by The automotive world has undergone significant changes over the past ten years, and now these transformations have reached the classic car market. Previously, this segment was considered quite stable, but the situation has now changed dramatically.
A striking example is a recent incident with a Toyota. After a series of successful sales of this brand’s pickups for big money on Bring a Trailer, one of the models suddenly fell short of the expected price level. The dissatisfied seller was quick to express his emotions in the auction’s comments.
This 1982 Toyota Pickup was preserved in excellent condition. It is equipped with a practically new 2.4-liter 22R Stroker engine, a 5-speed manual transmission, Old Man Emu shock absorbers, a two-range transfer case, a protective grille and a Warn winch, as well as a set of spare parts. Similar models recently sold on this platform for over $40,000.
However, the auction representatives seemed to doubt the high value of this particular specimen. As the seller admitted in the comments, he asked to set a reserve of $17,000, but the organizers refused.
In response to a user’s question: “Why did you agree to a no-reserve auction if you expected to get $30,000?”, the car owner replied: “I wanted to set a minimum of 17 thousand, but BaT did not agree. In the end, they could have paid me the difference of those 2 thousand. In short, I will never use their services again and will not recommend them to anyone.”
Photos on BaT
The seller learned an important lesson: a no-reserve auction truly does not guarantee a minimum amount. In this case, the losses amounted to about $14,000. According to the man, he bought the pickup for $17,000 and invested another $12,000 into it before the sale, but received only $15,000. Not the best result.
Sometimes no-reserve auctions lead to fierce bidding, as buyers know the car will definitely be sold. But it also happens that the seller receives much less than expected. In this situation, there were other options: ignore the auction’s advice, choose a different platform for the sale, or find a buyer privately. This case has become a timely piece of advice for everyone.
