The Mercedes-Benz 190E is a small luxury car made by the German company Mercedes-Benz. It was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and is known for being well-built and reliable, especially the sportier versions that are fun to drive.
A gray market car is one that is sold in a country without going through the official dealer network. This can mean the car might not meet local laws or standards.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a very fancy car that is known for being extremely luxurious and expensive. It's designed to provide a super comfortable ride and has a lot of special features that make it stand out as one of the best cars in the world.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a stylish car from Italy known for being fun to drive and having a luxurious feel. It's a popular choice for those looking for a sporty sedan.
Car
Porsche
Porsche is a famous car brand from Germany that makes high-end sports cars and SUVs. They are known for their speed and quality.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people love for its speed and unique shape. It's been around for a long time and is considered a classic.
Car
1906 Vauxhall
The 1906 Vauxhall is a very old car from the early 1900s made by a British company called Vauxhall. It's considered a classic and is appreciated for its unique style and history.
Car
Euro 1988 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16
Featured on Bring a Trailer: Euro 1988 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 5-Speed
The Volkswagen GTI is a sporty version of the Volkswagen Golf. It's known for being fun to drive and has a powerful engine, making it popular among car lovers.
Car
Renault Turbo
The Renault Turbo is a sporty car made by Renault that has a turbocharged engine, which helps it go faster. It's considered a cool car, especially among fans of classic vehicles.
The Porsche 928 is a sports car that was made by Porsche. It is known for being comfortable and powerful, with a unique look that sets it apart from other cars.
A 'barn find' is when someone finds an old car that has been hidden away for a long time, often in a barn. These cars can be special because they are rare and have interesting histories.
European spec cars are cars made to fit the rules and standards in Europe. They might have different safety features or engines compared to cars sold in the U.S.
Car
BMW M635 CSI
The BMW M635 CSI is a special sports car from BMW that was made in the 1980s and 1990s. It's known for being fast and fun to drive.
TRX wheels are special wheels designed for certain cars that help improve performance and look good. They are not the standard wheels you would find on every car.
The BMW 635 is a model from BMW's 6 Series, which are sporty cars known for their good looks and performance. They were made in the late 20th century and are popular among car fans.
A DME report is a document that shows how well a Porsche's engine is working. It helps buyers understand if there are any problems with the car before they buy it.
A paint meter reading map tells you how thick the paint is on a car. If the paint is too thick, it might mean the car has been fixed or repainted, which could be important to know before buying.
LIVE
the bring a trailer
podcast all right Anthony we are here in
Germany together back in Europe after a
while we've been here to a few different
countries to a few different car events
together uh I'm Randy nberg the
co-founder of bring a trailer and you
are Anthony Sarah founder of 1600 below
Che and we have a great partnership
going already on Mini cars on bring a
trailer most of them us Focus but I've
also dabbled in some International sales
but now it's time when the international
approach is really going to step up we
have a lot of demand in Europe we're
really excited for that we have already
announced one local partner in Europe
and we're excited to announce you now as
our next local partner in Europe based
out of Germany isn't that right yes
that's something that started last year
on our uh trip to uh Italy and this was
an idea that has been brewing my whole
life you spent a lot of time in Europe I
spent a lot of time Inman you spent a
lot of time in Italy and some other
areas of Europe we've shared some fun
stories and some history for that which
we can also do here today but we're also
sitting among some amazing cars here
today we don't we're not just sitting at
a coffee shop in Germany we're at an
amazing collection and there's already
sort of a pipeline of interest and
demand for your 1600 booce services in
Europe and that's going to sort of start
things out and get that Flywheel
spinning and we're excited that you can
offer in particular your style of
listing on bring a trailer which which
obviously is proven and successful over
how many listings have you had on bat
now uh we're approaching 1,700 listings
by the end of the summer this year
unbelievable so that sort of experience
is why having you over here to do it in
