Although the first rule of the internet is “never read the comments,” it is precisely these comments that make Bring a Trailer so much more compelling than most online auction sites. If a car is noteworthy, the comments regularly number in the hundreds. Of course, we all try to guess the eventual price of auctions we follow, and record-setting sales are always exciting. However, the real appeal of watching comes in learning — not only lots of esoteric information, but also lessons about buying and selling.
White whale
The recent no-sale of a white 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera RS (BaT Lot 85223) showed the power of the peanut gallery, which can — and will — sink a car if the seller does not address a legitimate inquiry. This particular Grand Prix White 993 RS qualifies as rare, with just 1,014 made, and it was never imported into the U.S. The model was somewhat unique, with lots of non-standard 993 features, so I was not surprised to see plenty of engaged buyers, with more than 150 comments posted by the time bidding stopped.
Prices for 993 RS cars have varied from about $300,000 for average examples to $500,000 for unique colors or high-quality, low-mile cars. Japan is the source of most of the good ones these days; this was a Japanese-delivery car, now being sold out of Canada.
Sticker shock
From the onset, the seller stated, “No signs of repaint, no overspray anywhere or flaws in paint or clear.”
Two days into the auction, there was some back-and-forth in the comments concerning the lack of an underhood sticker detailing build options. One of the viewers claimed to have seen numerous Japanese RS imports and stated that none had the sticker. Equally certain was a second person who claimed all 993s had them. Another commenter suggested that many Japanese cars had them removed by dealers.
Then another issue reared its head, concerning the hood-mounting bolts. In photos posted by the seller, the bolts were painted and appeared to have marks on them that the seller suggested could have come from service or adjustments. After a few additional comments, the debate was unresolved.
Paint bomb
That is, until 5:59 a.m. on the final day of the auction, when a commenter posted: “The under hood photos show painted mounting bolts and some re-positioning…Has the car had front end damage, or what?”
The seller soon replied: “No accident damage, no repaint.”
This led to a series of exchanges over the next three-plus hours, peppered with other comments. Some supported the commenter’s insistent line of questioning, with others criticizing him, pointing out that he was not bidding on the car.
Commenter: “Tell me why the bolts are painted…”
Seller: “No paintwork.”
Commenter: “Should the hood bolts be painted if no work done?”
Commenter: “Just answer the question.”
Seller: “The bolts on this car are painted. Thanks.”
Commenter: “Finally an answer. I would’ve gone away long ago…”
At this point, the car had been bid to $281,993 by two interested parties. There were more comments afterwards, more than a few of them discussing the appropriateness of the previous comments. Then one more bit of information was shared: that the bolts in question should not have been bolts but hex nuts!
A few bids trickled in as well, but the auction had just an hour left and the car failed to meet its reserve, with the highest offer at $297,000.
Several post-auction commenters expressed their surprise that the 993 RS didn’t reach a substantially higher price. I would concur — the car deserved more and the comments just a few hours before the end of the sale could not have helped.
Seller beware
I am a lifelong Porsche guy, and before this auction I couldn’t tell you what a correct hood-mounting bolt looked like or whether it should or shouldn’t have been painted. So after the auction, I went and checked the hood-mounting bolts on my Arena Red 1996 993 Turbo. To my delight, I found nice, shiny, unpainted hex nuts.
Take from that what you will concerning 993 hood bolts, but there are several lessons we can learn from this sale. First — and most obvious — is that when a car is rare, unique or expensive, the seller should anticipate comments. These will come from both casual observers and marque experts, who have every right to ask about details that are important to serious collectors.
Although a seller can’t control the timing of potentially controversial comments, an ounce of prevention — in the form of full disclosure up front — has been shown time and again to be the best strategy in online sales. When questions do come in, a seller needs to address them quickly. Here, the seller took close to three hours to state that the bolts in question were painted. Was the car in a front-end accident? We still don’t know.
This brings up another point, which is that the seller needs to be aware of what they are selling. We don’t know if the seller knew anything about the painted bolts or not, but it clearly could have helped his case if he had. A comment from one of the actual bidders suggested that the explanation for the bolts might have been that the car had its hood swapped for a carbon-fiber piece in-period. Had the seller been able to corroborate such a story, it might have instilled more confidence in other bidders. The car might then have gotten close to the $400,000 sale price that some anticipated. ♦