TCG Stories

I saw a friend recently who sells houses. He's not a shark or even a remotely proficient realtor. I actually don't think he's a realtor but just some glorified, "I'll sell your home for less" kind of guy. He's not having a great year, noting that prices are down overall, as is the quality of the homes for sale. 

The collector car market is in much the same place. Average cars are not selling. Average cars that once brought silly money have been trading hands for what they always should have been worth. This 1991 BMW 318is, a driver-quality car with questionable modifications, sold for $20,000 on Bring A Trailer in March 2023. When it reappeared in November of 2024, it sold for $8,000 less, ringing in at $12,000.

The seller was resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to get what he paid; however, who wouldn't say that? The frothiness of the market is pure fiction, hyped up by non-bidders that gin up the action to see an exciting result. They aren't there when you tell your wife you took an $8,000 loss on a car she didn't want you to buy. 

Like everything in life, there are kingmakers and there are pawns. The kingmakers set the market so it works to their advantage, and the pawns unwittingly execute the strategy. The collector and hobby car market continues to settle, and the likes of Hagerty and Sports Car Market will tell you it's normal, typical, and all part of the plan. But like the collapse of the housing market and mortgage-backed securities in 2008, one has to wonder if this market - in its own small, unique way - is just as propped up to benefit the 1 percenters like everything else in life. 

In the meantime, buy cautiously and don't pay attention to pricing models based in BaT results. 

Many of you know Rob Siegel, the so-called "Hack Mechanic" who is known by many in the vintage BMW circle. He's particularly famous for owning and driving, to his credit, cosmetically-challenged BMWs that he repairs in his garage, side of the road, and wherever else he finds himself behind the wheel of an otherwise risky vehicle.

He's also a writer, and regularly opines about his experiences fixing said BMWs. He also talks about selling vehicles on occasion, and is sought-out to consign vehicles on behalf of sellers who don't want to bother with the arduous process of listing on sites like Bring A Trailer. 

Recently, he wrote about selling his aunt's Bentley convertible. What struck me was how the Hack Mechanic, the revolutionary hobby car guy, was completely fine with BaT telling him he couldn't have his reserve price of $75K, knocking him down to a paltry $55K. This was after, of course, he submitted legions of photos and data, undoubtedly spending upwards of 3 hours getting all of this information uploaded. 

I likened this to taking a job where they promise you'll get to your target salary number with the bonus - except the bonus is contingent on company performance. And after you've worked there a year, you find out you should have asked for your original number in salary and not a non-existent bonus. 

Being told what you should sell your car for based on the auction house's likelihood of making money on it is no different than working for a lower salary based on a wink and a nudge from a corporation that they might make enough money to pay you a bonus. 

So, over the last few weeks I've been cleaning house a bit. I sold a 1999 911 and my 1995 Audi S6. I am actively trying to sell my 1997 Lexus LX450 (Land Cruiser), but that's being done in pursuit of a different daily driver. Regardless, I've been in sales mode. 

The 911 took far too long to sell, but it at least went to the first guy who contacted me about it. He needed time to put the money together and after two flops of potential buyers in between, it still went to the one buyer who showed the most interest. The S6 sold quite quickly because I discounted it a bit in the interest of a fast sale. The Lexus Land Cruiser - too early to say. I've got a lot into that truck and can't give it away, but I'm eager to move into something else so it may have to be sold at a loss. 

One thing that stood out to me: our obsession with selling cars via auction format listings is more curious than ever. Let's take Bring A Trailer: the average time it takes to get a vehicle listed is 4-6 weeks. Even with its extended sales process, the 911 took 4 weeks to move on after the original listing went up. The S6 took about 8 hours with a great price attached. My point is, selling via auction isn't making the sales process any faster. It's simply giving you the adrenaline rush of a bid here, a bid there, as opposed to the lull between emails or Facebook Marketplace messages. 

