BAT jumping the shark?

Funny, I felt kind of bad after I posted this. Who am I to pass judgment on those guys? Not so much in the spirit of the season.

A friend of mine tried to list his two N600’s with them a few months ago, and they sent him a form letter about the ‘uniqueness’ of the cars auctioned on BaT, and how they felt his cars didn’t meet that criteria.

guess it's about $$$ now.

I've sold a few cars there and had an excellent experience.  Niche/hobby cars are luxury items and to that end, it is all about the $$$. I'm glad to see them thriving. 

In reply to racerfink :

Not sure I follow their logic, an N600 is definitely more unique than an air cooled 911. Were they too unique for them?

I thought BAT jumped the shark a while ago when they developed an obsession with air cooled 911's.

That said, I don't begrudge them at all for leveraging their position into the place to buy unique cars. We still have Daily Turismo.

Yeah, I agree with all the comments. OP, I wouldn’t feel bad. Nothing wrong with citing someone “selling out” for money. And nothing wrong with that either. I don’t frequent that place as much ever since it officially became “bring a trust fund”

What did I miss?

In reply to DrBoost :

A 2005 or so Tacoma. 4x4 manual but still...

I didn't see the listing but i do see early 2000s 4wd Tacomas as already sort of being in an enthusiast niche. They sell for more than they would if actual enthusiasts weren't competing over them. Normal people would never buy one for the price they go for unless some trusted person they know (who is probably an enthusiast..) told them that they are actually great in spite of the fact of being smaller, slower, and less efficient than newer trucks you could get for the same money. 

I recently did headgaskets on a lifted 2000 4dr Tacoma with 200k miles. I could easily see that truck still selling for 6-7k. If it was a 200k mile 4dr 4wd lifted Dakota it would be worth $2300. Some would argue the Toyota is three times better, and those peoples' opinion has more to do with the current value than whatever the actual reality of the truck is because they are the only people actually buying them.  So in that sense of enthusiast circle-jerk driving up values to the point that noone is buying them as a 'normal used car' anymore, it makes sense to list one on BaT. 

I'm pretty sure every e39 m5 trading hands is done through BAT

I wish daily tourismo was more active. I'd love to see like 5-10 cool cars every day that I could actually afford. Or maybe BAT could do a seperate grassroots type site with max price of like $15k

fiesta54 said:

I'm pretty sure every e39 m5 trading hands is done through BAT

They're THAT good though. 

fiesta54 said:

I'm pretty sure every e39 m5 trading hands is done through BAT

They're coming close to having auctioned 1/4 of the R63's that Mercedes ever sold in the U.S.

I almost listed my SC MR2 on there, got lucky locally with a GRM'er.  I check it once in awhile and luckily everything stays above my budget.  No $500 Miatas on BAT this week.

Barn finds is still active. Lots of affordable classics and good commentary every day. Gave up on BAT a while ago.

In reply to Vigo :

That's how I feel about the Cummins powered Dodge trucks. Yes it’s a good motor but everything else about the truck is E36 M3. The body rusts, the seats wear out, the electrics are dodgy. And you’re driving a truck not just the motor. But take a $1500 truck and stick that stupid motor in it and suddenly it’s a $8000 truck. Good lord. Just about the only good thing about those trucks is the engine and that’s just not enough for me. 

dculberson said:

In reply to Vigo :

That's how I feel about the Cummins powered Dodge trucks. Yes it’s a good motor but everything else about the truck is E36 M3. The body rusts, the seats wear out, the electrics are dodgy. And you’re driving a truck not just the motor. But take a $1500 truck and stick that stupid motor in it and suddenly it’s a $8000 truck. Good lord. Just about the only good thing about those trucks is the engine and that’s just not enough for me. 

That’s what I was prepared for when I bought my ‘98 12 valve quad cab years ago. It has been amazing however. Still rattle free, interior and exterior look great, tows like a freight train and has never, ever, broken down. 266k miles so far. Not planning on ever selling it. Stuff doesn’t really rust here so maybe that is it? Jcamper

In reply to old_ :

I write stuff for Daily Turismo.  Nice to see the positive comment.

In reply to dculberson :

As a previous owner of an '89 D350. I want another square body dodge because I think they're cool, no way am I paying for another one with a Cummins in it though. My next one will definitely be a small block powered D100 long bed. The Cummins just made my life a pain and definitely isn't worth the premium. On new trucks even I'm not sure the diesel is worth the premium unless you're hot shotting or using it as a full time farm rig. (you know, when it's actually making you money)

So a truck went for a surprising amount of money? Is that BAT jumping the shark, or the market jumping the shark?
I suspect I'm still missing something.

In reply to DrBoost :

I think  a little column A, a little column B.  Of course some of these cars are appreciating, but I also think BAT has moved upmarket, as have the people using the site