that proven professional way I think is
going to be very interesting we are
interested in European partners and
we're interested in European direct
Sellers and all of that but having your
sort of expertise on the ground here in
Germany is really special so tell us all
about how you're going to support that
you're going to have a spot here and
start with a team here and some people
here and some expertise how is that
going to support the market here in
Europe we've been sort of in a beta test
mode the last six months uh testing
processes uh paperwork shipping of cars
uh acquisition inspection of cars and
formulating a good process and building
a team to bring the level of
transparency that we were able to do in
the US I've had lots of clients we've
sold cars to in the US that we've bought
in Europe and I get lots of emails and
even I see discussions for their cars
that are listed on R Trail now like how
do I get this car here so daunting to
think about I'm clicking and buying this
car and how do I do shipping how much
does it cost right this country doesn't
have a title what's going on there's a
lot of variant it's not necessarily
uncertainty there's some uncertainty but
there's just so many different countries
and methods and papers and styles it's
complex isn't it it is and I'm going to
be here to make the customer feel super
comfortable and take that part and set
it aside we're going to make that the
easy click button because what we want
also is especially a US buyer to have
the ability to buy a special car in
Europe that is not available in the US
doesn't have to be a a very expensive
car right we we walked through some cars
this morning right it's could be
something that's 10,000
and a million dollars yeah and or a 16
valve Cosworth 190e Mercedes right and
they the standard ones are not that
expensive but in Europe they had
different colors yes they had different
options they had a different
displacement on the engine that's just
one example of why I love shopping
european-based cars because they're
different yeah and you know going back
to my Early Childhood uh being around
European cars my whole life uh the gry
market era was something that super
special in the 80s and I feel like this
is kind of bringing it back full circle
and then there was a point even in the
US where like owning a gray market car
was almost like taboo right like a US
car is better for some reasons well we
all know that like the Euro Cars cool
lights slim bumpers colors even variants
that are not available you know whether
it's a Porsche BMW Mercedes there's so
many interesting cars and I feel like
there's lots of cars here to be Earth of
that you see almost now since uh covid
times the same car is getting traded
around are coming around almost 5 years
now right and we start to see the same
cars that sold maybe two years ago and
three years ago so I feel like there's
all these cars in the European Union
that are like totally they're ghosts
nobody's seen them before they're coming
yeah they're coming out of the Woodworth
so that sort of fresh inventory is
exciting let me tell folks uh who may be
wondering where we're located we're
located right in the middle of Germany
which is very strategic in the town of
gingan uh which is basically halfway
between Frankfurt and hurg obviously
there's pretty good infrastructure
around here in terms of getting cars to
Ports getting cars to other countries uh
we don't want to overlook the fact that
listing cars here at least half of the
cars bring tril is listed in Europe stay
in Europe so there's also a reason to do
this not for exporting Vehicles out of
Europe but actually listing these cars
in a new transparent credible
and cost effective way to sell them to
buyers within Germany within Europe yeah
so that's that's our main goal and
everybody would kind of look at you know
my business model it's like well we're
trying to just sell cars in the US no we
want to bring what we've developed in
the US into the European markets is
there's a lot of private sellers that
feel like they have only one Avenue to
take their car right is Either Leave It
On consignment with a dealer or or bring
it to uh you know big auction houses but
but there's other options that just
haven't been available and with the
tools we've developed we'll be able to
help clients get their cars out there
and our experience will give the person
selling a car the best shot of getting a
proper sale both sides buyer and seller
and feel comfortable tying it all
together now whether it's the cars are
coming to the US or they're going at all
points of Europe so I'm very excited my
team is very excited we have about 15
cars we going to launch shortly that we
we were working on uh in late fall and
we have other cars that will be offering
after and also it's not just the
vehicles right there's memorability in
history here even as us buyers and as so
much you know signs memorability engines
other things that are cor related and uh
obviously you know Randy you know you
you know I've talked a lot it's not
