The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers!

We’ve got clarity. The White House just locked in the 25% import tariff on foreign vehicles, and it applies to used cars too—not just new. That’s on top of the existing 2.5% for most European imports, meaning a 2010 911 from Germany is now looking at a 27.5% tariff at the port.

The only carve-out is age. Vehicles 25 years or older dodge the new tariff completely. So yes—your dream R32 Skyline, J80 Land Cruiser, or vintage Alfa still gets through untouched. Anything newer, it’s getting taxed.

There’s also a path for partial relief under USMCA (Canada/Mexico), but it’s not automatic. Importers have to prove U.S. content to get a break—and it only applies to that portion of the car’s value.

So what does this mean for global auction platforms?

Buyer pools just shrank.

If you're listing a car in Germany, the audience just got smaller. U.S. bidders—previously a major market for Euro classics—may well start tapping the brakes. That means softer demand, less bidding pressure, and possibly lower prices on cross-border listings.

Platforms like BaT, who’ve been ramping up European listings, will need to pivot fast. It’s no longer just about onboarding international sellers—it’s about attracting local bidders in those markets, because the U.S. crowd may sit this one out.

Meanwhile, if you’re a non-U.S. buyer, this could play in your favor. With less competition from across the Atlantic, you might score that 964 or E24 for less than you expected.

This changes the math—for buyers, sellers, and platforms alike. We’ll keep watching—and if the policy shifts, you’ll hear it here first

YESTERDAY’S TOP 5 SALES

Want to dive deeper into any of these listings? Just click on the car to take you directly to the listing.

Sale of the Day

Built by Special Edition, Inc. and specced to the moon, this Beck 904 replica brought $140K—and in today’s market, that’s looking like a deal. Powered by a 2.7L Porsche flat-six with ported heads, PMO carbs, and a rebuilt 5-speed, it’s basically a vintage race car that somehow still has A/C and Burberry plaid seats. Zero expense spared, zero corners cut.

My 2¢:

If you're someone who values the look, feel, and sound of a proper mid-engine icon—but doesn’t need the seven-figure bragging rights—this was a no-brainer. A real 904 is museum bait. This, you can actually drive it hard without worrying about the insurance premium or provenance police.

And let’s not ignore the timing: Beck’s waitlist is measured in years, not months. Build cost is easily $160K+ if you started today, and that’s before you even think about sorting the drivetrain. So at $140K, this was a fast pass to the front of the line—and a few grand saved in the process.

A smart buy, clean execution, and honestly way more car for the money than most restomod 911s pulling similar numbers.

Auctions Under The Radar

This truck is basically a brand-new time capsule—1,400 miles, never modified, showroom clean, and still owned by the Chevy dealership that sold it new. It even comes with the SLP performance upgrades done by Southern Coach, which just makes the whole thing even more of a unicorn.

Here’s why this matters:

• These trucks are from the last era before modern tech took over—no screens, no sensors, no gimmicks.

• It’s loaded, it’s clean, and it still has that old-school GM feel that new trucks just don’t deliver.

• You couldn’t spec this today if you tried—and if you found something close, it’d cost double and wouldn’t be half as cool.

This is the kind of listing that’s easy to scroll past because it looks like “just a truck.” But look closer—it’s the kind of thing collectors will wish they grabbed five years from now. Low miles, perfect condition, right story. One of one.

Here’s the kind of wagon that slips past casual scrollers but gets hardcore BMW nerds frothing. A Granite Silver E34 Touring, 5-speed manual, all-wheel drive, no sunroof, cloth sport seats—and offered at no reserve.

Imported from Switzerland, featured on Life’s Too Short for Boring Cars, and owned by one of the most respected indie BMW shops in the country (shoutout Glen Shelly), this is equal parts quirky and cool. It's not perfect—there’s rust, some quirks, and a few creaks and rattles—but that’s exactly the charm. A properly sorted, rare-spec long-roof from BMW’s most underloved era.

Why it matters:

• Manual. AWD. Wagon. No sunroof. That’s bingo for E34 diehards.

• Already in the U.S. with a clean Colorado title. No import headaches.

• Seller’s a known enthusiast, not just flipping metal.

• You can actually use it—drive it to the ski hill, grocery run, or Radwood.

If this sells anywhere south of $10K, someone’s going to feel very smug a year from now. These never show up, and this one has real story baked in.