As a refresher, some of you may recall my auction odyssey over the last month or so. Hopefully, this is the last installment of a long tedious journey. Yesterday (FINALLY) my ad with BAT started. I initiated contact with BAT on August 5. So as you may attempt to plan ahead on an upcoming auction you should figure at least four weeks from start to publishing. Also, as time went by I noticed that the number of auctions "closing today" has shrunk from around 115 to 75 to 57. This may simply be a result of the actual time of the year, but if you were having difficulty persuading BAT to accept your ad previously now would appear to be a time where they would be aggressively looking for ads. It would appear to be both a good thing and a not so good thing at the same time. Good news: there are not as many contenders to compete against. Bad news: there are not as many contenders to attract potential viewers/buyers.

From my limited experience it would appear that BAT actually does attract a more high end buyer than Cars & Bids auction site. I've noticed a number of dealers bidding upon multiple vehicles simultaneously ( my XKR being one of them!). These chaps, of course, are looking to buy low and potentially sell high, however, their initial bids are typically strong enough that they will effectively "weed" out the casual bidder. And at the same time they push serious buyers to up their game. At the same time there are some absolutely astronomical numbers being thrown around on this site. Inflation, recession...not here!! It will be interesting to see how this sorts out.

I've also learned to do a "search" on any bidders or questioners. When you receive a question from a guy and find out that he has asked 542 questions over time and has NEVER bought anything you begin to think some folks need to find a life. The same applies to buyers. You will see dozens of buyers when you perform the search that have histories of consistently bidding early on in the process and ALWAYS fail to engage as the process continues. It almost as if the bidding process serves as some type of vicarious thrill ride. Automobile pornography perhaps?? It should go without saying of course that you should always answer any and all questions clearly and promptly and NEVER prejudge.

In any event, my auction runs for 6 more days and hopefully I will report on a positive result. Who knew the auction process would be fun, frustrating, worrisome, exhilarating, exciting, stressful, aggravating, intriguing, interesting, all-consuming or simply put a real roller coaster ride!

 

Lol, I’m one of those guys - I spend a lot of time on BaT but I have never bought a car on there and probably never will. Why? It’s not a vicarious thrill or anything - simply put, BaT is consistently expensive for the buyer, but at the same time is the best thing that’s happened for collectible car research in forever. I am a bonafide enthusiast and I routinely sell and buy cars. BaT is unbeatable to research the heck out of a particular model of interest, establish a “not to exceed” price for yourself, and go find that car elsewhere for $$$ less.

Now, having said all that, I already have my XKR, so I’ll be following your auction with no other motive other than to cheer you on!

 

Well, there you go! As I said NEVER prejudge!! I hadn't thought of it from that particular perspective previously. Does make a lot sense though, doesn't it? Enjoy the auction and thanks for the feedback.

 

From a buyer’s perspective, it’s the dealers that bid on BAT that turn me off. Sure, it’s good for the seller, but the dealers push the price just beyond the reasonable, and then turn around and list the car on their own website for $10-15K more.
Hope you get some dealers bidding against each other!

 

Two members approaching a situation from polar opposite positions without a threat of firearm, attorney or vulgar acronym involved. If only all differences and exchanges on the forum could be so respectful and understanding.

Good luck to Vendor and Researcher.

Graham

 

Keeping an eye on it as I have the same exact car, with a few less miles. Good luck! (Ascari57)

 

This is a pretty respectful forum. Pleasure to be here.

 

Thanks for the kind commentary on site.

 

Have to thoroughly concur. I've been elsewhere and it's no fun.

 

Yes, Graham, try visiting some other marque forums, serious "verbal violence" to be found there. These are some of the most civil and useful I’ve ever seen.

 

I'll be following the sale as well. Should be fun as well as a learning experience. Good luck MoXKR!

 

Some of the PM's I receive certainly qualify for the 'verbal violence' category!

This topic had the potential to explode and I was very pleased to see the restraint and positivity from contributors which has led to an interesting exchange from the very different perspectives of vendor, buyer and researcher.

I don't generally trawl listings unless I'm looking to buy but I must confess I've become a 'watcher' on this one. Car looks great and I'd probably kill for the garage but that sticker on the rear bumper has to go.

Graham

 

I'm watching this with great interest as well. The interior caught my eye -- your shift console is in great shape with all the black and silver intact. But what the heck happened to your shift knob?

 

Regarding BaT, a lot of my "research" has been with completed auctions, where there's never any possibility to engage, violently or otherwise, with anyone else. I have no idea how they do it in terms of maintaining presumably Terabytes and Terabytes of storage, but as far as I can see, anyone can access the full listings, including all the pictures, of all the auctions BaT has ever had. Even after you've bought a car, and if you see something odd or you want to compare something on your car to what "it should look like" - you can pull up dozens of detailed photographs of interiors, engine compartments, underside shots, etc. that are simply not available anywhere else.

To give an example - about a year ago I purchased an R129 Mercedes SL500, online, from a small dealer in Indianapolis. Googling the VIN led me to two previous auctions on BaT of the same car - and reading all the comments and looking at the photographs gave me an unparalleled insight into the history of my particular car. Of course I just got lucky there, but if it had sold on eBay or something like that I would never have been able to see the history like that.

 

Too many slings and arrows to defend simultaneously!! So let's deal with them one at a time. GGG, it was either place a removable Union Jack sticker or display my feeble attempt to "repair" the three thin 1 1/2 inch long scratches using a color matched Dr Color Chip kit. I've used these kits dozens of times before but the multi-level paint of the Portfolio Edition just did not finish to my satisfaction. I suppose I could have used a couple of bandaids?!! In retrospect, that might have been esthetically more appealing than the Union Jack...long live the King. Plus hopefully the new owner will remove the offending sticker and have the area professionally dealt with.
.
CurtJ, The "unique" shift knob came with the car at time of purchase and initially I found it irksome, however, after using it not only do I like the way it works but it rather cleans up the central dash appearance...you say tomato!!!

Ram_g, I couldn't agree more about the insane amount of information stored on both BaT and Cars & Bids sites. It has been quite informative to look back over a year ago and compare selling prices as they slowly imploded in more recent months. Thank you for your commentary on my ad and as I mentioned I was trying to politely answer the chap's question without slapping him in the face with, "You do realize this is vehicle with a high aluminum content, right?"

Thanks guys for the attention it makes life more engaging!

 

Ram_g, By the way, in case I forgot to say so, thanks for mentioning the aluminum build on the XKR on the ad. You were correct in that BaT "should" have made notice in the prelim body. Ultimately, I should have made them include something addressing that, but too many details to attend to.

 

MoXkr…. You might consider keeping an eye out for any “brand newly registered members” to this site… as they might be infiltrating the forum to get any info on the XKR and low and behold…. They recognize you as the owner of the car they are bidding on! That would be something! Just kidding of course… but stranger things have happened. I have a feeling this thread is going to grow. At least for the next 5 days. Lol. Good luck my friend. I’m crossing my fingers.

 

I thought the sticker was kind of cute.

 

Bocatrip, I had to laugh out loud! That's some flat out DNC sliminess don't you think?!! Although all of the information shared here would only strengthen the XKR's bona fides. Dude, your mind is becoming twisted!! No more margaritas for you! Good thought though.

 

Most recent update to current auction. The high bid as of this morning is $18,000 ( reserve still in effect).. Approximately 500 "watchers" and 3800 views with 27 hours remaining in auction. May have to have a raffle!!!