about just selling cars that's not what
you know my goal is every day is so I'm
Community Based and I feel like there's
this whole community that I can be also
involved in helping and with bring a
trailer we're going to bring this whole
new thing that that they haven't seen
before yeah it's it's certainly a new
approach and a different approach you
and I when we're in Europe we love the
cars we love the people we love the
roads we love the events but most of the
ways the cars transact just feel very
different than the way BH has been able
to elevate it in in America I know we
have and you have both had had so many
inbound inquiries of people saying Hey I
want to sell on b or oh I know B when
are you coming or things like that so
it's very exciting for me personally but
to also do this in conjunction with you
and your team to kind of do it together
and say well there is an answer take a
look at this right and look at these new
features on the website that are
optimized for international transactions
and look at these new resources and and
how you can use the website and the app
soon in Europe and get to do you know
what we're doing in the US that has
changed the culture and Marketplace in
the US are significantly partially
because to your team and others like you
and then in combination with the bat out
so getting to do that here is going to
be pretty spectacular and then tell me a
little bit I I told people where we are
in Germany kind of right in the middle
but you tell me how how you kind of
could have gone maybe anywhere you kind
of zered in on Italy because of your
time and Heritage there but also Germany
but tell me how you kind of landed here
well I felt uh Germany was a great place
to start for the spart program I feel
like the proximity to Ports and
proximity to Austria and we have a
partner now in the Netherlands right
that's already well established and I
feel like being part of it we can tie in
and really make that customer experience
the best possible situation there's
great cars in Germany yeah I was waiting
for you to say that I was writing if you
if you put a pin in the map where we are
right now and draw like a 4our circle
around us it's like it's unbelievable I
got got yearing 3 and 1 half hours on a
train from Munich yesterday which is in
the deep southern part of Germany and
Bavaria and then I mean you can get to
all sorts of reaches and Industrial
nature and the industrial success I'd
call it over the years commercial
success of this region of Germany there
are a lot of people that like cars that
have big businesses that own cool cars
there's a lot of car restoration type
operations there's a lot of
infrastructure so I think the cars are
here yeah so it's a it's a smart spot it
is and it the the culture is interesting
because the you know the Oldtimer cars
people hold the cars close to their
heart so there's a lot of passion and I
want to be able to expand that for the
potential seller whether might be a
private individual or other dealers
trying to get into the space it seems
daunting even for a small dealership or
a large car dealership that has cars
that want to reach into the US market or
other Market abroad and using some of
the tools that we've developed to what
we feel is the best way to sell a car is
online with proper photography and
videos and paperwork there's no no
hidden things and there's so many cars
in this area I feel like they'll take
decades Supply really is not the problem
one interesting Dynamic that we found is
I feel like a lot of individual sellers
either aren't ready now or aren't ready
sort of culturally to list their car
with their own own username online and
sell it from their own garage people
it's as you know it's about a 50-50
split in America on bat of commercial
companies dealers and sort of pros and
individuals list on Bett it's kind of
normal as an individual that yeah would
maybe list your car on the internet
that's a little bit less typical i'
found in Europe overall but certainly in
Germany and I think that that's why we
get these inbound inquiries where people
say you know hey Randy can I love B you
know I bought I know someone you know
and here in Germany has bought 45 cars
on a bring trailer right it's very easy
to buy them and a little bit more
anonymously and and do that sort of
thing but once you start selling them
they say hey is there anyone that can
help like Randy when are you setting up
an office in stutgart to help me sell
all my cars and I'm like well we're
working on that but this partner
approach is going to effectively Supply
that service so say a little bit how it
would work for somebody who's an
individual who has a collection of eight
beautiful cars and is interested in
listing one or two on BET like if they
if they're going to reach out to you
they going to reach out to bat how is
this going to work well we'll have a
landing page on the bat site as a
European partner and uh you can submit a
car and we will be in contact and we
have our team here that can handle
