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

Steve_Jones said:

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. 

This. I'd be pretty upset as well and would of def passed.

But, I've been on both sides of this fence. Ironically, it always happen to me with GRM transactions lol. 

In reply to yupididit :

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. 

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to yupididit :

 

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. 

Sir, what???

I've bought cars from members on this forum that broke shortly or immediately after, and I've sold cars to members of this forum where the car that I sold did the same. If any of them were upset, I'd understand, I would be too. And if I paid for a car in advance and it was broken upon my arrival vs the condition that was stated in the auction/ad, I'd be extra upset.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

LoL disregard, I read the rest of the thread. ISWYDT

yupididit said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

LoL disregard, I read the rest of the thread. ISWYDT

I lol'd.

kb58's books are some of my favorite and anytime I've interacted with him he's been super helpful. Really hope you get this moved to the right buyer, it's a fascinating and well put together machine!

In reply to kb58 :

Doubt it's "tainted".  BaT will say that the buyer didn't follow through.  Happened to a corrado owner I know, his car was relisted and sold for $5k MORE then it got the first time

Hey kb58. Sorry this went sideways. Always loved your builds.  Better luck next time.  maybe you dodged a bullet. 
 

Ignore Steve. He's a special kind of grouchy. 

Thanks, guys.

docwyte said:

In reply to kb58 :

Doubt it's "tainted".  BaT will say that the buyer didn't follow through.  Happened to a corrado owner I know, his car was relisted and sold for $5k MORE then it got the first time

Agree that you are probably fine to relist if you cannot get one of the previous bidders interested. Car is unique enough to do well on BAT. I have sold three cars on BAT so far, all have exceeded my expectations and all three buyers were anxious to complete the transaction. Maximum audience on BAT and for cars like this, probably the best opportunity to find the right buyer.

In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :

I have to say that I was disappointed in the performance of my corrado on BaT.  Given what the last one brought ($25,500) and the fact that mine was a better car, with recaros, I expected it would do in the same neighborhood.  It ended up selling for thousands less than that and barely over my reserve.  I didn't have any issues with the buyer tho, he paid right away and got the car.

It can be a crap shoot for sure. I track all my cars to see how they are doing on the BAT auctions, but yes, it can be crazy, have seen 914's sell for 7K and then cars that still need major work like this one that sold for 21K. Since the audience is vast,  I think sometimes you hit the lotto with the right buyers that compete to get your car if it is the right color or right package of options for a given year. I do insist with BAT that I have a reasonable reserve to make sure that I don't loose money, but I definitely see cars that sometimes are a bargain and then we all know the examples that are well over market. My MSM sold for market price, the Spitfire well over market price and the GT6 was top market pricing.  Guess I'll find out this fall when my red  restored 914 goes on BAT to finance some other projects.

In reply to kb58 :

I live in Jacksonville, and saw this car ("Alula"?) at the Caffeine and Octane a few weeks ago.  They had it out there on a trailer.  I enjoyed talking with the owner and the car is certainly a labor of love, and an impressive amount of aluminum body panel forming.

Glad to see some people following thru and building their cars off the book. That video gives a good representation of just how much work building a car from scratch can be. That Florida guy is doing an amazing job - I would not have had the vision to see the car in my mind the way he did. I also appreciate the aero work he's clearly done, lots of Ford GT ideas being used there......I love it. I don;t agree with all of his choices in styling, but over all it will be an incredible car. I hope it drives as well as it looks when he's done!

Since he's in such a hot part of the country, I wonder what he's done for HVAC on his car?

Honestly I can't fathom the idea of being invested enough in a custom car to pay $55k for it and at the same time scared away from it completely by one leaky hose. Makes me think the buyer 1) had little to no experience with custom-built or modified cars and 2) saw it as a fun and cheap diversion somehow, the way we might look at a cheap RC car from a garage sale. One little flaw that meant no immediate fun, and the buyer thought "meh, I'll pass."

Also the concept of the car being "tainted" on BaT further reinforces my suspicions that BaT bidders are mostly composed of a small in-group of wealthy car collectors who get high off huffing each other's farts

I love the people down voting my post above without getting the joke.....

Steve_Jones said:

I love the people down voting my post above without getting the joke.....

It's possible to both get the joke and also think it's not funny...

kb58 said:

Thanks, guys.

The thing I have always liked about BaT is the brutal honesty of  most sellers.  When you post 150+ photos showing every detail it is hard to hide major problems.  I doubt the car is blemished for future sale, but the car will have to be subjected to the whims of another auction and the passion of (hopefully) 2 bidders.  Good luck!

Regarding seller honesty, during my auction, a good friend of mine said that he was going to come over and glue my hands to the table so that I'd stop typing, needlessly pointing out issues when I didn't have to. Trouble is, I'm just wired that way - treating others the way I want to be treated, spelling out ALL the issues so that when the buyer takes possession, there are absolutely zero surprises. I blame part of my "problem" on having worked in Field Support for 11+ years. There, problems are all we ever dealt with. If nothing was wrong with our product, there was nothing to say. We'd get a reported problem, research it, compose a solution, and send it out, done. Point being, after issues are pointed out, everything else is assumed to be in good working order, no reason to investigate every system. But in an auction, it's not so clear cut, and the salesman hat has to be put on, something I suck at.

Anyway thanks to you guys and the BaT staff, I'm not quite as concerned now about a second auction. BaT providing several examples of repeat auctions where the car sold for more the second time. Yes, I'm very aware that they're likely cherry picking the cases, but in the end, there aren't a lot of alternate sites that have such a large audience. I'm still waiting to hear from another bidder, but it is looking more and more like the roller coaster ride will be coming back around.

kb58

BaT is where the money rolls.  As one who has spent 4 years building a unique special I understand your situation.  Somehow you have to get the right audience to view the site during the auction period.  Sort of like whether you try to sell on Thursday or Saturday at Mecom.  I'm seeing the folks who post good videos on the sale page, especially driving etc, really gets checkbooks flying open.

I hope you get more.  

Having built the car from scratch, paying for everything myself, and respecting mechanical stuff, I just can't bring myself to record a video of me doing donuts - never have done it. There was another special on BaT that auctioned several months ago for about $171K, and they had a donut video. The comments were all positive, yet I look at it as them disrespecting the hardware, and wondered what condition the drivetrain was in. Clearly I was mistaken, as their auction went awesome for them!

I can't imagine it'll do worse the 2nd time. The story makes sense, and there are a few bidders that are disappointed they ended up not getting it, hopefully one "won't let it get away this time". 

In reply to kb58 :

Relist it; it'll do well. 

In reply to kb58 :

You don't have to do donuts but just a good spirited drive showing the grins.

I included the Virginia City Hillclimb. If that doesn't do it...