💰 The figures shared below don’t count any other sales such as car seats, memorabilia etc… All online auction sites are analyzed to put this leaderboard together.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ vehicles in the chart below.

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

This might just be the quirkiest auction I’ve stumbled upon—and believe me, I’ve seen my fair share of oddball listings. We’re talking about a 1958 demi-size stagecoach that sold for $4,500. But let’s not bury the lead here: this stagecoach was part of a “world-renowned” dog act, pulled by a Great Dane with a baboon at the reins. Yes, you read that correctly. A baboon. Driving. A stagecoach. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime listings that makes you do a double-take, and it's a perfect snapshot of where Hemmings is right now.

For those of you who've asked me where Hemmings is at these days, well, here you go. This auction is a testament to their eclectic offering, but it also speaks volumes about their direction. I’ve covered Hemmings extensively in the past (check out my interview with their President, Jonathan Shaw), and while they’ve polished up the website, let's just say the UX could still use some love. They’ve rolled out new features like pay + title with a lot of fanfare, yet it doesn’t seem to have lit up the auction world as expected. I haven’t heard of anyone using it yet, which isn’t to say no one has, but it certainly hasn’t been the game-changer it was meant to be.

The truth is, no single feature can transform a platform. It’s about the relentless pursuit of excellence, which, from an outsider's perspective, doesn’t quite seem to be the Hemmings mantra. Nothing against the team over there—I don't know them personally—but it doesn't seem like they eat, sleep, and breathe auctions. They’re juggling multiple revenue streams, which is great for diversification but not necessarily for becoming the best at one thing. If you’re going to be a top-tier auction house, you need to be moving more than a handful of cars a day. Hemmings' sell-through rate this week? Just 23%. I've shared my thoughts on what they could do to boost this (just my two cents, of course), but they know their business better than I do. It’s up to them to decide the best way forward.

In the end, this auction made me smile. It's a reminder that sometimes, amidst the serious business of buy and sell, there's room for a little whimsy. So here's to the stagecoach—long may its story roll on.

Yesterday I was yapping about how sellers' expectations have been doing the cha-cha with actual prices since COVID hit, and how markets swing like a pendulum on steroids. Well, wouldn't you know it, yesterday served up a prime example of this madness on a silver platter.

Picture this: a 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Coupe Chauffeur by Saoutchik. Yeah, try saying that five times fast after a few beers. This isn't just any old jalopy - we're talking coachbuilt Italian luxury with a French twist, the kind of wheels that would make Jay Gatsby green with envy. It's got a 7.4-liter inline-eight under the hood, fancy Saoutchik bodywork, and enough historical pedigree to make a museum curator weep.

Now, here's where it gets juicy. This beauty closed with a "Reserve Not Met" at $390,000. Hold onto your hats, folks, because back in February 2022, this same car sold for a cool $500k. That's a drop steeper than a ski jump in the Alps!

But wait, there's more! At 10:16 AM, the auction closed with that RNM. Then, faster than you can say "depreciation," at 10:19 AM, it was announced sold for $450,000. Still a $50k haircut from 2022, but $60k more than the last visible offer.

Now, I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but something smells fishier than a seaside mechanics' shop here. Did the seller and high bidder have a little tête-à-tête beforehand to hash out the magic number? Because, remember, on Bring a Trailer, you've got one shot at making an offer post-auction. It's not exactly a Turkish bazaar where you can haggle till the cows come home.

And let's talk about that three-minute turnaround. In the time it takes to microwave a burrito, this deal went from "no dice" to "sold!" Think about the logistics for a second. Auction ends, BaT fires off an email faster than a caffeinated cheetah asking if the bidder wants to make an offer. Bidder, presumably with $450k burning a hole in their pocket, says "Hell yeah!" and punches in the number. Then the seller, probably hovering over their computer like a hawk, sees this and hits "accept" quicker than you can say "buyer's remorse."

It's like watching a Formula 1 pit stop, but with classic cars and fat stacks of cash. Bring a Trailer's system must be slicker than greased lightning to pull this off.

So, what's the moral of this story, Vroomers? First off, markets are about as predictable as a cat on catnip. One minute you're riding high, the next you're taking a $50k haircut. But more importantly, this wild ride shows us that in the world of high-end classics, flexibility is key. Sometimes you have to know when to let go.

Sellers, don't get too married to those peak COVID prices - they might be as gone as last year's tire smoke. And buyers, keep your powder dry and your offers ready. You never know when a deal might materialize faster than a Bugatti hits 60.

Well, Vroomers, it looks like lightning does strike twice - or at least, post-auction deals do. Cars & Bids just served up another example of auction afterplay, this time starring a 1993 Mazda RX-7.

This isn't your average RX-7. We're talking a Montego Blue beauty with the desirable 5-speed manual, the Touring Package, and a laundry list of mods. Oh, and it's got 254,500 miles on the clock. That's some serious seat time.

The auction closed with a high bid of $24,000, which wasn't enough to seal the deal. But Cars & Bids quickly announced they'd be reaching out to the high bidder to try and make it happen.

Here's where things get murky. Unlike our Isotta Fraschini friend, Cars & Bids is keeping the final sale price under wraps. And frankly, it's a bit frustrating.

Come on, Cars & Bids! We car enthusiasts live for this kind of data. Every data point counts when we're trying to gauge the market, especially with a unique specimen like this high-mileage, heavily-modded FD RX-7.

So, what can we take away from this? Well, the FD RX-7 market is still hot, even for high-mileage examples. And it seems the "make a deal after the auction" move is becoming increasingly common.

As for Cars & Bids, I've got a message: Let's be more transparent with these post-auction deals. In the world of classic car sales, knowledge isn't just power - it's the difference between making a smart buy and a costly mistake.