everything from small repairs to
detailing any pre-sale questions for the
car and storage which is important and
we'll handle the whole process or just
individual pieces you know there might
be like you said a guy that has walk
cars and then I want to sell a car but
how am I going to photo my car how am I
going to get it how do we format the
pictures properly for the site will they
fit correctly and am I taking enough
pictures and so we're we're going to
offer basically all the services that
are available in the US and then
actually in some others so for the US
buyers especially uh we're going to be
able to help you get paperwork for the
car so there's not going to be this well
now the car lands in the US and I still
have
what do I do to register or questions
about will the car work in what state
I'm in we'll be able to answer those
questions and help the potential buyers
and sellers but I I'm very excited to
help I wouldn't say change the mentality
of how the European buyers are I think
they just they never seen what we do I
know there's a lot of sites that have
maybe I wouldn't say copied your formula
that you've built but I think what most
people realize the power of our
community and how important the
community is to helping sell a car or
buy a car r trer and that's something
that is so unique and takes years to
build and with that we're going to be
able to get a buyer and a seller
together and have the creality behind
them commenting about their car and oh
look at this and this is such a special
car we never had this car here in the US
or or vice versa too that mean there's
European buyers that one we saw a lot of
muscle cars right we were in the
Netherland last year which was crazy to
see like Ford Falcons driving around
these small city streets there's also a
lot of European buyers that want the
cars that are available only in the US
yep I think the community that you touch
on you always touch on that because it's
so critical I think for for your success
how you engage with the community how
you're open to talking about a car
talking about what's good and bad about
the car right it's that's so different
than classified sites and even most of
the there's these other auctions that
have popped up really all over the world
that have taken a slight page from the
BH Playbook and kind of adapted it for
their local market but the community
vetting of the car is pretty absent on
most of those and so to be able to do
that and to talk openly and for your
willingness to talk openly as the seller
or the person representing the car is
not really anywhere else other than bat
and with a lot of sellers yourself and a
lot of sellers that sort of set the
example for that so you're an amazing
example for that but I imagine you're
going to get some folks coming in that
are new to that process or have
questions about these cars I think your
excitement about cars that are only in
Europe maybe some Europeans would say
hey who's this american guy here that's
representing these European car are cars
like if they're possessive of that right
like how will you approach that if
you're talking about this Julieta right
here in front of us or this 2600 behind
us or the Porsches I don't think it's
totally nationalism which sounds a
little crazy and outdated but it's it's
almost some of that may be justified a
little bit like why is there an American
that's starting here and what does that
mean for the whole ecosystem would you
speak to that a little bit yes I I mean
I I have a European background I went to
school in in Italy and early on in my
life and I've spent a lot of time in
Europe and I have a great deal of that
mentality we talked about this last year
at the bolognia auto show we're like
looking at cars and looking at the huge
Hall of all these cars and I think the
first thing I said to you well she put
all these cars at bat and they've all
gone like in a month basically then what
so you have to get a whole new Warehouse
right yeah then what happens we just
like changed the we've changed all those
cars were back again this year right
because those cars sit in inventory they
very different phenomenon for us
sometimes it makes us scratch our head a
little bit in in inventory for three
years I wouldn't say people would be a
slightly possessive but like why would
somebody from the us know more about
selling a Porsche 911 well we we also
have people on our team that are to be
speaking Dutch speaking Italian it's not
going to be just us space yeah the New
York guy it's beyond that well it's good
to tell people about right people may
not know or you know you and I have a
lot of shared experience but I I it's
always good for us to share that with
other yeah and I found you know we've
done a bunch of just by default I don't
know all these trips even this year I've
been the Euro back and forth a few times
and you know I went to the the zamort
trip with Kanan having his roll out for
the partnership program and I remember
sitting at the booth at the track and
just people are so excited like people
