Does anyone have any experience selling a car via auction? Specifically, I am thinking about selling my six again and Gooding & Co could take it in their Scottsdale auction in January.

I advertised my car many months ago for $95k, and had lots of interest and someone bid it to $85k on eBay, but a deal was very made. I haven't been in a big hurry since I still really like the car.

Gooding charges $1000 to place it in the auction, plus they take 8%-10% of the sale price. Plus the buyer pays a 12% premium. And they require no reserve for anything less than $250k. The rep I spoke with said the "expected price" in the catalog would be $80k-$100k. Hmmm...

So... suppose it sells for $100k in auction, I take home $91k best case, and the buyer pays $112k.

What's the best way to sell a six at the moment? BAT? eBay? Auction? 914world? Other?

Thanks,
Steve

BAT, do it now, while its the anniversary rush......GLWS

forced no reserve. Scary.

BaT would be my go to

A reserve is the minimum price that a vehicle will sell for. We work with sellers to set reasonable reserves, and avoid vehicles with reserves that are not realistic. Reserve values are not shown on the listing, nor do we announce when reserves have been met (we think that leads to bidding games).

From BAT right now . So you can set a reserve


Bob B

I think that BAT is a very good place to sell. You do not need to deliver a car to an auction and return it to yourself if it does not sell.

If your car is super nice and shows well this is a good place. People car see all your pictures and video of your car. It gives them time to Ck it out. there will be lots of feedback from people looking at the car like guys from 914World pointing out every little thing.

Bob B

https://bringatrailer.com/faq/#collapse-how-do-reserves-work

Worst case, there are not 2 guys there that HAVE TO HAVE the car and it sells at the low end of their estimate (or lower?)

Then there are transport costs of the car to the auction. Transport costs for yourself. Hotel, food, etc. while you are at the auction.

I've sold high end collector cars on both eBay and BaT. I would not consider a big name auction. It's a real crap shoot and I don't have the guts. I would also not consider an ad for a car of the caliber you have...here, or anywhere else. You will limit yourself to your asking price (and probably less) as opposed to an auction if those two guys that HAVE TO HAVE it are participating.

It is reasonable to sell on both eBay and BaT. About $100 for each. The key is plenty of high res pictures and a complete description (including any "warts").

You can list any reserve you want on eBay. BaT is more picky since their real revenue stream is the 5% from the buyer...not the $100 from the seller. They are big enough now that they can pretty much dictate the reserve, and they make it low enough that they are pretty sure there will be a payday for them.

You write your own listing on eBay. I write HTML so I imbed pictures in my write up instead of having all the pictures grouped together. Since I am hosting my own pictures (Flickr) I can have more pictures than the eBay allowed maximum. You have the potential of more "eyes" on your ad, world wide, than any other venue I can think of. With a good ad and plenty of pictures, what the car sells for (or what it bids to if it doesn't sell) is pretty much how the market values the car.

BaT writes the listing. You provide the info and pictures that they work from. They keep consistency that way, but their writers are not the best (IMHO). You get to interact with buyers questions and comments almost real time. You sell yourself (as a knowledgable, honest guy) as well as the car.

I'd try BaT. I'd put together a complete history (of the car...not 914s), description, and at least 80 pictures. Tell them what reserve you are looking for and see what they come back with. If it is your number or one you can live with, give it a shot.

Here are the 18 914-6s that have been sold on BaT. $82k was the high water mark.

Keep in mind that it is easy to buy a car. Tough to sell one.

Good luck with the sale!

If you go BAT, make sure you have professional photos of every square inch of your car. Plus a couple of good videos...again professionally done.

Don't bother with BAT if you don't do the above.

keep in mind the hype 914s are getting this weekend....

Pictures and videos sell cars. The more, the better.

"no reserve" is a no go for an auction, don't do it ...

I sold an older Mercedes with these guys. They have an auction in Feb. that usually runs the same time as the Modernism Show in Palm Springs. I don't remember what they charge the seller but I would check out this one. http://www.classic-carauction.com/

BAT there is where I sold my 6:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-porsche-914-6-7/

BAT is the way to go. I just sold one of my cars and did much better than I expected. I will sell some more later this year. I think the best thing you can have is videos... more than one. Everyone does cold start, drive by, etc. The one video I got the most positive feedback on is one I took with a go pro mounted inside the car behind me. I just drove and people could see and hear the car in action....no commentary.

If you do sell on Bring a Trailer, you may have a few "friends" that can "help" the sale along.

I don’t like selling through a third party, you’re just making them more money. Sell to someone you know.

A lot of cars go for stupid money on BAT and buyer pays most of the fees. Great place to sell, terrible place to buy.

I bought my 914 race car from these guys. From my limited experience with them, I’d look elsewhere. The PO of the car said it was on consignment with them, maybe they ran it thought the auction to help seller with realistic pricing? They’re nice enough, but IMO weak on the negotiation side for the seller. I bought the car after a no sale at their auction. I negotiated the price with the PO, they did nothing but show the car on their website (it was a description cut and pasted from the PO, they really didn’t know anything about the car or 914s) and facilitate the dmv transfer docs. Felt like they wanted to collect their fee and move on. The paperwork side was fast and painless, so I’ll give them that...

Why not try consignment with AutoKennel or the like?

https://autokennel.com/

First of all, your green 14-6 is just gorgeous. The color, the photos, the condition... all of it.

From my looking, BAT doesn't seem to be particularly supportive of the 'true' -6 market, but what are you to do? (Which I guess is your question!) I think it vets cars pretty well, but it's a job for the seller, or at least it was for me.

However, I'm choosing to go that route with my recently-refreshed -6. They've approved the listing and we're in the last round of photo selection. Hope you guys can weigh in (supportively!) when it hits.

If it doesn't pull well, am considering RM Sotheby's in Amelia Island this March to sell mine.

Best to you, because your car is a knockout.

Pictures just can't do the car justice. In person it's really impressive. That it's tied with a #1 color, to me, makes me biased.

For reference, a '75 2.0 didn't hit the reserve at high bid $29,500, so I guess you would be able to set your reserve wherever you want.

This from the BaT website...

A reserve is the minimum price that a vehicle will sell for. We work with sellers to set reasonable reserves, and avoid vehicles with reserves that are not realistic. Reserve values are not shown on the listing, nor do we announce when reserves have been met (we think that leads to bidding games).

FAQs

I had a Mercedes W114 that was not accepted by BaT due to the reserve I needed. I sold it on eBay.

BaT reserves are generally fairly low relative to the market. That way they are more confident the car will meet reserve and sell and that they will collect the 5% commission from the buyer

IMHO the reserve on that recent one on BaT was unrealistic (but so was the bidding). It was offered by a big time Corvette dealer and BaT may have been doing them a favor due to the 32 cars they have listed on BaT.

That car may get the top end on Bat. It seems to be hit or miss, but nice 6's seem to be doing well there. You can't lose by asking Bat about a reserve that meets your requirements.