Collecting Cars auction results

[Rob_F]

Drclarke said:

Absolutely agree. When your family company doesn’t want anything to do with you, what does that tell the wider audience?

What's the crack here then? Someone spill the beans. I mean I don't really care anyway but better out than in as they say......

[FezSpider]

Rob_F said:

What's the crack here then? Someone spill the beans. I mean I don't really care anyway but better out than in as they say......

Yea I agree, spill the beans. Some times it's like a secret society around here

[jtremlett]

Rob_F said:

Drclarke said:

Absolutely agree. When your family company doesn’t want anything to do with you, what does that tell the wider audience?

What's the crack here then? Someone spill the beans. I mean I don't really care anyway but better out than in as they say......

I believe there was a difference of opinion over what Ferrari customers should be charged for new, in demand, cars.

[FezSpider]

Is that it

[anonymous-user]

Yesterday evening, around the time the Pista finished, the 570S had “2 days” remaining. Now it has roughly 11 hours left. Website bug?

[bigmowley]

mstrbkr said:

Yesterday evening, around the time the Pista finished, the 570S had “2 days” remaining. Now it has roughly 11 hours left. Website bug?

I think they all do that. They show number of days right up to 24 hrs to go and then count down clock starts. So “2 days” can be 24hours and 1 minute.

[Cheib]

jtremlett said:

Rob_F said:

Drclarke said:

Absolutely agree. When your family company doesn’t want anything to do with you, what does that tell the wider audience?

What's the crack here then? Someone spill the beans. I mean I don't really care anyway but better out than in as they say......

I believe there was a difference of opinion over what Ferrari customers should be charged for new, in demand, cars.

Maximising short term profit over a longer term strategy. You could say that’s exactly what CC isa about....

[anonymous-user]

bigmowley said:

I think they all do that. They show number of days right up to 24 hrs to go and then count down clock starts. So “2 days” can be 24hours and 1 minute.

Ah okay, thanks. The explanation makes sense, but that’s a weird way to display time left!

[CWagstaff]

CC had a great opportunity to offer something different but went for the quick buck.
Hence the odd decent car surrounded by lemons.

[CWagstaff]

I’m pleased that is the case for some.
My experience hasn’t been so.
I accept auctions are auctions but why not be a little more transparent?
Eg one car I paid for a history check on which was described as having extensive history and last three services were by x, h , z etc.
It had been in storage for 12 years. Why not just say?

[Stryke]

CWagstaff said:

It had been in storage for 12 years. Why not just say?

Because ultimately they are car salesman and looking to make as much as they can, the truth doesn't matter

[Bobo W]

CWagstaff said:

I’m pleased that is the case for some.
My experience hasn’t been so.
I accept auctions are auctions but why not be a little more transparent?
Eg one car I paid for a history check on which was described as having extensive history and last three services were by x, h , z etc.
It had been in storage for 12 years. Why not just say?

Couldn't this criticism be levelled at any seller be it auction house / dealer or private?

CC are reliant on the information provided by the seller so I guess it depends on your opinion of how much investigation you expect them to do into the accuracy thereof.

[SFTWend]

Bobo W said:

CWagstaff said:

I’m pleased that is the case for some.
My experience hasn’t been so.
I accept auctions are auctions but why not be a little more transparent?
Eg one car I paid for a history check on which was described as having extensive history and last three services were by x, h , z etc.
It had been in storage for 12 years. Why not just say?

Couldn't this criticism be levelled at any seller be it auction house / dealer or private?

CC are reliant on the information provided by the seller so I guess it depends on your opinion of how much investigation you expect them to do into the accuracy thereof.

They only have a fraction of the overheads compared to a traditional auction house so to expect some due diligence in exchange for the 6% buyers fee is not unreasonable.

[Rob_F]

SFTWend said:

They only have a fraction of the overheads compared to a traditional auction house so to expect some due diligence in exchange for the 6% buyers fee is not unreasonable.

I think this is a fair point. I was under the impression, certainly at the outset, that CC had a value proposition over and above a generic auction site. The fact it does not, and that one can't really rely on the description anymore than you could on eBay, puts me off anyway. Whether it puts others off or the market as a whole I have no idea.

[bish_345]

C4ME said:

I am sure these online auctions will improve as competition hots up between them. I have been looking at one today that I have not seen before and really like it www.themarket.co.uk Takes many of the principles of CC but does a couple of things in a better way in my opinion.

