Midlana - For sale, was on BaT, winner backed out

Start here: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-special-mid-engine-lotus-seven/

Went up for bidding on 22 June. Part way through the bidding, a guy checked out the car in person, looked over the engine, confirmed that he fit, was excited about what he saw, and went on to win.

After the auction ended and the winner was on the way to pick up the car, apparently Midlana didn't want to go home with him and developed a fuel leak. I was in the middle of repairing it when he arrived. Unfortunately, it was a failed AN fitting, because replacing the hose didn't fix the problem. I didn't have a spare, and the stores were closed.

Winner said "You had all week to get this ready, and it obviously isn't." And, "This failed, so who knows what else could fail next." I managed to keep my mouth shut, because for... reasons..., this was actually a huge blessing. I think he realized that he was in over his head and was looking for an out. Okay.

Contacted other bidders, and one's off onto other cars, one's fairly interested but also considering alternatives, and one is very interested, but is also the lowest bidder (I have no idea if any of them are on GRM).

So, I thought I'd put it up here to see what happens. I asked BaT for my options on relisting the car, but do feel like this bidder somewhat poisoned the car's representation, at least on BaT, and I wouldn't expect bidding to get as high the second time around (though, what do I know). Bidders will want to know why the first sale fell through, and I'm pretty sure that no matter what I say, there'll still be a taint on the car. It's a shame because I try (my friend says, too hard) to be brutally honest about it, going into detail on everything so that when the winner gets the car, there are zero surprises. And now this... sigh, oh well, and like I said, Midlana just didn't like him!

Anyway, the hose assembly is already replaced and all is good.

Oh man that sucks so bad!

I love this thing.  I want to build it in Assetto Corsa

kb58 said:
Winner said "You had all week to get this ready, and it obviously isn't." And, "This failed, so who knows what else could fail next." I managed to keep my mouth shut, because for... reasons..., this was actually a huge blessing. I think he realized that he was in over his head and was looking for an out. Okay.

If I paid $55k for a car and it was broken when I went to pick it up, I'd pass too. You're mad at the wrong guy. He had every right to pass on it. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I missed the part where he's mad at anybody.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

This is a good time to remember your reputation here and how you've earned it. You do not know kb58 well enough to be "helpfully blunt" with him. Instead it comes across as rude. 

I will say that killing the deal over a  spontaneous failure of a fuel line on a custom fabricated car does show that maybe the buyer wasn't a good fit.  Things happen and the kind of person who's the right buyer for a car like this will be prepared to deal with the occasional issue- it's not a Camry. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

The words you skipped in your quoting are really important:

I managed to keep my mouth shut, because for... reasons..., this was actually a huge blessing.

Also, kb58 is talking about their in-person interaction, not the posts on BaT. Again, I'm still missing the part where he's mad at anybody.

I tried explaining what happened, no more, and no less, but can't control interjected perceived meanings. The reason for the explanation was my apparently lame attempt to get ahead of the inevitable question of why the winning bidder dropped out. In short, there is no "mad" going on anywhere, and it has worked out the best for both parties.

Now, about Midlana, any questions?

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

That's why I said "to me". Hopefully I'm wrong, and no one is mad and  it's just a deal that didn't happen for whatever reason. Out of complete curiosity does BAT keep the fee if the car is not as described? If so, that's an expensive hose for the buyer!

I watched the auction in real time, and I think the guy was getting cold feet as soon as he made the winning bid......he made comments about it, so I agree - not the right buyer. He or she will come along, I'm sure.

By the way, how many Midlanas have been completed off the book so far?

I remember the OP from his Kimini days......have read his posts since those days!

One in the UK is complete, and one in Florida is coming along well. In fact, Florida guy is working with his dad on it, which I think is just the greatest, and his dad's metal skills are amazing. The book car was created to keep it simple and easy(er) to build, but builders are encouraged to do their own thing. There are two more in Australia that are coming along as well, and a bunch more in various stages of completion.

Here's the Florida build as of last month:

In reply to kb58 :

That body is wild!

We've all given him huge thumbs up. I've never ventured into forming metal body pieces, fearing that the learning curve would include expense, bad language, and a pile of shiny "yard art."

I've had buyers back out at the last minute over seemingly inconsequential stuff too - it always worked out for the best and it usually was them being "over their head" with a swapped car or project. I'd be pissed if the car didn't work when I arrived but E36 M3 happens on a totally home built car like this. Things ALWAYS break right before I sell a car. 

It is a beautiful car and I'm super jealous of you being able to build it, and of its future owner. Good luck with the sale!

tastyguac said:

Things ALWAYS break right before I sell a car.

Man, ain't that the truth. I had a master cylinder go out on me as I was driving my AW11 to meet its buyer. The dude still bought it, but I had to knock some cash off my asking price.

Sorry to hear the auction fell through, but hopefully good comes from it in the end.

tastyguac said:

...I'd be pissed if the car didn't work... Things ALWAYS break right before I sell a car. 

To be clear(er), the buyer was not upset, but understandably disappointed. There were no raised voices by either party.

Back when I sold Kimini, my previous project (GRM cover shot :), we went to load it onto the trailer and it wouldn't start! Bump started it down the hill and all was well, but... yeah, stuff happens.

I had a Volt I had replaced the battery on and then on the test drive the heat didn't work. Whoops! The buyer still wanted it but with working heat. I got it working and he came back and bought it. It happens!

When I bought my Boxster everything on the test drive was perfect. I had pulled it back into the sellers driveway at the end and then we made a deal with me coming back to get it the next day. Then it wouldn't start to get back in the garage. Some sensor had failed. Seller replaced it and I picked the car up a week later. 

Thank you for the supporting comments. I replaced both the leaking hose assembly, and the mating AN fittings as a precaution, and all is back to perfect.

In reply to kb58 :

Any update on the buyer and/or BaT?

Crazy. I sold a car on there two weeks ago and I knew within 5 minutes, the winning bidder would not be following through. Had to sit through four separate phone calls of sobbing and deep sighing that she would not / maybe / could not / wait, yes / no, really, no, not be buying my car. Thank God the runner-up was serious and contacted me later that day to see what was going on.

BaT does provide a service but to think it is any different than eBay is giving it way too much credit. 

Good luck with the sale; that buyer would have been on the phone about a million and two little things for months to come. Things go wrong. The top motor on my Saab died two days before the auction was set to end. No controlling what an old / enthusiast car will do.

BaT replied, asked for my side of the story, then offered to rerun the auction at no expense, though it means starting again at the end of the queue for another 4-week wait. My worry is that, regardless of what happened, the auction is likely tainted to some degree and may not bid as high. Before deciding on that, I made contact with several other bidders and will see how that pans out.