On 1/19/2024 at 6:16 AM, HS30-H said:

What a strange take. 

The point I was trying to get across is that BaT, along with the collector car market, has evolved.  I remember a few years back (before COVID and before BaT was as well known), you could find a large volume of classic Japanese cars for around $10K.  Now that it has become more notorious, I am sure there are a lot more in the car collector business that are bidding on and buying cars on the site, and then reselling in the more traditional markets.  It has become much harder for the first time buyer of a classic car to get a good deal.  There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, that's just the way it is now.  I do enjoy reading the listings and fantasizing sometimes, but that's likely all it will ever amount to for me now.  Your experience may be different.

Hell, I remember back in the early 2000's, when the classic car bug bit one of my friends and coworkers and he decided to buy a Porsche 914 on eBay from a listing in Chicago.  I said, "Great, when are you going to book a flight and go look at it?"  His response was, "Paul, there's no need to, the guy posted 100 photos.  I'm going to buy it and have it shipped here."  I thought he was crazy at the time!  Well, needless to say, the car had a lot more undisclosed issues and rust than advertised and he ended up buying a second 914 as a donor car.  Sadly, I don't think the project(s) were ever completed.

Anyway, I digress.  I think the only time I would consider buying a car on BaT would be if I was really familiar with the make and knew what to look for and what questions to ask during the bid.  Or if I won the lottery, suddenly had a huge windfall of disposable income, and happened to see a dream car (Ferrari 288 GTO, BMW M1, Porsche 959) on BaT.  I'd also have a healthy balance set aside for any needed repairs not readily disclosed at the listing.         

Excellent observations Paul. I'm in complete agreement.

11 hours ago, Paulytunes said:

The point I was trying to get across is that BaT, along with the collector car market, has evolved.  I remember a few years back (before COVID and before BaT was as well known), you could find a large volume of classic Japanese cars for around $10K.  Now that it has become more notorious, I am sure there are a lot more in the car collector business that are bidding on and buying cars on the site, and then reselling in the more traditional markets.  It has become much harder for the first time buyer of a classic car to get a good deal.  There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, that's just the way it is now.  I do enjoy reading the listings and fantasizing sometimes, but that's likely all it will ever amount to for me now.  Your experience may be different.

Hell, I remember back in the early 2000's, when the classic car bug bit one of my friends and coworkers and he decided to buy a Porsche 914 on eBay from a listing in Chicago.  I said, "Great, when are you going to book a flight and go look at it?"  His response was, "Paul, there's no need to, the guy posted 100 photos.  I'm going to buy it and have it shipped here."  I thought he was crazy at the time!  Well, needless to say, the car had a lot more undisclosed issues and rust than advertised and he ended up buying a second 914 as a donor car.  Sadly, I don't think the project(s) were ever completed.

Anyway, I digress.  I think the only time I would consider buying a car on BaT would be if I was really familiar with the make and knew what to look for and what questions to ask during the bid.  Or if I won the lottery, suddenly had a huge windfall of disposable income, and happened to see a dream car (Ferrari 288 GTO, BMW M1, Porsche 959) on BaT.  I'd also have a healthy balance set aside for any needed repairs not readily disclosed at the listing.         

The whole prize craze really started when banks started giving bad to non rates on savings. People started to invest in housing ( real estate ), art, classics etc.. anything with value increase over time

On 1/21/2024 at 1:56 PM, Paulytunes said:

It has become much harder for the first time buyer of a classic car to get a good deal. 

Hell, I remember back in the early 2000's, when the classic car bug bit one of my friends and coworkers and he decided to buy a Porsche 914 on eBay from a listing in Chicago ... needless to say, the car had a lot more undisclosed issues and rust than advertised and he ended up buying a second 914 as a donor car.  Sadly, I don't think the project(s) were ever completed.

IMHO, the internet as a whole killed off most of the "Stole it from a senior citizen" stories that we all used to hear about.  In that regard, I think we've got a more fair system now, where anyone can look at a glance and see what prices are for most 2nd hand things, from cars to Lego sets, and everything in between.  Of course, that's led to the market swinging the other way, where unseasoned sellers think that a sale of a top car makes their rusty hulk worth the same.

I'd agree it's odd how much bidders have become accustomed to purchasing something sight-unseen.  In my experience, there's really no such thing as "bidding with confidence" on a car that no one has put eyes on.  Otherwise, the law of 10K is in effect - regardless of stated condition, any car purchased at auction will require a minimum of $10,000 of work in order to become the car you thought you were buying off the auction block.

Edited January 22, 20241 yr by xs10shl

I don't think you can blame BAT for price hikes. We have the same issues in Australia with anything 90s JDM being $10k+ and needing extensive work. It's inflation, and supply/demand. I think Youtubers are more to blame, always documenting working on old 'sheds' that require loads of work, making it look easy to fix them up etc.. now a lot of that junk is coming back onto the market but nobody has any money to buy them and they just sit on the market for ages.

Here's an odd one.  I wouldn't have seen if I didn't have BAT notifying me about GTO listings.  I was expecting the Pontiac type.

It's a 1976 280Z.  Unfortunately, it looks like the original parts weren't kept so it could be converted back.

Touched by Tom Cruise!!!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/vanilla-sky-ferrari-250-gto-replica/

Here's something interesting, GTO replica built on a 76 280z, https://bringatrailer.com/listing/vanilla-sky-ferrari-250-gto-replica/

Does this count as "A Z Car In A Movie"?  Tom Cruise isn't quite Steve McQueen yet... so it will be interesting to see what premium a direct association with Tom Cruise is worth.  Anything directly associated with Steve McQueen seems to carry a 10x premium... 10 or 20 years from now with a different generation buying - Tom Cruise may be assigned the same premium... $50K car today might be a $500K car ten to twenty years later....

 

The movie didn't do quite as well as Bullitt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_Sky

May already have a buyer in line - but this is a killer deal:

4XXX VIN, white on black.  Appears to have original radio, early brake rotors, valve cover, steering wheel.  Appears to have little rust.  Appears to not have accident damage.  Key parts of original interior are there but possibly in rough condition (center console, seats, ash tray, etc). 

$3000 - looking for in person transaction in Phoenix AZ.

 

Facebook?  Craigslist?  

Facebook.  In their infinite wisdom, they make it hard to copy a link.

Edited February 13, 20241 yr by inline6