Also the new Car & Classic one includes an escrow service which I really like (but overall I don't think C&C do other bits as well).

Edited by C4ME on Monday 27th July 22:24

None of the UK sites is a patch on Bring a Trailer in the US at present. Bring a Trailer is completely transparent and maintains an online archive of every auction (whether the car sold or not) containing the entirety of the bidding and the comments on the car. The real difference between Bring a Trailer and eg CC is the "comment" section. The "comment" section in CC seem to be little more than a recital of placed bids. In the case of Bring a Trailer, reading the comments is like reading a PH marque specific forum thread interspersed with occasional bids. The auction site attracts a very large audience ( 125,000 views and 800+ comments on a Miura last month). The comments invariably include very pertinent and/or helpfully geeky observations from knowledgeable people. Admittedly you have to wade through quite a few simplistic cheerleading comments (but that's just the less bottled up US character showing its appreciation for the excitement of an auction). It is the benefit of a car going under this very public microscope of a large critical audience, rather than any "due diligence" by the auction company, that would persuade me to buy on Bring a Trailer as opposed to CC. Plus, the BaT fee is capped at $5,000 rather than the c.$7,700 of CC. So the chap who bought the very nice Miura for $990k only paid a $5k buyer's premium. Compare that to Bonhams/Sotheby's et al......

[MDL111]

Rob_F said:

SFTWend said:

They only have a fraction of the overheads compared to a traditional auction house so to expect some due diligence in exchange for the 6% buyers fee is not unreasonable.

I think this is a fair point. I was under the impression, certainly at the outset, that CC had a value proposition over and above a generic auction site. The fact it does not, and that one can't really rely on the description anymore than you could on eBay, puts me off anyway. Whether it puts others off or the market as a whole I have no idea.

I initially also got the impression that cars are being carefully selected and the focus is more on quality, but I figure that will always have to suffer to achieve quantity - still a good source for stuff you can’t easily find via other avenues, but maybe not your primary port of call for cars where there are plenty available on the market

[V-spec]

MDL111 said:

Rob_F said:

SFTWend said:

They only have a fraction of the overheads compared to a traditional auction house so to expect some due diligence in exchange for the 6% buyers fee is not unreasonable.

I think this is a fair point. I was under the impression, certainly at the outset, that CC had a value proposition over and above a generic auction site. The fact it does not, and that one can't really rely on the description anymore than you could on eBay, puts me off anyway. Whether it puts others off or the market as a whole I have no idea.

I initially also got the impression that cars are being carefully selected and the focus is more on quality, but I figure that will always have to suffer to achieve quantity - still a good source for stuff you can’t easily find via other avenues, but maybe not your primary port of call for cars where there are plenty available on the market

I also thought the concept was about quality and a curated offer, but have you read the description of the Citroen DS that will end today?

[spikeyhead]

V-spec said:

I also thought the concept was about quality and a curated offer, but have you read the description of the Citroen DS that will end today?

So long as the description is accurate, what's the problem?

[V-spec]

spikeyhead said:

So long as the description is accurate, what's the problem?

True, and the description does seem reasonably honest, I just though CC had gone for a different USP

Like MDL111 said, I had the impression that the site was about quality, and that a certain level had to be achieved for your car even to be accepted for sale. However, it doesn't actually claim this anywhere, it was just my impression built on what they were initially selling.

Some of the recent offers have been of a different quality, with the DS as a good example. The description might be accurate but this is one where you literally need to bring a trailer, it even says so, just after the bit about "visible rust" everywhere:

"There is a small puddle of fluid that accumulates beneath the car when parked up, which is believed to be fluid from the hydraulic systems, so this will also need investigation and rectification. Strictly speaking, the car does run and drive, but it is not safe or sensible to do so - so it will need to be collected with a trailer to be transported away by the winning bidder."

[anonymous-user]

A DS that needs repair is still a collectible car. How many classics are running around carrying a few issues? It would be easier to count those that aren’t.

The language in the descriptions is obviously chosen to sugar coat some of the issues that cars have, but the facts are all there. In the case of the DS the seller is not sure what fluid it is. This devalues the car and so buyers bid the amount accordingly. I’m not seeing an issue? And potential buyers have ample time to view the cars before buying.

Edit: But then something like this hot mess comes up for sale. Hmmm.

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2007-renault-c...

Edited by mstrbkr on Tuesday 28th July 11:04