Bring a Trailer

I'd never sold a car online before. BaT was recommended by my car dealership's service advisor because it was believed that it would be the best place to get a fair value for my 22 year-old, 2001 BMW MZ coupe since the car would be sold at auction.

I looked at the BaT site and read all the helpful information that they posted on how to submit a vehicle for auction. The only negative comment I would make is that you can't view what additional information will be asked for on page 2 and later without completing all the required information on page 1.

I was concerned that they might not accept my car since it had high mileage. I sent them a message to ask about this and they said I should not consider that to be a negative, take the necessary photos, provide the required information, and they would let me know if it met their profile.

Within a couple days of my submission, I received an email indicating that the application looked like a good fit and I'd be hearing shortly of their final decision. The next day I was notified that my car had been accepted.

From that point on everything went exactly like BaT said it typically would. I was handed off to a different specialist at each phase of the process and each individual was helpful in answering questions. BaT also provided tips along the way at each stage. Finally, the beginning of the seven-day listing arrived and my first bid came in within four minutes! Everything was relatively quiet through the sixth day. Only a few potential bidders had questions.

Finally, on day 7 about 20 minutes before the scheduled end time, bids started pouring in. The bidding got hot and heavy, and the end time was extended a total of 11 minutes to accommodate last minute bids. They have a policy of preventing "sniping" by extending the allowed bidding time by 2 minutes whenever a bid comes in during the last 2 minutes.

Overall, the process was smooth, professional, and totally trustworthy.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

To all who read this, do not buy on Bringatrailer auction site, especially from Dave Kelly in Philadelphia (dkel). BaT allows sellers such as this to blatantly misrepresent the vehicles they are selling, with no recourse, to the point of endangering people's lives; allows sellers, as it did this one, to ship when they feel like it which may be 3 or 4 weeks after payment is received by their bank with no recourse. The vehicle I bought from dkel at auction dumped the entire contents of the transmission fluid immediately after unloading at delivery and had to be repaired where it sat in my driveway before it could even be pulled into the garage. The seller lied about the ac unit being functional but needing a charge of freon, lied about the physical condition of the truck, lied about why he would not ship it for an extended time after being paid, and lied about multiple dangerous defects found on arrival that needed repair, with this example being one of the worst: the belt and pulley system was not done correctly and one of the belts was mounted dragging over the face of the power steering pulley (wrong pulley used) and then run over the top of another belt already in a slot and stretched tightly enough that it would rotate with the other belt underneath enough to function marginally, shredding small pieces of rubber all over the inside of the engine compartment. It had already taken out a chunk of the fan shroud. The truck was undriveable after being represented as ready to go. I will never use this auction site again, nor this seller, and neither should you.

Update: The seller had the brake booster vacuum line connected to the COOLING SYSTEM instead of the vacuum system, which resulted in the vacuum valve in the vacuum line failing and engine coolant filling the brake booster! I had to leave the pavement at full speed in order to avoid a major collision. He needs to quit working on cars before he kills somebody!!!!!

I recently listed my car for sale on Bring a Trailer with a minimum reserve price in mind. However, I was disappointed with the outcome of the auction, as it performed weakly compared to other cars of the same model in the same time period. Despite not technically meeting the reserve price I had set, Bring a Trailer marked it as "Sold" instead of "Reserve not met."

What's concerning is their assertion that covering the difference between the final bid and the reserve price, while pocketing the rest for their fee, is considered meeting the reserve. This approach disregards the seller's intent and distorts the market perception of the car's value.

I did not list the car with the expectation of selling it at the reserve price, and the fact that it was marked as sold at a lower price point has adversely affected the perceived value of my car and similar cars in the market history. Bring a Trailer should honor the seller's prerogative to decline offers below the reserve price and explore other selling avenues.

While Bring a Trailer presents itself as an optional platform for sellers, in reality, it imposes conditions that compel sellers to accept unfavorable outcomes. This not only undermines the seller's autonomy but also results in actual financial harm. Bring a Trailer needs to reassess its policies to ensure fairness and transparency in its auction process.