But boy, a lot of enthusiasts are absolutely convinced an auction is the way to go. I suppose the decimation of any decent online classifieds sites doesn't help, so you can understand why sites like BaT have become so popular. But to convince yourself that it's a faster way to sell a car is silly, and if you can be patient and accept the fact that you're going to have to deal with the occasional bouts of silence between potential suitors for your old car, you're liable to make just as much money and deal with far less internet scrutiny from strangers in the comments section. 

One of the biggest misconceptions of the modern age is who has money and who doesn't. The folks we think are killing it on YouTube actually aren't; the people controlling the purse strings are the same people it's always been. In this instance, a wave of content creators of fairly popular YouTube channels have been coming clean and reporting that not only have they not been killing it, but that their channels were taken over by private equity bros. 

This is so strange to me. Some of these channels have a million subscribers, sure, but it takes ages to get there and then you have to feed the beast. And what some of these recent admission videos show is that the new owners of the channels, in classic private equity fashion, only exist to suck whatever money they can get out of the content creators and then move on. So, if a video doesn't "hit" the right way, or the numbers flat-line after the lack of a viral smash, the owners of the channel are simply going to carve it up for parts while continually asking the remaining skeleton crew of staff members to keep trying to make a video that will drive 5 percent more ad revenue. 

This recent video from a so-called former creative director at Donut Media discloses that he and several others left the organization due to disagreement with the new management structure. I have to admit, it sounds damn near impossible to be "forced" to make new videos that somehow, continue to rack up millions of views, especially knowing what we know about how awful YouTube's compensation plans are. At the same time, the private equity firm likely expects its creative folks to continue to be creative and understand which direction audience behaviors are heading. 

All in all, it sounds like once again, the wrong people are in charge and channel creators are way too eager to sell their souls for a little bit of cash and zero creative freedom. 

Over the last few years, many of us (me) have gotten bent out of shape because of the supposed prices cars are selling for on sites like Bring A Trailer. However, I was reminded of the reality of selling recently when I spotted an NA Miata for sale in rural Blue Ridge, Georgia, down the road from my in-laws' house.

I see this Miata, with the desirable factory hardtop, in the middle of Nowheresville, Georgia, and assume that such a car with its extremely limited potential audience in this mountain town is going to be sold for peanuts. I was wrong, however, as upon closer inspection, the seller had an asking price of $7,000. 

Is this Miata going to sell for this price? Absolutely not. The seller doesn't even know what Bring A Trailer is, and has no interest in paying $5 to craigslist to list it. The car is sitting by the side of the road, dirty, with a solitary sign in the window and a stupid price tag. The reality is this seller just wants a quick buck and is hoping that one of the myriad tourists floating by is going to think $7K is a good deal. 

This is a micro-level example but on a macro basis, the same thing is likely happening online and in larger metro areas. Sellers ask lofty prices, and they settle for what the car was actually worth. The number a car is bid to may never actually be the price it sells for, as buyers still have to meet the seller in person and decide if they want to move forward. How do we know that both parties don't agree to a price that's $1,000 less? 

So, all that is to say, don't lose faith that every car is out of your price range, and by the same token, don't assume your vehicle is worth the price the online auction indicates a similar model sold for. 

I don't know if you've noticed, but car classifieds sites blow pretty big chunks. In thinking back on it, I almost have begun to wonder if the explosion in car auction sites has less to do with taking away the horsepower of the big guns like Mecum and Barrett-Jackson and more to do with simply taking advantage of how poorly built most classifieds sites are.

If you spend any amount of time (as I do) looking for certain cars and trucks, mostly of the enthusiast type, you'll quickly find you don't have many choices anymore beyond craigslist, Bring A Trailer, and Facebook Marketplace. Sure, there are legions of other websites, but most all of them are rarely updated or completely overrun by other websites posing as digital brokers. 

Right now, I'm looking for a 1998 Aston Martin DB7 coupe. If you use Autotrader, the same 5 cars pop up, over and over again. I'm guessing 4 of the 5 are no longer even actually for sale. And on top of that, the Autotrader site has nominal information that really does cater to dealerships that rely on providing nominal bits of information. 

