The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Yesterday felt like a Monday from long ago, with just over $6 million in online vehicle sales. It has been a while since we’ve seen such a “low” total. No headline-grabbing cars crossed the block, and the average selling price across all platforms landed at $32k.

Leading the pack was Collecting Cars, which not only took the top spot but also claimed three of the top five sales worldwide. Hats off to them.

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.

If you enjoy reading The Daily Vroom please pay it forward by sharing this newsletter with an automotive aficionado in your circles. Your endorsement allows us to accelerate our growth.

Send them to thedailyvroom.com to subscribe for free.

Nearly Sale of the Day

This one had all the drama you want in a modern Ferrari auction, just not the ending the seller was hoping for. The bids stopped at $117,995, RNM, and the comment section turned into a battleground.

The car
Underneath the pink wrap and Liberty Walk widebody sits a Ferrari 458 Italia. A proper one, with a 569 hp V8, dual clutch gearbox, and Ferrari’s last naturally aspirated mid engine platform. On paper, always a head turner.

The title
Here’s where things get sticky. This example carries a rebuilt salvage title. Add in mileage questions and past accident reports, and you have a car that is already swimming uphill in a market that values provenance and paperwork as much as performance. Even with the fresh service and extras thrown in, a branded title Ferrari was never going to pull top of market numbers.

The comments
And then came the noise. Some bidders praised the build, others tore it apart. The purists slammed the mods, the seller fired back, and before long the section looked more like a forum flame war than an auction. Buyers may say they ignore the chatter, but 146 comments of back and forth absolutely shape perception.

The seller’s point
The seller insists the auction was sabotaged by trolls in the comments. He argued that serious buyers were drowned out by negativity, and that Cars & Bids did not do enough to keep things focused. He may have a case that the noise did not help.

But blaming the outcome entirely on trolls ignores the elephant in the room. This was a heavily modified Ferrari carrying a rebuilt salvage title. That combination automatically narrows the buyer pool to a fraction of the market, and those buyers know they hold the leverage.

The takeaway
So what really sank this auction? A mix of all three. The car itself was polarizing, the title scared off buyers, and the comments reinforced both points. At nearly $118k, the market actually spoke pretty loudly. It valued the car right about where a salvage, modded 458 should land. The seller may see $200k in upgrades, but bidders saw a discount entry into Ferrari ownership with baggage attached.

Closing the Book on Mecum

When I first wrote about Mecum’s Monterey controversy , I thought it might stir some debate. What I did not expect was the flood. The inbox filled up, the poll drew our biggest response yet, and the reactions keep coming. One mistake has become a referendum.

What stands out is not just the anger over what happened. It is how many people had their own Mecum stories ready to share.

Credibility is not about the $2,000
The amount itself never mattered. Integrity did. Once that is gone, you do not get it back.

Transparency vacuum
The most common thread in the responses was opacity. Buyers do not feel they are getting full disclosure. Sellers do not feel they are getting fairness. That is a dangerous combination.

Long term consequences
Many collectors said flat out they will never buy or consign with Mecum again. Others said they had already stopped years ago for similar reasons. That is the real cost here. Not two grand, but consignments and bidders walking away for good.

The cover up is worse than the mistake
The other consistent theme was frustration with Mecum’s response. Instead of acknowledging the error, they doubled down with unsigned letters and legalese. That silence and denial only confirmed suspicions. A simple apology would have ended it.

Human nature at work
There is also a broader truth. Negativity always travels faster. Search for any auction platform, live or online, and you will find complaints. People rarely share the smooth, successful transactions. They talk about the ones that sting.

That does not make these reactions less valid. If anything, it makes them more powerful. Because in this business trust is fragile. The positive stories rarely go viral, but the cracks do. And that is why how Mecum handled this matters so much.

Bigger picture
The larger risk is collateral damage. If bidders start believing all live auctions cut corners, the entire model suffers. Social media has ended the era of whispered complaints in a tent. Now when the hammer falls, the world can watch it in real time.

You can watch the full video here and decide for yourself.

@bobbyadamsworld

By popular demand, here’s the uncut footage of the #montereyauctioncontroversy

Mecum did not just lose $2,000 in Monterey. They spent their credibility. And that is the one currency no auction house can afford to waste.

Here’s a few more comments that you shared.