At some point in the past two years, almost every car enthusiast has looked at a sale price on Bring A Trailer and said, “Wow - I never thought that car would sell for that much cash.” We’ve discussed it here on occasion, and I’ve taken the position that the 1 percent crowd can do as they please with money, even if that means spending more for a particular model than anyone else has in recorded history.
But for those of us of more ordinary means, the stakes are very different. You can’t repeatedly lose your shirt on a car. My friend Rudy Samsel runs an auction website called Guys With Rides that provides a dealer-free marketplace and strives to put a bit of fairness back into the collector vehicle acquisition process. He flagged a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo as a prime example of the risks of buying an enthusiast vehicle without paying sufficient attention to market valuation and VIN decoding.
The reason he took notice of the car had to do with the fact that the seller was putting the 944 up for grabs himself - not on BaT - within eight months of acquiring it at a price that reflected a loss of over $12,000 when factoring in maintenance costs and the buyer’s premium that BaT charges.
The 944 was labeled as being an elusive Turbo model wearing “Silver Rose” paint when in fact it was a slightly more common Diamond Blue Metallic example. BaT didn’t do much to confirm or deny this, including not requiring the previous owner to include a photo of the trim tag that would quickly put to bed any concerns over whether this was, in fact, a desirable Silver Rose car. To some extent, this is the risk inherent in any sight-unseen purchase done over the internet, but when you factor in buying a car this way along with the tendency to overpay by virtue of the selling platform’s so-called reputation, it can create a perfect storm of unintended consequences for the future owner.
The playing field is not even, unfortunately, on platforms like BaT and numerous others. If you can afford to drop six-figures with the same recklessness as one might spend on great seats at a sporting event, overpaying on a 944 Turbo with unverified history won’t cause you to have a fire-sale a few months later on a car that isn’t what you thought it was. For Joe Six Pack and other “normal” collectors, you may indeed have to encourage a quick sale with a potential loss factored in to get out from under.
No matter your lot in life or how tempting it is to get wild in an internet auction with thousands of virtual cheerleaders, there’s no shame in being cautious and sitting one out when the information required to make an informed decision isn’t provided. The more of us who are only willing to punch the “bid” button with the right information in hand will drive auction sites to ensure data and authenticity drive higher bid prices rather than an internet mob that bears no responsibility when it comes time to sell for a market-correct price.