The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Yesterday was a bit of a mixed bag.

Hagerty’s no-reserve Burnyzz Collection delivered some strong results, and there are still solid opportunities left as the auction continues over the next two days.

On the flip side, it was a rough outing for Cars & Bids, arguably their slowest day in recent memory. Just a week or two ago they were pushing close to 40 listings a day. That momentum has dipped. Hopefully it’s just a small lull, and both volume and sales start to bounce back. The market always has its rhythm. Let’s see what the next wave brings. 

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.

Nearly Sale of the Day

This 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S just ended at $170,000 RNM. Same Arena Red, same 44k miles, same five-speed widebody magic that made it sell for $165K back in February. But this wasn’t the same car.

Because in the five months since that first sale, the new owner put in $44,000 worth of work—all before even relisting it.

The seller had already decided to move on. But before the car hit the market again, he brought it to @911r, one of the sharpest, most thorough sellers in the game. That intake inspection flagged the usual 993 wear: valve guides, clutch, timing components. Instead of hiding it, the seller leaned in. Engine out. Cylinder heads redone. New clutch. Chain guides, belts, ignition parts, seals, fluids, all replaced. While it was apart, he added H&R coilovers and dry-ice cleaned the underbody. Brakes and sway links got refreshed too.

Everything was documented. Videos, receipts, paint meter scans, pre-service intake footage. The transparency was world-class. The car? Genuinely dialed.

But it still didn’t sell.

Somehow, despite the full disclosure, the excellent reputation, and the clear money spent, it spooked people. Maybe it was the quick return to market. Maybe buyers didn’t read past the February sale price. Or maybe $170K just felt like the ceiling to a crowd anchoring to the last comp.

Truth is, even when you do everything right, prep the car properly, tell the full story, list with the best, timing still matters. And on this day, it just wasn’t there.

No sale doesn’t mean no interest. It means the market wasn’t ready to move. But someone eventually will. Because this 993 is that good.

The One Owner Illusion

On most auction sites, “one owner” gets top billing. It’s right there in the title, before mileage, before color, sometimes even before the model year. Some platforms even let you filter by it. It’s not subtle. It’s a sales lever, and it works.

Because “one owner” suggests care. Consistency. Stewardship. It tells a clean story, and stories sell cars.

But here’s the truth. “One owner” usually just means one registered owner. That’s it. A car can move through multiple hands - dealers, brokers, even private individuals, without ever being retitled. No registration change means the Carfax stays clean, and the listing gets to wear the label. Technically accurate. Narratively misleading.

And that disconnect matters, depending on who’s bidding.

Some buyers dig deep. They’ll search VINs, find old listings, read every receipt. They know that a car bouncing between three dealers in six months is no longer the long-term ownership story the headline promised.

But not everyone digs. Some buyers take the “one owner” claim at face value. And for them, it adds perceived value. Enough to stretch a bid or justify a premium. That perception gap is exactly why sellers keep using it.

So the next time you see “one owner” in bold at the top of a listing, ask yourself, is it telling the full story, or just the most convenient version?

Because in this market, the story still sells. But only if it holds up under pressure.

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