On top of that, most leads from Autotrader go no where. When I was hunting for an 80-Series Land Cruiser, I emailed the same seller within hours of his listing going live upwards of 12 times and he never responded. Of course, then you find out that Autotrader sometimes takes over a week to post a listing, at which time the same vehicle may have already been sold locally on craigslist. The real kick in the teeth is that seller pay for the privilege of listing their car on Autotrader! 

It's clear it is time for car classifieds sites to be reinvented with the enthusiast in mind, taking a page from what the popular auction sites do well (presentation, seller involvement, etc.) and give owners and buyers of enthusiast vehicles another choice. 

The Common Gear is proud to announce that the 2024 Air-Cooled Beach Bash will return to sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, with a show date of Saturday, October 19, 2024. This marks the third year of the long-standing autumn gathering being run by The Common Gear, and also represents a shift in the show's history as we pivot to being a predominantly Porsche-focused gathering.

Historically, the Beach Bash has concentrated on the air-cooled Volkswagen crowd, but as interest has continued to grow in the air-coooled Porsche community, it made sense to rebrand the show as Porsche-centric. In addition, competing shows serving the needs of the vintage VW faithful are plentiful, while the greater Tampa Bay area doesn't have a uniquely curated gathering for Porsche owners of cars going back to the early 70s through the middle 90s. 

As in years past, admission costs will provide all-day parking at one of the most picturesque locations in St. Petersburg in beautiful and historic Pass-a-Grille Beach. Please see below for pricing data and a link for payment options. If you have any questions, please reach out to jeff@thecommongear.com. 

2024 Admission Fees

• General admission only: $25
• General admission + event T-shirt: $50
• General admission + event T-shirt and sticker: $55
• Day-of admission: $30 / T-shirts will be offered on a limited basis

Payment link

Recently, I saw a seller of a car near and dear to me - a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth - get eviscerated by a specific member of the commenter illuminati of Bring A Trailer. The seller represented a business that allowed well-heeled “members” to borrow exotic and sports cars for a fee, and because one commenter in particular disliked the concept of someone outside of the 1 percent class from having access to such vehicles, it was decided his business was not trustworthy - certainly not up to the standards of BaT.

Now, don’t make me laugh and ask if said commenter entered a single, solitary bid: oh, get out of here! He wasn’t there to do that! His solitary goal was to defend the honor of Bring A Trailer and to ensure anything short of an acid-dipped, full-metal-respray with glass out contender was forbidden from seeing anything approaching a reasonable bid.

This is now an honorable past time on BaT and reflective of our broader society wherein you earn a social credit gold star for preventing the sale of a car (or really, any opportunity, be it a date with a target of your affections or a business deal with a potential partner) that doesn’t meet your own ridiculous standards. Never mind whether said vehicle was actually a wonderful driver that would have given the next owner pleasure for years to come.

And because of the social construct BaT has allowed to fester, which, ironically, is the exact dynamic the original website intended to revolt against, it’s no longer a seller’s refuge - because, as the old saw goes, it’s a big club and you ain’t in it.

As you can see in the attached screen grabs, the commenter (@UncleFred1) who goes after the seller of the Cossie Mercedes pitches a broker who makes regular appearances on BaT, a guy by the name of @Dean_Laumbach. Now, Dean does a nice job presentation-wise, with Mr. Fred noting that he once “….repainted the sides of a car because he didn’t like the marks left by a removed pinstripe.” Well, to me, Dean sounds like a man who was once touched inappropriately by a pinstripe artist, but to each his own. I mean, who among us hasn’t sanded down the side of a car to eliminate the pesky glow of a pinstripe from years ago? Haven’t you all had the tattoo’d initials of a lost love laser-burned off your lower back?

All kidding aside, this Fred fellow not only loves a good ‘ol Dean Laumbach detailing session, but also sells his own cars with Mr. Laumbach. Therefore, he slobbers all over the listings belonging to the broker who hawks his wares but shits all over the guy who maybe could steal a bid or two away from his own auction, which apparently was going live in a few days.

