TCG Stories

At some point, you just can't help people. I know I crow about sellers of enthusiast vehicles being unfairly forced into selling at no reserve, but that's really not much different than believing a fat person was forced to get all their nutrition from Dairy Queen. 

You have the right to say no; it's just that you're impatient, or otherwise under the impression that you need to sell your vehicle as quickly as possible, damning the consequences that it may involve in the process. That's the strangest thing about people who complain about the results of their no reserve auction: you literally don't have to sell your car that way. 

There's an odd sense of compulsion that develops among some sellers whereby they decide to roll the dice on a car they absolutely know to be worth more than what the auction house is telling them. I sold my 1995 Audi S6 over the summer for what was probably a very good price, but I still feel content I got a fair deal - especially when you consider how little time I spent actually selling it. I left maybe $1,200 on the table, but it sold in a little over 12 hours. So, let's assume that the addition $1,200 would have required another five days of live selling, talking with buyers, dealing with tire kickers, etc., etc., and you multiple 120 additional hours times my professional hourly rate - well, you're talking about way more than $1,200.

Yes, there's a definite value to selling something quickly, but I also know based on how the Audi presented (bad paint) I would have gotten raked over the coals by the armchair quarterbacks on an internet auction versus a guy showing up and seeing how solid the car was mechanically. At the end of the day, I still managed the transaction myself, on my terms, and likely made more money than a glitzy internet auction would have. 

There's a combination of issues happening: sellers assume that managing the sale themselves will require more time than they think, and they believe the auction houses will get a better price, and faster, than if they did it themselves. There are no guarantees for either of those conditions. 

Put simply, they are being lazy. You don't want to be this guy who got absolutely FLEECED on Hemmings because, I guess, he wanted the car gone before winter. But in looking at the video, he's got quite a bit of space and the Chrysler could have absolutely stayed there a few weeks while he dealt with some in-person meetings. Multiple commenters posted that they would have been interested if they knew the car was for sale. Even if just one of those was legit, he could have likely gotten a better price for his car than agreeing to the Hemmings terms, which again - and I can't state this enough - no one is forcing you to sell your car this way. 

Our platform allows you to be as detailed or as brief as you want, but the smart play is to upload your records or photos documenting maintenance work to drive higher buyer confidence, and justify a higher asking price. Craigslist is gone, Marketplace is a dumpster fire, and The Common Gear is here to help you sell your enthusiast vehicle on your own terms.

First of all, this is not a Bring a Trailer "hate post." Not at all. What it is serves more as a reminder that the bigger an entity gets, the greater the distance becomes between its intended mission and the people it claims to serve. Pierre Hedary, a noted Mercedes-Benz expert and shop owner, has politely pointed out recently that he's received an influx of customer cars bought on BaT with significant, undisclosed mechanical issues, and for that, he's been called out by the internet flash mob. 

You should watch his latest video here; as usual, Pierre is extremely measured in his response, and does very little (if anything) to fan inflammatory flames. The most hilarious feedback he's received since his original video questioning the BaT effect (Why Bring A Trailer Cars are a Terrible Idea) is that he's some sort of closeted liberal, which of course, is the knee-jerk response by anyone who feels personally attacked that their open checkbook lifestyle is risky at best ("Oooh, you dare question my purchasing power, you must be a poor liberal schmuck - please), but beyond that, it's incredible how insecure folks get when someone dares question whether BaT has any integrity whatsoever about the vehicles they sell. 

Listen: buying vintage cars and trucks is inherently risky behavior. Things can go wrong in a big way and you can be upside down in a hurry. That's the roll of the dice we all live with. The problem that Pierre points to is a very simple disconnect between the BaT brand and the buying experience that many real-world folks are having. BaT has, intentionally or otherwise, built a reputation that indicates they have the ability to connect buyers with the best cars and most professional sellers. If you buy on BaT, you avoid the supposed refuse that haws their wares on craigslist and Marketplace. 