coming up to you people coming up to me
and I I don't know these people but they
know they know our brand right so so
it's very interesting in making these
contacts even other
dealers I've made some friends with some
local dealers and they just text me and
asked me hey I'm I'm going to put my
first car up what do you think of my
listing and that's great there's nothing
that makes me more happy to see somebody
be successful and I think that is maybe
something that we're not looking to
change anything we're just looking to
come into the space and offer something
that we feel is going to make the car
culture expand and make it an
international scene not just like oh you
know Germany has its own scene Italy
Portugal the US you know that at East
and the West Coast right like it's none
of that we want to tie everybody
together then the thought of like we're
at how many list so weak now 900 n yeah
our Peak this year went over thousand
yeah so that's interesting to think that
there's this whole other Frontier of
cars and community members like engaging
new community members sellers and buyers
and commenters and Watchers and people
sending it to their cousin and
everything else yeah it would be
interesting to see like uh we had the
bat event in New York a few weeks ago
and you know listening to some of the
commentators that were interviewed for
the the video uh that was on the site is
that you I was like a longtime worker
and then I came on to start making
comments these were users of bat are
buyers typically who brought a car to
the event and they said that they had
been working for a while is that you
noticed yeah and before they put their
first po so I'm thinking like how many
people are globally are like that like
they always like they can't post or say
something or can they not say it in
their language and type it out I I don't
know what they're going to do for that
part that be very interesting to have a
whole new there's so many people that
can bring I wouldn't say I hate when
people say like experts I'm always
willing to learn and there's somebody
that knows more about a particular model
or something about the car or or
situation so there's I just feel like
there's going to be all this new it's
like a Rejuvenation and an expansion of
what is already here in the US was going
to maybe start happening in Europe too
yeah I agree that enthusiasm one thing
that's always been interesting for me in
in Europe going to an offend talking to
somebody that says oh you're a BET right
I get introduced as the BET guy all the
time so they say oh you know I love bat
that's so great but there's so many cars
here that are kind of not in the bat
system what are the things they love
about bet and that I love about bet is
that you kind of track cars once they're
oh yeah you see it at a show you see it
at a race and you're like that was on on
BET or that was a 16600 vce car remember
when vce sold that car four years ago
right and then it's kind of still there
and it comes back as an aluminite car it
comes to the New York event or who knows
it shows up at retromobile or wherever
right you're like that's a b car and um
getting some of the European inventory
that's out there into that sort of
system so that it's it's sort of known
item I think will be really neat for
folks to get to do that and then I can
share that we're excited to host events
here in 20125 of Hosting some in-person
events we did one in 2024 at the s F1
circuit but we're going to pick a couple
for 2025 so anybody who's out there who
has ideas about events I hope they reach
out to you and to me and want to do some
in-person things in Europe because
that's what it's really all about for me
right is when you get to see the cars
and touch them and see them driving and
see smiles on people's faces so it's
more about just that experience than it
even is about the transactional part
yeah I'm I'm very excited I've been
following you know a lot of the European
listings we have a category that people
can subscribe to right you alerts and
and see what a vehicle's list in Europe
yeah so I'm interested now I get the
daily email it's like oh look at that
there's a piece of memorabilia so it's
already sort of catching on a bit like
it's nice see maybe one two three a day
and then maybe be 20 yeah and so much
new stuff to look at yeah you're going
to be part of that man I'm asking you
with part of uh filling up that category
I subscribe to that category in those
updates and love seeing things that are
listed in Europe for the same reasons
you mentioned because when it comes in
you like who's the seller and what
country is it in and and oh that's a
little different than what we have yeah
and that's interesting there was a last
week there was a beautiful 1906 valve in
I think it was in France and it sold I
thought it was a very attractive number
I and I had sent the guy a side note
like hey know really cool Cario congrats
that you're putting it up here and you
so we had like a little bit of a
