The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Welcome to all our new readers, glad to have you here for another lap through the auction world.

Yesterday brought just shy of $8 million in online sales, and as you’ll see below, it could’ve been much higher. A few big listings stopped short of the finish line, but that’s what keeps this market fascinating. Every day brings another round, another chance for something wild to happen.

Today’s lineup is packed. Multiple platforms have major auctions ending, reserves will be tested, and a few sellers are about to find out just how real their “minimums” are. And

Let’s get into yesterday’s action…

MARKET LEADERBOARD

💰 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. Hagerty still hanging in there, they really have turned that corner.

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.

The Million Dollars Left on the Table

Two of the week’s biggest listings told the same story. A Ferrari 599 GTO and a Maserati 200SI brought in more than $3.6 million in real bids on Bring a Trailer, yet both ended RNM! Some will call that a market signal. It isn’t. It’s just two ambitious reserves that didn’t meet reality. Let’s get into it.

The 599 GTO: When $1.6 Million Isn’t Enough

Back in August at RM Sotheby’s Monterey, a 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO with just 531 miles sold for $2.04 million, setting the benchmark for the model, certainly in the mind of this seller. So when another one showed up on Bring a Trailer last week, you could tell exactly what the seller was thinking.

Same story, same color: Rosso Corsa, carbon fiber everywhere, 6-liter V12 that looks like it’s never seen daylight. But BaT’s crowd is smart. They caught the little things, Canadian-market origin, converted cluster, five owners and bid accordingly. The auction stopped at $1.6 million, and that’s where it ended.

That’s not weakness in the market. That’s simply where this car belonged yesterday.

The Maserati 200SI: History Meets Reality

At the same Monterey event, RM Sotheby’s offered this 1957 Maserati 200SI by Fantuzzi with an estimate between $2.8 and $3.2 million. It didn’t sell, though bidding reached a healthy $2.35 million under the lights.

The exact same car reappeared last week on BaT and finished yesterday at a respectable $2.075 million, still short of what the seller wanted. Maybe he’s kicking himself for not taking that Monterey offer or maybe he doesn’t care and just wants to keep it. Hard to blame him either way. It’s one of 28 built, ex-Jim Hall, Pebble Beach shown, FIA certified. The kind of car most collectors would rather stare at than sell.

What It Really Means

I know people love a soft market trend, but this isn’t a market shift or a sign of slowdown. It’s two sellers holding firm. There’s still serious money chasing the right cars, but bidders today know where the line is.

Sometimes they meet in the middle. Sometimes they don’t.

As for the two cars, where do they go next?

You’d think that other platforms, live and online, would be lining up to call these sellers and promise them the world. But it rarely happens. And that’s a missed opportunity. There’s real value in smart, well-timed outreach IF it’s done the right way.

Enjoying The Daily Vroom?

Pay it forward by sharing this newsletter with an automotive aficionado in your circles. Your endorsement allows us to accelerate our growth.