The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Last week saw fewer cars change hands, just under 1,000 in total, but the market still delivered more than $46 million in sales. Leading the charge was a 2019 Bugatti Chiron Sport that hammered at $3.1 million, the fifth highest sale of the year and the second biggest ever on BaT. Not a bad addition to a garage that already houses an 831 mile Ferrari 458 Italia.

Chandelier Bidding - The Ugly Open Secret

Chandelier bidding. We all know it happens.

At live auctions it is almost expected. The auctioneer throws phantom bids into the air, pointing at a light fixture or the back wall, trying to coax a real bidder into playing along. It is legal. It is theater. And for decades buyers have accepted it as part of the show.

Online is where the lines blur. Platforms will tell you they work hard to prevent it, and to be fair, some communities are sharp at calling out anything that smells fake. But let’s be honest, it still happens. Reserves get protected. Momentum gets manufactured. Sometimes bids are pushed just to keep the energy alive.

That is what bothers me. Auctions are supposed to be about real buyers and real money. When chandelier bidding creeps in, it eats away at the trust that makes the whole system work. Yet it is hard to imagine it ever disappearing. Sellers want strong results. Platforms want higher sell through. And the industry has always lived in that gray zone between market reality and showmanship.

So the question becomes, do we just accept it? Is chandelier bidding a built in part of the game, or should platforms be doing more to stamp it out?

Special Auctions Ending Today

Every once in a while a car comes up that stops you cold. The 964 Turbo S Flachbau is already one of the rarest air cooled Porsches, with just 39 built for the U.S. market. But paired with 51 miles, this one sits on its own island. It is not just a low mileage Turbo, it is essentially brand new, frozen in time at the peak of Porsche’s air cooled era.

The X85 Flachbau treatment transformed the already formidable 3.6 Turbo into something otherworldly. Pop up headlights, RS style ducts, wide hips feeding a bigger turbo, quad exhaust, and 380 hp on tap. Period tests called it violent, raw, a car that wanted to be mastered rather than driven casually. With a short wheelbase feel and all that boost hitting at once, these cars remind you what forced induction felt like before Porsche smoothed the edges with the 993.

Inside, this car is a study in contrasts. Cashmere Beige supple leather, Rootwood trim, and a cabin that looks like it is waiting for its very first owner to peel off the plastic. That blend of opulence and aggression is what made the Turbo S Flachbau the most expensive Porsche you could buy in 1994, and why collectors circle them today.

There are no true comps for a car like this. The only hard datapoint is this exact chassis at RM Sotheby’s White Collection sale in December 2023, where it hammered at roughly $1.381M and closed at $1.462M all in. Beyond that, you are in uncharted territory. A rare configuration, almost delivery mileage, and the kind of presence that even among Porsches feels different.

Driving it would be an event every time. A widebody 964 at full boost is never subtle. It is a shove in the chest, a reminder that in this era Porsche built cars that scared you a little. That is the magic here. It is not just a museum piece. It is a car that, if you had the nerve to actually stretch its legs, would show you exactly why it sits at the very top of the air cooled food chain.

As many readers know, I have a soft spot for wagons. They just hit different. More useful, more interesting, and in the right spec, more fun than people give them credit for. This 1994 BMW 530i Touring is exactly the kind of car that proves the point. Brilliant Red paint, a 5 speed manual swap paired to the 3.0 liter V8, and enough miles on the clock to show it still has plenty of life left.

The E34 5 Series was the car that pushed BMW into the same conversation as Mercedes. In Touring form it brought style and practicality together in a way few brands could match. Add in the tasteful upgrades here, like the BBS wheels and ECU tune, and this becomes more than just a family hauler with a long roof.

At 176,000 miles it is not perfect, but that is what makes it appealing. Recent clutch and transmission work mean it is ready to be used, not tucked away. And with no reserve, someone will get it regardless of where the hammer falls. That opens the door to a potential bargain on a car that delivers real character every time you drive it.

This is the kind of listing I love to see. A V8, a manual, a wagon, and no reserve. For the right buyer, that is a winning formula.

I really think the platform did this listing a disservice by not putting “one owner” in the title. That is the kind of detail that sets a car apart. An E30 M3 with just 18k miles is already rare enough, but one that has been with the same owner since new is a different league. Finished in Salmon Silver over Cardinal Red Bison leather, it still carries the smell, the sharpness, and the feel of 1988 in a way almost no other M3 can.

There just is not much precedent for where this should trade. The only close comp is a 9k mile example that sold in October 2024 for $165k, and that was not even a one owner car. A car like this is its own market. All it takes is two bidders who recognize what it is, and the number could easily push into that territory and beyond.

For me, that is what makes this one so special. It is not just another E30 M3 coming up for sale, it is a time capsule, one of those rare chances to experience the car as BMW intended. Listings like this are why I love following these auctions.