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Yes, We Brought a Trailer

Jim Weed

Volume 45 Issue 22

Oct 24, 2020

Jim Weed writes about his experience with Bring a Trailer.

     I have a buddy from the Atlanta Car Club who recently purchased a car on Bring A Trailer.

     It seems that the popularity of BaT has been growing for quite some time. Early on, the cars offered seemed to be the more common, but interesting, fare.

     Sports cars, trucks or American iron were the items found up for auction. The descriptions were good, and the photos helped to get a good feel for the quality, or lack thereof, of the auction vehicle at hand.

     Ferrari was not often in the mix, but that has changed as BaT has become more popular. Often, there are Ferraris listed and some of them have been VERY unique.

     The Ghia 212 Inter made for Argentina President Peron comes to mind. It proves the on-line auction platform can work as well for a Datsun pickup as it can for a million-dollar Ferrari.

     The basic program of BaT is a low seller’s fee to list your vehicle, extremely reasonable for the seller. The 7-day auction format is just $99.00 to list.

     Now, before everybody rushes out to list their car there are some caveats. BaT determines the number of auctions and they also determine what cars they want to present. They get to control the mix.

     That is not all bad, it keeps it interesting and fresh. You never know what will be there and with the short auction time it is always changing. Yes, it can be addicting.

     There is a comment thread that allows prospective buyers and other experts (hopefully, experts) to ask questions of the seller and to make comments about the car.

     I had a subscriber who would contact me if there was a Ferrari question that needed a comment. His post would always reference “I have it on good authority…” whenever an argument would break out.

     The bidding process is straightforward and can be placed through your computer, laptop or phone. Notifications are provided when you have been outbid or when a comment has been posted.

     To keep from being outbid near the end of the auction, time is extended by two minutes when a bid is placed. There is no possibility of losing the bid at the last second. It must survive the two-minute mark.

     After the auction, the buyer pays a fee for the winning bid, a reasonable 5% is charged with a maximum of $5,000 to BaT.

     Contact information is exchanged between the seller and buyer so arrangements can be made for payment and delivery or pickup.

     The entire BaT program tries to keep simple and honest for both the buyer and seller.

     Now, back to my buddy, Chris, and his purchase.

     Chris is a car guy. Like most of us car guys he has his likes for cars that drive his passion. He doesn’t own any Ferraris, but I like him anyway.

     Chris is the driving force and owner of the Atlanta Car Club. I’ve said before, it’s a club for those who don’t golf. Store your car, gather for weekend drives, drink at the bar, watch racing or football on the big screens, all in the company of other like-minded, dyed-in-the-wool car guys.

 

 

     So, Chris is looking for something different. Something cool, but also unusual. He has a GT40 and a Porsche (I don’t know what kind. Are you surprised!), a couple of Mustangs; one old, one new, and wants something really vintage.

     BaT has something that looks interesting and shouldn’t break the bank. He placed a watch on the vehicle and read the comments. He’s lurking, but not actively bidding.

     As the auction winds down Chris is sitting at the bar with a bunch of encouraging car people. Yes, a couple of beers were involved, and the bid increment was only $250. What’s another $250? Hanging out with an active phone, car guys, and beer; what could go wrong?

     On Wednesday, Chris and I took a trailer to Savannah and picked up his latest acquisition, a 1933 MG J2 Midget.

     No, it’s not a Ferrari, but we did bring a trailer.

 

Jim and Linda with Chris's MG Miget

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