Why Reggie Jackson's Range Rover Didn't Sell

PLUS: The Kind of Mercedes They Don’t Build Anymore..

Author

Sam Gold
March 11, 2026

The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Two $1m+ sales yesterday and interestingly neither came from BaT. You could take that a couple of ways. On one hand it’s a healthy sign that the market is big enough for other platforms to list and successfully sell cars at that level, which in my view is a good thing. On the other hand it’s also a little scary, because it shows just how much room there still is for BaT to grow even further.

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.

2011 FERRARI 599 SA APERTA $1,750,500 (647km)

2021 McLaren Elva $1,252,000 (653 miles)

2005 Ford GT $545,000 (4,100 miles)

2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Weissach $452,500 (16k miles)

2017 Ferrari F12berlinetta $323,500 (6k miles)

Nearly Sale of the Day

One question that comes up regularly in the collector car world is whether celebrity ownership actually adds value to a car. It sounds like it should be an easy answer, but it rarely is. In many ways it is a bit like the classic “who’s your favorite child?” question. The answer tends to change depending on the hour… or even the minute. Just kidding. But the point is there is rarely a simple yes or no.

Take Seinfeld for example. We all know he has a pretty crazy Porsche collection and whenever one of his cars shows up for sale people naturally pay attention. But he might also be the anomaly here because of just how famous he is and how closely he’s associated with those cars. When a Seinfeld Porsche comes to market buyers feel like they’re buying a small piece of that story.

That doesn’t mean celebrity ownership automatically adds value though.

We’ve seen plenty of celebrity-owned cars sell for roughly the same money a normal example of that model would bring. Sometimes the name helps. Sometimes it barely moves the needle at all. In some cases it might even narrow the buyer pool to only the people who really care about that particular celebrity.

On paper the truck had a lot going for it. Just over 11,000 miles, clean Fuji White over Ebony spec, the 510-horsepower supercharged V8, and nearly a decade of ownership by one of baseball’s most recognizable names. The listing attracted plenty of attention as well, with more than 21,000 views and nearly 900 watchers, and the comment section filled with baseball fans reminiscing about Mr. October while others debated whether the celebrity ownership should add any real premium to the truck.

In the end the bidding ‘only’ reached $28k, and was not sold.

Looking at comparable sales it appears fairly clear that the reserve had been set a little higher than where most similar Range Rover Sports have traded recently, effectively assigning some additional value to the celebrity ownership. There is nothing unusual about that approach. Sellers often believe their car deserves a bit more because of a story, history, or provenance that makes it stand out.

The question, of course, is whether the market agrees. In this case it didn’t, at least not yesterday. And that leaves an interesting question if the car comes back to market. Does the seller adjust expectations closer to where comparable examples have recently sold, or try their luck again somewhere else and see whether a different group of bidders places more value on the story?

Because auctions can be funny things. The same car listed again at a different moment, with a slightly different audience watching, can easily land somewhere else entirely.

Celebrity ownership can absolutely add value. Sometimes it brings a real premium, sometimes it simply adds a fun story, and sometimes the market shrugs and focuses on the fundamentals.

Yesterday the market had its say. Tomorrow it might say something different.

Your Feedback

Yesterday we asked you ‘Where should auction platforms draw the line with serious claims in the comments?’

And as you can see below, the majority of you 44.3% said the platforms should allow these type of claims, but require some type of documentation to back it up.

Underneath the results are a selection of your comments.

Transparency is what a buyer is looking for, but this raises a question with me; did the commenting past buyer hide the rust when he sold the car? If it traded hands in between, did someone else? And it shows that it's good to know the weak points of a car you are considering.

You need to allow a prior owner to add his opinion on an issue that affects the vehicles value as this did. I believe generally the audience is able to discern most times the integrity of offered comments. Without inputs the bidder is left with only the sellers information and little in the way of being able to confirm the description being presented.

Cars & Bids would tend to allow harmful comments only if the seller was a dealer because of a lack of trust/respect for dealers. That damaged trust of the seller with the platform and buyers who saw the seller. That often carried over to other platforms. Unless proven, false accusations should be removed.

I think it’s healthy to allow open comments; however, if those comments are going to materially impact the outcome of a sale, there should be some level of documentation, recognized expertise of the commenter or support behind the accusations. Bring a Trailer has many knowledgeable commenters, but it also has people who have never listed, bought, or sold a car on the platform and still present themselves as experts.

