I was considering using Bring A Trailer to sell a car, but after reading numerous reviews I'm having second thoughts. Anyone have any experience or information on this selling service? All input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

Usually the high-end or the 'most pampered' stuff is on BaT.
The seller is well protected, as is the buyer. Sometimes a nice, high price is reached, sometimes not. The fees are not totally unreasonable.
If I had to sell something for $50k or higher, I'd probably use BaT rather than local stuff or eBay.

 

Thanks. That's my initial opinion too. They charge $99 for a basic 7 day auction using your photos or for another $250 you may use their pics plus a write up. The buyer will then pay +5% of the price with a $250 minimum and a $5000 max. I was concerned with the reports of the "ad expert" trying to force you to lower or remove your reserve completely in order to "accept" your ad. And yes, you must first submit your car for approval PRIOR to anything moving forward. Seems like much ado about nothing....

 

I have tried twice to list what I thought were really nice cars on BaT and was turned down both times. No explanation, no discussion on reserve price, just a form letter rejection. So yeah, if you’re willing to put up with the hassle and if you are lucky enough to get your car accepted, you have a decent chance at getting top dollar. But have a “plan B”.

 

I grew up poor, had to work for my money and so I tend to equate the bid price in terms of months or years that I worked and how much longer till I can retire if I lose all that money. Therefore, I have to go look first. Sellers on BAT can post a car knowing that people are going to bid sight-unseen and they don't have to mess with any tire-kickers. To me it seems as if they are all trying to avoid showing the car. I don't know why I even look at the site because if there's something I want, it's virtually impossible to cancel a couple of days worth of meetings and arrange to fly across country to go see it before the seven days is up. When its local or within driving distance or if I can get somebody local to check it for me, the seller almost always makes it very inconvenient to show the car. If its a dealer, they're closed on the weekend or private sellers are out of town. Or classically, they don't even respond for several days and they're finally available in the morning, just hours before the auction ends.

When I do manage to make arrangements, I always find expensive problems that were not disclosed and could not possibly be detected in online photos or even video. You can't trust things like color accuracy, adequate lighting or resolution in a photo. You can't feel a bad clutch in a video of smell cigarettes. After I get way outbid (or its so bad I don't want to bid at all), I check to see the profile of the winning bidder and its always somebody who has bought half a million dollars worth of cars in the past year. They can write it off their taxes or just shrug it off if they find the car needs $5,000 or $10,000 worth of repairs when it shows up in a trailer. I can't.

BAT is really 100% advantage to the seller while putting all of the risk on the buyer. They only have to make sellers happy. They get a lot of repeat sellers, dealers, but for most ordinary people, buying that dream car they coveted in high school or midlife crisis supercar is something they will only do once in their lifetime. If such a buyer gets ripped off, it doesn't matter if they never look at the website again. And even so, if a seller pulls a fast one, its technically not BAT's fault so they really don't suffer much of the blame. I've won one online auction car that was local and I got to spend a good two hours inspecting and driving it. But if I'm seriously interested in a car, I'd rather just offer to give a deposit to hold it for me till I could get there and negotiate a price while standing in front of it.

If you don't want to mess with tire-kickers, I'd suggest to consider a consignment dealer. I've sold a car through Streetside Classics here in Fort Worth a few years ago and just last month I bought one through Gateway Classic Cars outside Saint Louis. Both good experiences and I feel like they earned their commissions. I really think that's the way to go if you don't want to sell it yourself the old-fashioned way.

 

Probably sound advice. Gateway Classics is one of two consignment houses in the St Louis area and either looks to be a decent "advertising" site. Although I've had some really good experiences in the past selling on my own, times appear to be changing. I've already fended off two rather clumsy scam attempts with my current sale and it isn't a proper investment of my time if you know what I mean. Thanks for the reminder....I'll call them tomorrow.

 

To follow up from yesterday, Gateway Classics on face value would appear to be the best of the two consignment operations around St Louis, BUT they charge 12.5% of the selling price to the buyer which may increase your cars total price out of the realm of true realty. Secondly, when questioned about the necessity of maintaining the CTEK charger connected to the car 24/7 they balked. Plus they seemed less than interested in previewing photos of the car prior to the 100 mile drive to their location. All in all not a 100 % positive first impression. And the journey continues.

 

Also "Cars & Bids" New player, usually a step down from BAT, but effective. Might be more amenable to a car that BAT isn't interested in flogging. I got my '07 XK for a pretty good price (good for me, not for the seller).

 

C&B, by Doug DeMuro.

 

Thanks for the tip. I researched their site extensively and the cost ( to both buyer 4.5%) and seller ( free) is less, and the "interview interrogation" is much less aggravating. While being the new guy on the block, their site is easy to navigate and their initial sales numbers are respectable. Looks like the route to go. Wish me luck!