First let me say that I enjoy reviewing and bidding on cars on BAT's original site. However, I would strongly discourage anyone from using BAT Shipping to transport cars. After completing my reservation which required a vehicle description (Toyota Landcruiser 2015) AND the full vehicle VIN, I was quoted a price of $1760 from Colorado to Maryland I agreed and paid the full deposit via credit card. Four (4) days later, I received a call telling me that because my vehicle was an 'overweight vehicle' I would have to pay an additional fee. Fortunately, I was not in a bind with timing because this was a clear bait and switch. This is my very first negative Yelp review and I wanted it to be a heads up to others.

Bring a Trailer is a great website for selling or buying interesting vehicles. They make quick decisions on accepting a listing (they obviously can't take everything). They also have something for nearly everyone. Their website is addictive, it's that good. They make buying without an inspection far less risky because marque experts from their membership comment on specific needs that take an expert to spot. Great site to buy or sell.

I've sold two cars on their site. Submitted a 2023 vehicle that they rejected with ZERO reason. It has 3k miles and is in excellent condition. Looked on their site and they have had 11 similar vehicles on their site in the last 2 months. 8 of which have sold. BaT is truly baffling with regards to how they vet cars that they accept or reject. Of course, they hid access to their "customer service" and make t difficult and friction filled to complain. WILL NEVER SELL A CAR ON BAT EVER AGAIN!

I am 1 for 2. We tried to ship two cars. they picked up the first car as requested.
I gave three weeks noticed on the second request. It was not picked up and i had to find different company to ship my car. There was nothing unusual about the vehicle. The only thing unusual about my request is the that fact that I gave them plenty of time to schedule and ship.

This outfit is the only auction house I have encountered that would require a ZERO Reserve for a classic motorcycle in very good condition. If the bike sells low BAT wins the seller loses. Auction prices can be fickle and dealers know how much to bid to get something they can flip. I'll use an auction house that offers a win win situation. They basically told me we cover our backside and whatever happens to you is Market Fate. No wonder their reviews for so many reasons are negative. My mechanic recommended them and I am going to ask Why.

BAT censors comments that negatively effect the selling process, even if the comments are honest and represent legit questions.

I have a 1974 VW Thing that has $30K invested in a complete restoration and new motor. It looks terrific and is in excellent condition. On the submission of the photos, BaT stated that the reserve be set at $18,500. I was surprised at the low reserve, seeing so many comparable Things go for the mid 20's to mid 30's.

When I inquired why the low reserve, BaT's representative Robert Lindsay told me the undercarriage was below par. So, I set about upgrading portrayal of BaT's position with regard to "being a good fit" of my vehicle's listing on BaT is spurious.

I have serious questions about BaT transparency in dealing with potential clients... nowhere does BaT state that the company has the right to set a reserve price for listing a vehicle and reject listings based on the requested reserve of the vehicle. The BaT referral of the "approval" statement - is very murky at best.

Watching many recent Things not meeting reserve and I assume that this influences your position on setting reserve prices. In my opinion, it is a very poor business practice that could lead to serious consequences for BaT.

Based on BaT advice, I spent considerable time and money following their advice to improve the undercarriage but ending up with the same low-ball reserve. I spent unnecessary time and money based on your recommendation.

Additionally, your statement that it would get more than the reserve is misleading and potentially fraudulent. Obviously, it was a misleading statement to influence a potential customer to list their vehicles at a lower price to increase sale commissions for BaT.

I'm surprised that this lack of disclosure hasn't been an issue for BaT to date, but it probably will be in the future. BaT should consider a higher degree or transparency and disclosure. Please note that I feel obligated to inform the BaT community of this questionable business practice and possibly file a class action lawsuit.

Based on my above statements of the circumstances and your position not to accept the listing of my vehicle, please confirm your final position on this matter. Based on your position. I will plan my future course of action.

Imrecommend that you refer this matter to your legal department before responding.