For example, I listed a 1989 Ferrari Testarossa for a friend. We spent roughly $20,000 preparing the car for sale, including $15,000 of dealership service along with $5,000 of paint correction , leather replacement, and a full engine and undercarriage detail. The car had only 26,000 miles. My friend chose not to perform the cam belt service before the sale, so when someone asked about it I simply suggested that bidders subtract $7,500–$10,000 from their final offer to account for doing the service themselves. The shop had just inspected the car and felt the belt service should be done, but saw no issues with the car as it stood.

One commenter, who had never bought, sold, or listed a car on BaT, but frequently bid the year of the car as the opening low bid, repeatedly pressed the issue—asking why the belt wasn’t done and continuing to push the point even after a clear answer was given. The questioning became relentless and ultimately killed the momentum of the auction.

Perhaps BaT should consider allowing verified “car résumés” or approving certain commenters, because some participants add little value while distracting from legitimate sales.

By contrast, I saw a similar situation at a live auction during the Gooding Amelia Island sale. I was selling a 1930 Bugatti that had been documented as a re-bodied car in the 1990s. A previous owner showed up and told everyone who approached the car that many of the parts were remanufactured and that little of the car was original. It became such a negative distraction that I asked the auction staff to remove him.

They explained that he was upset because the cars he had sold years earlier were now worth hundreds of thousands more than when he owned them. So spoilers can exist at live auctions as well—but it’s rare. Online, however, it happens much more easily.

Accountability should go both ways. If a seller is required to be honest and transparent, a commenter should be as well. If someone is making comments without proof to support their claims, there should be consequences for them as well.

I get wanting more restrictions... but I think that's is a classic case of what you might want probably wouldn't work in practice. I've had a couple of instances dealing with a live auction where idle speculation seems to be made with the intent to affect the final sale price - and there's no denying, even incorrect points can still affect the mood in the "room". But that's the nature of it!

Commenters like that can often be defiant and defensive, but beyond flagging repetitive arguments, the dialog is crucial to the process. This case is tough because that's a KNOWN issue for these, and we need that community knowledge - especially when it's specific like that - when buying cars online.

This is a tough one to answer. You don’t want to give credibility to a vindictive person. But you should be able to defend the car you are selling refute allegations with pictures or other documentation.

No Reserve Auctions To Keep An Eye On

This 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG with the P30 Performance Package is a good reminder of just how serious these cars were when they launched.

Mercedes had just switched the SL to an aluminum body, shedding more than 200 pounds, and AMG replaced the old naturally aspirated V8 with the new twin-turbo 5.5-liter. Purists complained at the time, but the numbers didn’t lie. With the Performance Package pushing output to 557 horsepower and 664 lb-ft, these things were absolute torque monsters.

What makes this one stand out is the mileage. With just under 10k miles, it’s essentially a time capsule example of the early R231 generation. Finished in Diamond White over beige leather with the Glass Vario Roof, it’s exactly the sort of spec most buyers would want in a modern AMG roadster.

There are a couple details worth noting. The tires date back to 2012, and the rear shocks were replaced in 2023, which is slightly unusual for a car with such low mileage and suggests it likely spent long stretches sitting.

Still, zoom out for a second. You’re looking at a hand-built AMG V8, over 550 horsepower, a folding hardtop, and a car that originally stickered well into six figures. Today examples like this often trade for a fraction of that.

Which makes the SL63 one of those cars that quietly looks like a lot of performance for the money.

Long-time readers will know I’m a big wagon fan, and the W124 300TE has always been one of the good ones.

These cars come from the era when Mercedes was still building vehicles that felt almost over-engineered. The M103 inline-six isn’t the most exciting engine on paper, but it’s smooth, simple, and known for going a very long time when looked after.

This particular example adds a bit more attitude than most. Finished in Arctic White, it’s been given the AMG-style treatment with a body kit, monoblock wheels, and H&R lowering springs. Purists might prefer a completely stock wagon, but the look works and gives the car a bit more presence than your typical 300TE grocery-getter.

The mechanical story is also encouraging. The current owner has reportedly spent serious money sorting the car, including a transmission rebuild and a long list of cooling, fuel, and ignition components, which is exactly the type of preventative work these cars eventually need.

At 187k miles, the odometer might scare some buyers away, (which is good news for others) but Mercedes fans know these W124s are famously durable. Properly maintained examples routinely run well past that number without much drama.

Of course it’s not perfect. The A/C currently isn’t working, and there are a few cosmetic quirks here and there. But that’s part of the territory with a 35-year-old Mercedes wagon.

Step back though and the appeal is obvious. A classic W124 wagon with rear-facing third-row seats, old-school Mercedes build quality, and just enough AMG flavor to make it interesting. For wagon fans like me, that’s always going to be a pretty compelling combination.

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