The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Early January is usually a little slower. Fewer listings, fewer sales, and a lot of people easing back in after the holidays. Even so, we’re already seeing some positive signals, with PCarMarket posting the highest sale of the day yesterday. A solid way to start the year.

We’re also starting to see platforms publish their 2025 numbers, and they’re worth a quick look.

Bring a Trailer reported total sales of $1.7 billion last year across all categories, not just cars. That represents a 14.3 percent increase over 2024, which is a meaningful gain in total dollars. BaT’s strength continues to be scale and volume.

Collecting Cars closed the year with a record result as well, selling more than $320 million worth of cars globally. Their average sale price climbed to $83,000, and Porsche and Ferrari accounted for more than 40 percent of total revenue, representing over $135 million in sales.

Different platforms, different audiences, different price points. But the takeaway is the same. Demand is still there, and the platforms that align expectations with the right buyers are continuing to transact.

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.

Winner

Big congratulations to our winner, Justin of a free one-year subscription to Sports Car Market.
You’re getting one of the most trusted, no-nonsense voices in the collector-car world delivered to your door and inbox all year long. Enjoy it. I promise it’s the kind of read you don’t skim. You sit with it. After picking the winner, I reached back out to Keith Martin to see if there was anything he could do for Daily Vroom readers who didn’t win.

He came through.

This is a limited-time offer just for Vroom readers:

👉 38% off
👉 $54 instead of $88
👉 Over $100 off newsstand pricing

What you get:

• 12 printed + digital issues

• 6 printed + digital guides (including a price guide)

• Weekly industry highlights newsletter

Here’s the link:
https://www.sportscarmarket.com/scm38

Let me be crystal clear.
This is not an affiliate deal.
I make nothing from this. No kickback. No tracking. No upside for me.

I literally asked Keith for a favor.

Why? Because I’ve read SCM front to back for years. Every issue.
And for less than $5 a month, this is serious value if you care about how the collector-car market actually works.

Why This RoW 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S 6-Speed Didn’t Sell

Yesterday’s Viola Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S finished at $250,000 and didn’t sell. A Run and No Sale. And before anyone reaches for the easy explanation, this car was consigned with one of the best sellers on the platform. It could not have been represented any better. The photos were right. The engagement was there. The audience showed up.

What we also know is that this car was listed privately in December at $349,990 and shows us sold, but it hasn’t sold as it’s the same owner since 2024! Make of that what you want…

So is $250k the right market price?

Yesterday, it was.

Tomorrow can be different.

That’s the uncomfortable truth about auctions. They are not a fixed statement of value. They are a snapshot. One day. One room. One set of bidders. If the exact right buyer is not in that room on that day, the ceiling stays put.

What’s important is that the market did show up. This listing pulled more eyes and more attention than two comparable RoW 1997 Carrera 4S listings that actually sold earlier this year. Interest was not the issue. Agreement was.

To understand where this landed, it helps to look quickly at those two sales and why they sit in different places.

The first sold in June for $148,000. A 72k kilometer RoW car finished in black over Nephrite Green. A cool and unusual interior, but paired with real mileage and a largely standard spec. No rare factory aero. No headline options. This was a great driver C4S, and it was priced and bid like one. Clean sale. Calm bidding. A fair outcome for a car positioned to be used, not put on a pedestal.

The second sold in October for $247,000 and is the closest real reference point. A 35k kilometer RoW car originally delivered to Japan, finished in Arctic Silver over Midnight Blue, with factory X79 rear fender inlets and the Aerokit. Low kilometers. Strong options. Broadly appealing colors. Clear story. That auction found two serious bidders who were willing to push it into territory that starts brushing up against Turbo money.

That October result effectively set the bar for what a top tier RoW Carrera 4S can bring when the seller is realistic and the room agrees.

Which brings us back to yesterday.

At $250k, the market was essentially saying this feels right relative to the best recent comp. But the seller wasn’t looking for right. They were looking for $350k. And auctions are unforgiving when there is daylight between those two numbers.

So the takeaway here is not that the car failed. It didn’t. The market showed up, engaged, and delivered a clear signal. The takeaway is simpler and harder to swallow.

The market is not what a car is worth in theory. It’s what today’s bidders are willing to pay.

Yesterday, that number was $250k.

Enjoying The Daily Vroom?

Pay it forward by sharing this newsletter with an automotive aficionado in your circles. Your endorsement allows us to accelerate our growth.