dialogue and it turns out he's you know
he's also in the car business he's doing
looks like he's you know has a few cars
lined up to put on Brak F which is is is
exciting yeah you able see like all like
we're talking about this like cool 190e
with a cloth interior something we never
got in the US right we just got the
cookie cutter two colors and that was at
so it's it's very it's very exciting to
see the possibilities of this this
expansion and where where it take the
the whole community and and BR prow
especially uh we did another podcast
together where you gave your whole
background story we talked for I think
over an hour on you and me and c and the
car business prb and all this crazy
stuff but there's probably some people
that are going to listen to this or see
this that haven't heard a little bit of
your story but particularly the name
some of the cars that are behind you I
think it's probably worth mentioning you
mentioned your time in Italy you said
you studied there but you were there as
a as a young young kid some yeah almost
every summer spend lots of time in in
Italy and in a where about where about
in Italy on the Adriatic Coast in the
theut region which is a beautiful area
we're going to get there somay yeah yes
some cool drives but yeah I mean you
know some of these Alphas here these are
part of my DNA but also the German cars
are too I'm a big uh portion of BMW guy
uh I appreciate all these rare model
cars that uh were never available in the
US so this is um it's almost like a full
circle I'm reliving a lot of things from
my for my youth like I'm talking 10 to
15 years old you know being in Europe
and being driven around all these cool
cars and getting to experience that and
see these cars now are uh have a new
life right they it seems like there was
pre bat you know we' always look at
what's the coolest car we could get for
like 20 grand like a 964 a 911 uh you
know late G Body 911 and for a while
like the cars were like I'm loved and
it's not about the value and I think yes
the cars were just like basically
comically undervalued you know you could
buy like a 911 for 20 grand for a long
time for a long time that was when bet
started that's when they were yeah and
so yes you know the prices have climbed
and unfortunately you know some of the
entry level cost on the cars maybe keep
some people out but there's also cars
here that you can buy for 10 grand
you're excited about some of those
aren't that are really cool I love that
about you you've got some amazing stuff
in your collection but yeah I've seen
you perk up when you see a pujo 205 or
you see a GTI or you see uh what else I
mean I just bought a beautiful uh 89
renol uh turbo low kilometer you know
single ownership okay I'm uh the car is
actually due to come in the port in the
US next week and I'm so excited about
that car because I'm going to be the
only guy in the neighborhood to have
these car and I remember when that car
was new or being young and seeing that
car like driving around in in Italy and
like how cool that guy was that had that
car or GTI or you know equivalent car
that you know I'd come home to the US
and all my friends had like you know
Mustangs and camaras like they they
wouldn't even know what that car was and
so it's it's interesting that years
later there's this whole platform with
all these enthusiasts that really share
the same love that we have about the
cars you know we never talk about like
values and prices I think that's a
that's a very hard driven part of the
business that I don't really care for
car that self-promotion and too much
chatter about the money or the price or
things that you tend to avoid you kind
of focus on your enthusiasm and
delivering transparency and just making
the customer happy right what they get
like they're a little less hung up on
the value and even the final bid number
if they know what they're going to get
is pretty well taken care of and you
take care of the logistics and you know
avoiding surprises I think it kind of
deemphasizes everybody's ask about like
uh what's it worth or whatever anything
like that they're like more like what's
it going to be like or what's yeah
what's Anthony your expert opinion like
is this a good Alpha is this a good
Porsche 928 is this a you know a car
that I want I think that that changes
the conversation it does and part of the
part of program too is that we we get
some cars now you we're we're doing a
fair share of work Consignments we were
doing in the early days most of the cars
that we sold we owned and we find now
that because of the community the buyers
and the sellers kind of want to get
together after the sale right you know
I've maybe helped put the deal together
on the car and you know that seller like
can you share to email at the buyer you
know I'd love to stay connected well
that's really important car of the car's
history um we have a big record drill in
our building so we're we're heavy into
like the history of the car and keeping
it in a drive an electronic drive that
the person can add more service records