Do I like conspiracy theories? Yes, and you should, too, because your government lies to you every second of every day. But in the case of BaT, you - the “ordinary” seller, the citizen enthusiast who doesn’t have homes on opposite coasts like Uncle Fred (get a load out of his condescending comment about visiting his second home - what a jag-off), will forever be an unwitting participant in a game of Russian roulette played out in the comments section merely for the satisfaction of the guy holding the revolver.

Stop selling your cars on BaT and start selling elsewhere - or, better yet, yourself. The Common Gear can help, as it gives you a free platform to upload photos of your restoration, invoices, receipts, and all the granular details that get rendered irrelevant after a guy like Uncle Fred sets his sights on your listing.

I really wish the term "Slicktop" would stop being a thing or used as a benefit.  Like most cars (and especially on this particular car), the driving experience is significantly better when a sunroof is present.  Unless you're Spec E46 or specifically going racing, you can easily find 25 lbs. somewhere else (like get rid of your giant water flask and start a diet) than give up the sunroof.  E46, summertime or anytime--  The sunroof just adds to the driving pleasure.  Pop it up when your sweet rig is parked so it doesn't turn into an oven.  Evening cruise by the beach with it wide open; life is good.  And that extra .0003 second 0 - 60 tradeoff--  just be OK with that. 

Surfacing some potentially new terms that seem to be more appropriate.  How about "LackTop" (lacking a sunroof) or "BargainTop" (didn't pony up the extra $ for the sunroof).  Maybe "RetroTop" (before cars had a sunroof as an option) or "BroTop" (only car bros actually recognize this as a thing).  

This M3, just like every E46 M3, is an awesome car.  Let's go further and state that the E46 chassis makes for a great car in any variant, as it can be turned into whatever you want to do with it.   Embrace the sunroof as life is better with more options.  Everyone knows this. 

One starts to wonder if Bring A Trailer's strategy is to sell so many cars that the community doesn't notice when it screws up, big time. Most of you probably missed this auction for a 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, which was withdrawn by BaT after $50,000 in bids had been logged. The reason for being withdrawn? The car didn't exist, aside from in the entry form submitted by a seller who was very close to securing a significant wire transfer while providing nothing in return. 

I have it on good authority that this 911 was pitched to another auction site that managed to catch the issues, which were numerous. As pointed out in the comments section of the BaT listing, the warning signals were obvious if you cared enough to Google the VIN (BaT didn't). It revealed a car sold in the past year with: 

1) different seats;
2) different wheels and tires;
3) completely different rear badging stating it was an "S," with current badges stating it’s a 4S (which per the VIN, it was not);
4) and additional discrepancies listed in the BaT comments.

In addition, the listing showed two different VIN numbers in the gallery photos, with one linking back to a 911 sold on PCarMarket and another sold via Carvana in May '23. Guess what? Cars can't have two VINs, and almost anyone with half a brain could deduct that the seller simply got sloppy in submitting the wrong pictures from two different listings as opposed to just sticking with one set of numbers. Either way, they were well on their way to a payday by simply submitting a listing with photos pulled from a five minute Google search. 

BaT is a large operation these days. I applied for an auction specialist role a few years back and the only way to move forward was to leave my full-time job to take a 40-hour-per-week job them, along with a nearly 75 percent reduction in pay. The fact that they demanded full-time employment indicated to me that their operations were on another level compared to its competitors; now, I know that's not true.

If BaT's intake team can't even Google the VIN before a listing goes live, what does that tell you about their overall approach to quality control? To me, it says it's non-existent. It also lends further credence to the belief that any car you buy on its platform being thoroughly vetted is a complete falsehood. You stand as much chance buying a good car on BaT as you do from the corner used car lot. 

I don't have an auction platform; I simply have a way to offer additional proof from upstanding sellers that their car is their car, and that they have been steadily investing in it since taking ownership. With more transactions moving to an entirely digital format, it's time we start demanding better from BaT and requiring safeguards that protect buyers from unscrupulous sellers.