Garage
A Bring-a-Trailer Experience – BUY MY CAR!
A Bring-a-Trailer Experience
BUY MY CAR!
After a few frustrating months on Autotrader, dealing mostly with either scammers – those who want you to go off Autotrader to deal directly – or auto wholesalers, I asked an auto-centric friend what he would suggest. Bring-a-Trailer was at the top of his list, so I went to the site and looked around.
Bring-a-Trailer (BaT) is an online auction, and is very selective in determining which vehicles make the grade for listing. Those listings represent a wide variety of vehicles, but they need to be in good condition (except for those labeled ‘projects’) and either of special interest, luxury or exotic. The auction lasts exactly 7 days, and you can set a reserve – which we did.
We wanted to set a reserve to the minimum price that we were willing to accept. However, BaT insisted that we set it no higher than the wholesale price, which gave us heartburn. But, after looking at other similar vehicles, I convinced my husband Gil to take the chance. I then registered and sent in a few photos of the vehicle and proof that I owned it. The next day the vehicle was accepted. I was assigned a specialist tasked with writing the description. I fed him all the specs, what I thought was special about the car, any flaws and then waited. In the meantime, BaT sent their own recommendations on what to do to be successful.
After a couple of drafts, I approved the write-up – at which point I was in the queue. I had read from other users that it could take a couple of weeks or so for BaT to put the vehicle on auction and not to expect any advance notice. As it turns out, our beloved BMW M4 went on auction on July 2nd, only a couple of days before the July 4th holiday. My stomach sank, certain that no one would see it and we wouldn’t even make reserve, or worse…it would sell at wholesale.
On the evening of July 2nd we saw a small flurry of activity on the auction – a $2,000 starting bid that made it up to $8,700. Not auspicious. On July 3rd it went from $10,000 to $14,000. On the evening of July 4th – 48 hours after the process started – the bidding reached $30,000, still well under reserve. Then nothing. We weren’t feeling hopeful. Bidding was to end on July 9th at 4:55PM local time. On July 9th, early bidding was still under reserve. In fact, at 4:14PM, 41 minutes away from the end of the auction, we were still $6,000 under reserve. We couldn’t breathe but couldn’t look away, either.
At 4:43pm – just 12 minutes from the auction’s end – one of our 501 watchers posted a popcorn emoji with “here we go”. Exactly one minute later the bidding began in earnest. In all, there were 33 more bids and almost as many posts from the many watchers. Our 4:55pm auction end was extended to 5:09pm with the bidding. In the end, buyer, seller and watchers were very happy. Ours was a happy ending – we got the value that we thought appropriate ($64K) and the buyer will enjoy a fantastic sportscar.
Photos – I took 98 photos of the vehicle and eight miscellaneous photos of documents. I made sure to take photos from every angle, in an open park setting – with no distractions – on a nice day. I took flattering photos as well as photos of the M4’s few imperfections. I also posted videos of a warm start, cold start, driving on residential streets, and driving on the highway.
Maintenance Records – I kept the vehicle well-maintained even when the 5-year maintenance and the brake service came due just before and during the auction. I made sure they all knew what I was doing. I also posted a photo of the maintenance records fanned out to show that I had them.
Answered Questions Honestly – There were quite a few questions, and I felt it made a difference by answering all promptly and honestly. There were also a few snarky questions and comments, but I stayed polite and on point. I discovered that the BaT customers know their cars! I was pleasantly surprised when those same customers shut down the snarky commenters.
Made Smart Investments – Having the vehicle detailed, keeping up with inconvenient maintenance and getting a diagnostic report to show that I had not abused my sportscar were investments that I think made a difference. Instead of the expected multitude of questions for me on the final day of the auction, there were no additional questions for me but there were comments that my sale had been “Most impressive re the research and detail of what is being posted. Refreshing.” That was just after I had posted the DME diagnostic report.
Verified Check-Out – BaT offers a verified check out service which my buyer happily used. It made the payment, transfer of title and transport easy! Also I was lucky to have a great buyer who knows his vehicles and looks like someone who will love our little sportscar as much as we did.
