The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Yesterday felt like a bit of a throwback. A proper old-school Monday with about $5.8M worth of cars trading hands across the online platforms. Nothing crazy, no headline-grabbing results, just a steady day that probably looked pretty normal if you were only watching the sales roll through.

But that’s the part everyone sees. What doesn’t get talked about nearly as much is everything that doesn’t sell.

When you look across all the platforms, the focus is always on the results. Final prices, big numbers, record sales. That’s what gets pushed out, that’s what gets shared, and that’s what people remember. But behind that, there’s a meaningful percentage of cars that simply don’t find a home.

And there’s never just one reason for it. Sometimes it’s obvious. The reserve is too high and the seller just isn’t willing to meet the market. Other times it’s more subtle. Weak presentation, average photos, not enough engagement, or just being listed on the wrong platform where the right audience never really shows up. And then you’ve got timing, which people underestimate. Seasonality, competing listings, even what else is ending that same day all play a role.

When you step back and look at it properly, even the best platforms are only converting around 70-75% of their listings. And that’s at the very top end.

Start moving down the ladder and that number drops quickly. There are platforms out there where a significant portion of daily listings simply don’t sell, and that’s not an exception, it’s the norm.

Which is worth keeping in mind, because it reframes how you look at the results. Every strong sale you see is sitting on top of a much larger group of cars that didn’t quite get there.

And in a market like this, the results, good or bad, only tell you half of what’s really going on.

The Problem With a $331K 911 S/T at Auction

SOMO often brings some really strong cars to market, and this is clearly one of them. A 2024 Porsche 911 S/T with just 24 miles, a car that carried a sticker well north of $300,000 and was built in extremely limited numbers, so you’re firmly in serious-money territory from the start.

I hope they get it done. That said, there’s something here that’s worth thinking about a bit more broadly, because it’s not just a SOMO thing. It’s something you see across pretty much every platform now.

Any serious buyer at this level is going to run the VIN. That’s just standard. And when you do that, you’ll often find the car listed elsewhere, sometimes on the dealer’s own site, sometimes on aggregator-style sites, with an asking price attached.

On the surface, that doesn’t seem like a huge issue. It could be an old listing. It could be a price the dealer tried before that didn’t stick. Maybe it’s even higher than what they’re willing to take now.

But the moment that number is out there, it starts to influence how people approach the auction.

Instead of just reacting to the bidding in front of them, buyers now have a reference point. And whether that number is realistic or not, it changes behavior. You’re no longer bidding purely against the room, you’re bidding against what you think the seller might accept based on that visible price.

From the seller’s side, it creates a different kind of pressure. If someone comes in close to that number outside the auction, do you take the guaranteed deal, or do you let the auction run and hope it gets there anyway?

That’s exactly why platforms push for exclusivity during the auction window. They want all of the price discovery happening in one place. And in theory, that makes complete sense.

In reality, it’s not always that clean. Aggregator sites pick things up and don’t always take them down. Old listings hang around longer than they should. There’s only so much control a platform actually has there.

But if a car is still actively being marketed on a dealer’s own website or social channels while it’s live at auction, that feels different. That’s something that can be controlled, and arguably should be.

At the same time, getting supply isn’t easy. If allowing a dealer to keep a listing live elsewhere is what it takes to secure a car like this, you can understand why a platform might be flexible.

And to be clear, this isn’t a SOMO-specific issue. You see it everywhere, regardless of what the stated policies are.

For buyers, it’s actually a pretty good outcome. You get more context, more information, and a better sense of where the seller’s head might be. For platforms, it’s a bit more complicated, because it quietly chips away at what makes an auction an auction in the first place.

Auctions To Keep An Eye On

I’ve always had a soft spot for these. You can do pretty much anything to them and they still work. And more importantly, they still make people stop.

This one’s a 1993 Autozam AZ-1, mid-engine, manual, and one of those cars that feels way more special than the numbers suggest. Around 4,000 built, gullwing doors, weighs basically nothing, and somehow still manages to feel like a mini supercar.

And that’s really the appeal here. You show up to cars and coffee in this, and it’s not blending in with anything. It’s the car people walk over to because they either don’t know what it is or can’t believe something this small has doors like that.

But the key thing with these is they’re not just a gimmick. They actually drive well. Light, simple, and engaging in a way most modern cars just aren’t.

This one’s been modified, which isn’t unusual for AZ-1s. That’s kind of the culture around them. You rarely see completely stock examples, and most owners lean into making them a bit more playful.

What’s interesting here is it hasn’t really taken off yet. $15,500 with a day to go (when writing) feels a bit quiet for something like this, especially given how much attention these usually get when they’re done right.

Maybe that changes today. These are the kinds of cars where a couple of bidders show up late, and suddenly it looks like a completely different auction in the final hour.

Either way, this is one of those where you’re not just buying a car. You’re buying something that makes every drive feel like an event.

There’s something about a Pagoda that just works without needing much explanation. The shape, the proportions, the way they sit on the road, it’s one of those designs that hasn’t really aged at all.

This one is a 1971 280SL finished in Bordeaux Red over beige, which feels like a really well-judged spec for this car. It’s a bit more interesting than the usual colors you tend to see, but still completely in keeping with what the car is.

It was restored back in 2009 and has only covered around 2,500 miles since, so it sits in that middle ground where the heavy lifting has already been done, but it doesn’t feel overdone or overly precious.

What I’ve always liked about these is how usable they are. You can just get in and drive them without thinking too much about it, whether that’s a short run, a longer trip, or just taking it out on a weekend. They don’t feel fragile, and they don’t ask much from you as an owner compared to a lot of other cars from the same era.

This one comes across as a straightforward, well-presented example rather than something that’s been overworked or over-positioned, and that’s usually what people who understand these cars are looking for in the first place.

It’s the kind of car you buy because you like how it feels to live with, not because you’re trying to make a statement with it, and more often than not those are the ones that end up being enjoyed the most, certainly for me they have.

I always like seeing cars like this show up on Hemmings. It just feels like the right place for them, where the audience understands what they’re looking at without needing it over-explained.

This is a 1957 Corvette in Onyx Black over red, which is about as classic a look as you can get on a C1, and one that never really gets old. The dual four-barrel 283 and four-speed combination is exactly what you want to see on a car like this, and it’s the kind of spec that makes it feel properly period rather than just something that looks the part.

What stands out here is how complete it feels. Original drivetrain claims, factory hardtop, and a car that’s clearly been kept in strong condition without trying to over-present itself. Even the addition of power steering, with the original parts included, feels like a practical touch rather than something that takes away from it.

It’s one of those cars where you don’t really need to sell the idea. If you’re into these, you already get it.

And that’s probably why I like seeing it here. It’s the kind of listing that doesn’t need noise around it, just the right people paying attention.

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