The reality is, this simply isn't true. Are there good cars on BaT? Yes. Are there good cars on craigslist? Yes. Are their total shitboxes in both places? Yes to that as well - but if you say it about BaT, be prepared for the pitchforks. 

Many of the loyalists to BaT are the same kinds of folks who would chastise people of a certain political stripe for ardently following an elected official without asking enough questions. The irony is they don't practice what they preach as it relates to buying and selling cars, so many of them are hypocritical at best. To date, I have sold three cars on BaT and have never bought a single one of the eight vehicles I own on their platform. With few exceptions, I have been pleasantly surprised by every vehicle I own, but that's because I'm buying the seller, not the car - and that is a dynamic that's near impossible to create on BaT, where both the seller and the company leadership refuse to stand behind their products once the hammer is down and the wire transfer is complete. 

Hey everyone - we're excited to share with you the first in a series of instructional videos on how to use The Common Gear to store digitized records of the maintenance and improvements you're making to your collector and vintage-grade cars and trucks. 

One of our primary test users, Lars, has a 1988 BMW 325is he's been logging updates of since he bought the car last summer. From road trips to oil changes, he captures vital details about his car's history that will be useful for his own tracking purposes, or if he decides to sell the car later on. 

Check out the video below for quick overview of how he uses The Common Gear for his own maintenance tracking, and watch this space for more quick instructional videos on how to put The Common Gear to work for you. 

YouTube personality Tyler Hoover has been a breath of fresh air in talking candidly about his automotive purchases - the good, the bad, and the ugly. While his platform already had plenty of fame from his rapid-fire purchasing tendencies, he gained perhaps even more notoriety by being one of the first automotive celebrities to talk about a horrific experience buying an expensive restomod on BaT, and having it all go horribly wrong. 

If any of you follow this world, Hoover purchased a restomod version of the iconic wing car, the Plymouth Superbird. He also produced a widely shared YouTube video wherein he discusses the numerous undisclosed flaws with the car, including a suspension so poorly tuned that the car was virtually undrivable. It led to a dust-up of sorts that prompted BaT to refund the buyer's fee. There's just one problem: it happened again. 

This time, the stakes were lower: a $19,000 Citroen ID19, purchased from BaT. The car arrived with non-functioning rear brakes, several undisclosed leaks, and suspension in generally poor order. Are these repairs out of the question for an older vehicle (and a French one, no less?) No, not necessarily. But the listing shows a video of the car running and driving with relative ease, which seemingly glosses over the fact that it doesn't stop. The seller provides no details on the car's mechanical health and the listing includes zero service records. This should have been a red flag for the buyer, but he also likely thought he was buying a good car with $20,000 fewer dollars in his bank account. 

Check out the listing here and Hoovie's video on the car below; we wonder if BaT will again step in to make lemonade out of lemons: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-citroen-ds-id19/

Against my better judgment, we created a short video with zero editing (straight raw, as the cool kids say....maybe?) that explains what the mission of The Common Gear is.

Simply put, we built this site to securely store digitized records for our vintage and collector cars. We wanted to never again wonder where that invoice or window sticker went, or have anyone question the level of sweat equity put into a car project.

Store your records with The Common Gear. Log your project updates. Create a portal whereby you can share a secure URL with potential buyers who may want to buy your car / motorcycle / boat / etc., and plug it into auction sites should you choose to go that way. We'll bet you'll see your desired bottom dollar, if not a few more bucks. 

Reach out to jeff@thecommongear.com with questions, and thanks for checking us out. 

So yeah, there is an E9 in my garage that is pretty sweet.  And, I have to remember not to take for granted the things I am fortunate enough to have, so I'm not going to do that.  HOWEVER, I have this thing for E24 M6 hotness, especially the euro-delivery sleds, with the M88, slim bumpers, and sexiness that is the little sister to the beautiful E9 that lives in my garage. 

Check it out...