Bring a Trailer has become an obsession for many auto enthusiasts. This famed auction site causes many of us to spend lots of hours drooling over vintage, collectible and rare vehicles. Launched in 2007, BaT makes it simple to bypass the junk of Craigslist and eBay when searching for a unique vehicle. Their meticulously curated selection of cars is ready to purchase.
Today we’re going to go over the process of buying a car off Bring a Trailer along with what you could expect to happen after the auction.
Bring a Trailer Basics: Joining, Searching, and Bidding
Unlike eBay, Bring a Trailer doesn’t offer Buy it Now pricing. Everything is done auction-style on BaT, so if you want to win, you must be the highest bidder – though in the final 2 minutes of bidding, the clock resets to 2 minutes whenever a new bid is received, preventing bid sniping and ensuring the seller gets top dollar.
Register to bid
Before you can do anything on the site, you need to register to bid. This requires you to enter your information on the site, then BaT will send you an e-mail to confirm registration. You will need to provide some financial account information before you are able to place a bid. This verification could take time.
Find a car
Then, find the car you want to bid on (there’s plenty of amazing vehicles to choose from). It’s critical that you read the listing entirely and peruse the comments section for questions, answers, and additional information. Look at every photo carefully – this is your only glimpse of the car.
If you read the description and still have a question, sellers are happy to add more photos or details at your request, or you can post your question to Bring a Trailer’s infamous comments section where several people seem to know every little detail about each car that is auctioned.
Start bidding – and hang in there
Now it’s time to place your bid. Just like eBay, you can enter the total amount you are willing to pay and the program will automatically adjust your bid as needed. As long as your bid remains the highest, you will win the auction. It is important to note that bids cannot be cancelled on Bring a Trailer and backing out of a purchase could get you barred from the platform for life.
“No Reserve” auctions are clearly marked as such. On reserve auctions, you won’t be able to see what the reserve amount is on the car, but you’ll be able to see when it’s been met.
Sign up for alerts to make sure to fill out your profile’s notification settings to stay in the know about your bid.
Receiving Auction Updates
Once you’ve decided which cars you want to follow on Bring a Trailer, it’s vital that you sign up for updates on the auctions. You can subscribe to the update by clicking into the auction listing and simply selecting the WATCH button or favoriting a listing on mobile.
If you decide to stop following that particular auction, go back into the listing and click again to stop receiving updates. You can also see all the auctions that you are currently monitoring: just go to the Auctions page and click on the “Watched” selection at the top. This filters everything that you have your eye on – which I promise will be a lot!
What’s Going on With the Clock?
One of the most significant points of confusion for new Bring a Trailer users is the clock. In a typical eBay listing, you got used to bid sniping. This term refers to those who wait until the final seconds of an auction and then throw in the winning bid. Did you know that people use software just to make sure they get that last minute winning bid in? Crazy, right?
BaT Auctions didn’t want that happening on their site, so they did something about it. During the final two minutes of an auction on Bring a Trailer, the clock resets whenever a bid is placed. Once there are no more bids coming in, the time runs out. This practice ensures that everyone has the chance to place their bids and it allows the seller to receive a fair value for their vehicle.
To play it safe, BaT employs Auction Specialists to monitor comments and remove erroneous bids. If you accidentally add a digit to your bid, for example, the moderator can be asked to invalidate the bid so you can correct your mistake.
What Happens During Bidding and After the Auction
Costs, deposits and holds
When you make your first bid, 5% of that amount will be held on your card with a minimum of $250. If you win the auction, it goes toward your fees. If you don’t win the auction, they release those funds back to you. As with any refund, it could take a few days before you see that money back.
When you win, Bring a Trailer takes their fees instantly
If you become the winner of an auction, your financial account will be billed BaT’s fee: 5% of the final bid price. The minimum fee charged is $250 and it cannot exceed $5,000. So, if you plan to purchase a car for more than $100,000, at least you know the fees won’t be more than $5,000.
Exchanging documents
BaT Auctions doesn’t get involved in the transaction between the buyer and the seller. Instead, they provide the contact information to both parties at the close of the sale. Good faith practices recommended by the site ask the seller to send the buyer a copy of the Bill of Sale and title before the buyer sends the payment. Furthermore, they suggest that you send the money via a wire transfer to buy the car.
Problems can arise when the buyer and seller don’t see eye to eye. If that happens, BaT staff can get involved in the process, at least to understand what happened. Some auctions have been passed on to the second, third, or even fourth highest bidders in line to try and make a deal after the winner backed out. Again, if you win and back out, you risk being banned for life.
Shipping is solely the responsibility of the buyer. The buyer must arrange and pay for any shipping vendor they choose or pick the vehicle up themselves.
What if the Auction Didn’t Meet the Reserve Price?
In the case of cars with a reserve price, it’s possible that bidding never got high enough to close the deal. While BaT Auctions work closely with sellers to ensure the reserve prices are reasonable, it’s not uncommon for this to occur.
At the close of the auction, the seller receives the contact information of the highest bidder. From there, the two of them can work out their own deal, if they desire. Sometimes, the seller is willing to share with the bidder what they would take to sell the car. Other times, they may try another avenue to get a higher price. We’ve seen times when the second, third, and even fourth highest bidder are contacted, and so on until a deal is made.
Vehicles usually cannot be relisted if the auction fails, and auctions cannot be cancelled once they have begun.
What Makes BaT Auctions Different Than eBay or Craigslist?
In addition to bidding charges and sniping protection, numerous qualities make buying a car off Bring a Trailer a different and more distinguished experience.
Curated listings
You won’t find your neighbor’s Prius or your boss’s Camry on BaT. In fact, sellers have to submit the information about their car and then BaT Auctions chooses the most exciting and interesting cars to list. Each seller must pay $99 to list their vehicle. That amount is owed whether the auction is successful or not, though the staff has been known to push for low reserve prices to ensure that more sales go through.
High-quality descriptions
All sellers need to work with a BaT team member to design an informative and honest listing for the vehicle. Often the auction doesn’t begin for a couple of weeks, during which time a trusted photographer is often dispatched to document the vehicle. In other words, many knowledgeable people have viewed the car in question so that you don’t have to.
Community confidence
BaT Auctions is famous for its vibrant community of well-educated commenters. These are people who know the right steering wheel center cap for a 1985 BMW M5 and the correct headlight rings for a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL; they help inspire confidence by highlighting potential issues and concerns for buyers.
All of these things considered make BaT Auctions a great option when you are looking to buy or sell a rare collectible vehicle – and we aren’t being paid to say that!
Quality is most important
If you are looking for the lowest price possible on a car for resale or because you are completely broke, go to a classifieds site like eBay or Craigslist. Buyer beware in these situations because there’s minimal oversight and you could buy a real junker by complete accident.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for an invest-grade or historically significant vehicle, then Bring a Trailer Auctions is the place for you. They take their time to vet all the prospects and ensure that you get what you pay for. Of course, a pre-purchase inspection is still the best practice for anyone looking to buy – and BaT sellers are often willing to facilitate this service on your behalf due to the high-end nature of most of the sales. Half the time, eBay sellers won’t even respond at all.
Even if you aren’t buying a car, BaT Auctions is a great place to spend hours a day just daydreaming about what you could have. Just make sure you don’t get caught by your boss!
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We are not attorneys. This article is not legal advice. Cover image source
About the Author
Brian Jones is an ASE Certified Master Tech that lives outside of Dallas, TX with his wife and children. He has a passion for old muscle cars, big pickup trucks and anything motorsport related. In his spare time, he does a lot of traveling and writing for dealerships across the country through CarBlogWriters.com.