailed information and history. That alone can be good reading! And probably a good thing to think about even if you're selling a car on CL.

It's sort of reopened my eyes about some of the great values out there, and some cars which have rising prices.

I have owned a Sprite, Datsun 510, TR6, couple Sciroccos, GTI......and on, and on. EVERY one of these cars pops up for auction on BAT. As well as the newer car that I sort of crave, the Honda S2000.

The business model is pretty interesting, to say the least. The cars must be accepted by BAT.

There is a 2003 Tacoma on there now. 53K miles.
For you mountain folks!

A great looking 2002. Another from the junkyard of my past.

Highly encourage any car folks to check it out!

Makes me crave more space, and budget.
 

scott43

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Like Muleski says, I like the fact you get good pictures and honest representations from knowledgeable car people on what they're selling. For instance, there's a yellow with tan interior 911 on there..for a decent price..it's rough..but fixable for me. Body is good..everything else I can fix. The trust level is there.

$19k. Decent deal..

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-porsche-911s-targa-3/
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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If you think about their business model, it is simple brilliance. they do not touch one car and get no oil on their hands. They get 5% of the sale price from the seller and $99 to list. Lets say the average selling price is say a conservative $20,000, they get 20 cars running a day 5 days a week. Thats $2.5M in commission plus another $25K in listing fees for spending cash. Do you think that Barrett-Jackson and Mecum aren't paying attention? Do you think that BaT is not costing them some business? Do I see one of these giants coming in and buying Bat? this will be interesting to watch. I think they provide a service and I do not seeing anyone complaining about the fees which are really more than fair especially when the giants or charging 7-10% as both seller AND buyers fees.
 

bbinder

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Thanks for reminding me to go take a look over there.
 

Muleski

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If you think about their business model, it is simple brilliance. they do not touch one car and get no oil on their hands. They get 5% of the sale price from the seller and $99 to list. Lets say the average selling price is say a conservative $20,000, they get 20 cars running a day 5 days a week. Thats $2.5M in commission plus another $25K in listing fees for spending cash. Do you think that Barrett-Jackson and Mecum aren't paying attention? Do you think that BaT is not costing them some business? Do I see one of these giants coming in and buying Bat? this will be interesting to watch. I think they provide a service and I do not seeing anyone complaining about thr fees which are really more than fair especially when the giants or charging 7-10% as both seller AND buyers fees.

Phil and I have chatted about this. He's not alone. This is a business that really works. It's pretty simple, the technology is not too complicated, and it spins off a ton of cash. I'd be surprised if one of the two big guys does not make a play for it, but I think it could command a HUGE price. There have to be copycats soon to be launched, but BAT has a nice brand image, many followers.

I get intrigued by the entire thing. Cars, Pictures, comments, "watching" the auctions, guessing my head on the final price {sometimes close, more often out to lunch!}

Check it out!
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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Phil and I have chatted about this. He's not alone. This is a business that really works. It's pretty simple, the technology is not too complicated, and it spins off a ton of cash. I'd be surprised if one of the two big guys does not make a play for it, but I think it could command a HUGE price. There have to be copycats soon to be launched, but BAT has a nice brand image, many followers.

I get intrigued by the entire thing. Cars, Pictures, comments, "watching" the auctions, guessing my head on the final price {sometimes close, more often out to lunch!}

Check it out!
Now, If only vintage ski gear had any realistic value...I would start BaSB (Bring a Ski Bag). It would make tens of dollars!
 

Mikey

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Been a member over there since 2012 before the auctions. It's has been interesting to watch the evolution. Ever since it became extremely tedious and now almost impossible to go back and find certain cars, I had been ragging on them to make data more accessible. As @Philpug pointed out, they are pulling in some serious dough, so bringing in a good developer (if they didn't have one) to add some features shouldn't be a big deal. Doubt my ragging had anything to do with it, but if you haven't noticed at the top of many expired auctions, there is a link to historical prices for a given type of car. For example, using the Porsche auction mentioned above, there is this link: https://bringatrailer.com/porsche/impact-bumper-911/ Here you will find all current and past auctions as well as a price history. A definite improvement, but there is no way to access those areas without first going to an expired auction and there isn't a way to do any kind of specific search which....given the widgets/back end in place shouldn't be hard, but it's clear they want to present it more like a curated area. So let's say I want to see price and auction history of a Mazda Miata. First of all, If I'm a new user, I wouldn't know how to access that information and for a user like me that knows about it, I have to press "View Older 2 or 3 times (maybe more depending on browser) to get an expired Mazda auction to come up. Kind of kludgy and could be a lot more slick/user friendly.

Obviously, comments are important for all sorts of reason. First is the cars get vetted by some experts with very keen eyes. Been funny to watch new sellers who are not familiar with the site get their rear-end handed to them when trying to gloss over or hide anything detrimental. Then there are the personal stories, history and then everything else. For the most part, very entertaining and almost always informative.

I've never understood the big deal about only the highest bidder having the capability of contacting the seller after the auction. I can't be the only person to know that if you contact the seller before the auction ends that you now have his contact information. Besides, I've been interested enough in a few cars that I have contacted the seller and would never just go off of what was or was not offered up by the seller in the comments.

Wonder if "Kyle K" is a real person :)
 

Muleski

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Man, you don't see these that often. Not looking like this. I have a friend who owns a couple of Subie stores who may be entering the fray on this one. He's having somebody check it out up close. Pretty cool.
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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Man, you don't see these that often. Not looking like this. I have a friend who owns a couple of Subie stores who may be entering the fray on this one. He's having somebody check it out up close. Pretty cool.
I sold Subies back then. IIRC these were like $18-19K which was not cheap for that day. There were these and the 3 Door counterpart. They were available in either the white on white like this oen or black with gold trim (and wheel covers).
 

trailtrimmer

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I'm far more interested in the Subaru Alcyone SVX

The Subaru answer to the Talon/Laser/Eclipse. Miss my Talon, the fist additional 50 HP was dirt cheap. Could easily push 400 HP on stock internals, but the trans certainly didn't like it.
 

scott43

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The Subaru answer to the Talon/Laser/Eclipse. Miss my Talon, the fist additional 50 HP was dirt cheap. Could easily push 400 HP on stock internals, but the trans certainly didn't like it.
That's kinda why I like the Acura Integra. Good HP and durable tranny.
 

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