The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers!

Welcome to the wave of all the new readers who have joined The Daily Vroom recently. It is great to have you here.

For those just getting started, here is what you can expect. Every day we track every single listing from every online auction platform. Sales, non sales, and trends are all backed by data. Alongside the daily pulse, we dive deeper into models, platforms, or bigger themes shaping the market. And when news breaks from the auction sites, you will see it here first.

One thing you can always count on, we call it as we see it. No favorites. A stronger, more transparent market helps everyone.

We have already spoken with the CEOs and Presidents of the major platforms and some of the top sellers, and there is plenty more of that to come.

Most importantly, we love hearing from you. The TDV inbox is full every day with emails, suggestions, feedback, and ideas. Keep them coming. This only gets better the more we engage with each other.

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.

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.

How We Report Sold Prices

Someone I deeply respect in the industry raised an important point with me this week. In the traditional auction world, results are almost always quoted with the buyer’s premium included. Gooding, RM, Bonhams, Mecum, Barrett Jackson, they all follow that standard. It is the “all in” number and reflects the true cost to the buyer, which is why it has long been treated as the final sale price.

Here I have taken a different approach. I stick to the hammer price because once you add the premium, who really knows what that figure actually was due to the following.

Some platforms reduce it, (a lot of hustle goes on behind the scenes to conclude a deal) some negotiate it away, and one of the terms and conditions that not many people know about on BaT is that they can even add money to the deal to get it done. So if I report the “all in” number, half the time it may not actually be accurate. The sale price is the one figure that is clean and consistent across every platform.

That said, I get the argument for including the premium. It does reflect what the buyer paid, and it is the standard across the live big houses.

So I am putting the question to you.

Relist Reality Check

We love a relist at TDV. Not because it is fun for the seller, it rarely is, but because it gives us a clearer window into the dynamics of an auction. Why didn’t it sell the first time? Was it timing, presentation, reserve, or just the wrong buyers in the room? Every second run tells us a little more.

This 1987 Alpina B7 Turbo Coupe/1 is a perfect case study. It hit Bring a Trailer a few weeks ago, topping out at $83,600. The seller made it clear that was not even close to the reserve, saying they were miles away and that the right buyers were not in the room. In other words, this was not about missing by a few grand. Expectations were on another level. Now it is back, this time on PCarMarket. And that tells us something important: the seller still believes it is worth significantly more.

Second listings can absolutely work. Fresh eyes, different audience, maybe even a shift in market sentiment. Sometimes it all clicks. But third listings are another story. Platforms get hesitant, buyers get skeptical, and unless you slash the reserve it is almost impossible to make a deal. Which makes this run critical.

I do not think it sells today. I hope I am wrong, because this is a rare and seriously cool Alpina, documented, low mileage, with the right paperwork. But the way the bidding has moved does not scream momentum. And when you add in the polarizing interior and a seller who already signaled they were miles away from the last high bid, confidence starts to dip.

If it does get done, it will be because one buyer decides this is their only shot at a Kat B7 Turbo and steps up. If not, the seller faces a hard truth: hold tight and risk the car going stale, or finally meet the market where it is.

Since we just featured one BMW, here’s another that deserves attention. A 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo, one of just 1,672 built, and ending later today on BaT.

This car has been with the same owner for 20 years and went through a thoughtful round of refurbishment between 2018 and 2020. The engine, turbo, and differential were all rebuilt, and a close-ratio five-speed was swapped in. Suspension and brakes were refreshed as well, making it a car you can genuinely drive without worrying about shaking something loose.

We all know presentation counts massively, and this seller is one of the best in the game. 911r is known for clean listings and clear answers, and he has gone out of his way to point out that while the flares and front spoiler were resprayed, the rest of the finish has been untouched for a long time. Any small rocker issue will be addressed before handoff, and the critical areas like strut towers and shock mounts are strong. His own words: this is a very honest and original 2002 Turbo.

Bidding will almost certainly move from here, ($65k at time of writing) and rightly so. For anyone who wants one of BMW’s most iconic homologation-era cars, this is the kind of example you chase.