The online auction site Bring a Trailer is making waves in the BMW enthusiast community. The site has been around for a few years but has jumped in popularity in the past 12-18 months, becoming a go-to location for low volume, enthusiast oriented BMWs and other brands.
Roundel, the magazine of the BMW Car Club of America, published a feature article on BaT in the June issue. (Usually membership only, but link here to story). It’s a tale of two guys who turned their enthusiasm for cars into a thriving business. Randy Nonnenberg was a BMW employee and Gentry Underwood was a techie, and it started as a hobby site. From Roundel:
“Together in 2007 they developed the web site bringatrailer.com – as in ‘this is a really cool car, but bring a trailer if you want to take it home.’ It was an eclectic jumble of references to cars for sale, weird cars, unusual cars, rare cars; just as so many of us troll the Internet and find something exceptionally neat and forward it to our friends – maybe we don’t want it, but surely someone will jump on it – Bring a Trailer would list a synopsis of these treasures, with links to their original ads.”
From that humble beginning, the site grew in audience size and popularity. In 2010, it was popular enough for Nonnenberg and Underwood to quit their day jobs, monetizing the connection between sellers and buyers. Then in 2014, they added an auction functionality. BaT charges sellers $99 to list their cars, and charge buyers 5 percent of the winning bid. Bidding requires adding a valid credit card to your profile.
Central to BaT’s appeal is that it combines a forum-like community of viewers into the auction process. I’ve spent time engaging in these conversations on the site, mostly about the two BMW models I own, the E46 M3 and the E39 M5. From the article:
“What makes the BaT auction format so special, unique and so far very successful is that like the original BaT concept, for a week potential buyers can ask questions and make comments on the vehicle up for auction. This gives prospective buyers plenty of time to research the vehicle and ask questions, and allows the seller to answer questions and satisfy prospective bidders. But the commentary can also affect the outcome of the auction, because often the commenters note flaws, defects or serious problems with the car; enough of those, and what was once a beautiful, rare exotic is now priced like a parts car with a bad title. Conversely, comments about how wonderful the offering is can drive up enthusiasm and create a bidding war.”
To avoid automated last second bids powered by computer programs, BaT resets the clock back to 2:00 to ensure its actually people entering late bids. The site also shares sale prices by car model going back to 2014, like this one for the E39 M5. This provides a valuable and accurate sales numbers for anyone looking to establish the market value of their older BMW. A tech literate member of the M3Forum community with the handle name oceansize scraped all the E46 M3 sales data and put it into this spreadsheet, including the Interlagos Blue shown above that sold for over $44,000. A 2003 Laguna Seca blue recently sold for $51,000, the current high number.
So what’s not to like? One thing I’ve heard from multiple sources is that BaT aggressively negotiates reserves – the lowest number the seller agrees to sell the car for during the auction. This makes sense from BaT’s perspective, because they want to avoid auctions don’t result in a sale, known as Reserve Not Met. But it can be frustrating to a seller who feels their car is worth more. BaT’s definition of what vehicles are appropriate for the site can sometimes seem arbitrary, and there have been reports of technical glitches that prevented last minute bids. (I’ve not witnessed these site problems.) Successful BaT auctions require certain things from the seller – plentiful and quality pictures, deep knowledge of the vehicle and constant involvement in the online discussion. Here’s a long discussion thread from M3Forum in which these issues are discussed.
BaT’s popularity has contributed to some very high priced sales recently. This of course could be viewed as excellent or concerning, depending on your perspective as seller or buyer. In fact, some of the criticism is that if these numbers continue, BaT will be attractive only to sellers, not buyers. That would be a shame, since I see one of the benefits of BaT as keeping private sale channel of enthusiast vehicles alive. BaT can act as a counterweight to dealerships like Enthusiast Auto Group, which specializes in pristine, low miles BMW M cars which they refurbish and sell at a high premium. I discussed EAG during an interview back in 2014 with Paul Valliere, owner of a very rare Euro-spec E36 M3.
Record setting E39 M5
I think BaT is a positive for the BMW enthusiast community. Awkward language in listings and the occasional tech glitch are probably due to a small organization attempting to scale up quickly. As a business owner myself, I respect how Nonnenberg and Underwood took their passion for cars and turned it into a sustainable operation. Even as prices rise for the cleanest and most desirable numbers, there should still be the chance to get a good deal as a buyer. More choice is always better for the market, and BaT provides an alternative for sellers who without it would probably sell for less to dealers like EAG (itself a business started by enthusiasts).
For buyers, the seven day comment period usually will flush out any important issues and BaT’s rising popularity ensures a constant supply of interesting BMWs. It’s still a private sale, with all the requisite best practices – do your homework, ask the right questions and (if seriously interested) arrange for a pre-purchase inspection. All that said, BaT has revitalized the private party market for enthusiast BMWs, while also providing an entertaining online community.
Edit 5/20/19 – BaT adding new levels of service – listings with professional photography included and a full service white glove option.
UPDATE 7/23/19 – A beautiful, low miles Laguna Seca Blue 2003 M3 with many high quality modifications shatters record, selling for $90,000. Clearly a fantastic car, but surprising considering totally stock cars usually bring the most money. Edit – winning bidder did not follow through on sale. Car was bought by next highest bidder, so exact dollar figure not public but still close to $90,000. I’ve uploaded a new E46 M3 sales spreadsheet. Full story at M3Forum.
UPDATE 4/5/20 – Story in the NY Times on BaT’s successful 2019. Sadly the old M3Forum went down, but has been recreated by members. Member oceansize updated the E46 M3 sales data from BaT and shared a new spreadsheet.
UPDATE 6/26/20 – Hearst Automotive purchases BaT. Supposedly will continue to operate independently with same management.
UPDATE 5/15/22 – Here’s an updated list of every E46 M3 BaT auction courtesy of oceansize.
I’m trying to get a little background on Bring a Trailer before listing my BMW. (I’ve heard both good & bad stories) But I can’t get them on the phone. I’ve made several requests. I just want to talk to them, ask some questions. Does anybody know the secret?
fill out the online application to sell. Then add a very high reserve. They will call you to negotiate a lower reserve.