and it brings the history of the car to
the next buyer and the buyer after that
I think it's really important because a
lot of these cars like even now I look
at these 911 and they still look new to
me but they're they're old they're 40
years old 50 years old so you're you
become a caretaker of the car I don't
think so much um like you said there
people are really hung up I'm like oh
this is my car it's worth this much I
feel like a car it has like really cool
history or documentation has a value
that you can't put a dollar in out to
and then if you can connect like prior
owners and they're friendly and they
know each other and maybe they be I I
connected to two uh very prominent bat
members earlier this year of a big car
deal and they kind of took off and
became like Fast Friends right I'm happy
to see that yeah you know they they
never would have met each other without
me yeah and it was over cars and uh I
think that's what makes uh bat unique
and coming into Europe with a sense of
European culture right I think we were
just at a Christmas Fair here uh the
other night and you know it's like a a
Wednesday night and everybody's out
drinking hot wine and in in the town
square and everybody's together and just
as a community why not for cars right
yeah why why wouldn't that work here I
think it's something that I didn't
Envision it I just kind of stepped into
it basically last year when we came uh
to do this first trip in the Netherlands
and then came back this summer for the
F1 event as ort the historic event um I
saw that Community I'm like wow look
this could really like I I remember
getting back on the plane and I think I
like called you or I text you right away
like we're doing this is happening yeah
this is happening like I had made the
decision that this is uh what I really
wanted to do we were thinking about
expanding more in the US and and having
another office just to because we had
cars from like all around the country
people send us cars to sell and I
thought oh well maybe we should have
another location just to make things a
little easier but Europe doesn't seem
seemed like that big of a reach for me
and once you saw it I remember that
you're enthusiasm you were like Randy
this is crazy these people all are
begging for bat rically right yeah and
how do we take it to him right and I
knew that yeah you and I having some
conversations about how to do that or
what got us here and then like remember
like after that event the like that
Saturday we drove through the town was
that right like and everybody's like on
the in the sidewalks like outside of the
restaurants I I think uh Chris was like
recording it as we were driving through
I I was in Old Alpha Julia super and
just the enthusiasm for the cars I'm
like wow this is life this totally makes
sense was just like basically the light
bulb really uh clicked and went bright
at that moment I said uh this is a
something that's going to be really
interesting and I want to be a part of
it and uh I'm excited to see what the
next choer is going to be mhm well
nothing makes me happier than you guys
want to be involved your reputation I
think precedes you it's very interesting
for me when I bring up different Sellers
and different features on the site and
different things what people know about
what people don't know about on BET
right it's it's a lot of people no bat
now so that's good you got to get there
first right but now when you mention
particular cars or you mention
particular seller names or that local
Partners exist people more and more are
starting to say oh yeah yeah yeah or oh
I know someone who used that service or
oh I know someone who bought a, 1600 FL
car I mean there's been, 1500 of them
people are they are out there right so
that's has started to become more sort
of a a positive response instead of you
know glassy eyes like what like who yeah
so it's it's becoming more known and I
think that's super positive and even
over here like when I mentioned 1600 I'm
not with you I don't travel with you all
the time I get to travel with you a few
times here but in my travels even
earlier this weekend elsewhere I'm like
oh yeah I'm you know meeting up with
Anthony we're talking about sales in
Europe people like oh they're coming
like this is super exciting so that sort
of momentum shift is kind of moving in
the right Direction I think and I think
that means the next few months are going
to be exciting these first you say 15
tell me about your vision for those 15
and how you think that interaction ought
to go or how how that came about and
then where you hope to go from there I
chose a small collection of cars I felt
that kind it was a wide range right from
the like we're never going to go back to
talk about values right but like the
lower end of the value scale of we'll
say like a 20,000 and Below card to over
a million dollar
so we want to try to see what the
interaction is from the community and US
selling these cars uh under $600 below
and obviously you know we're us-based
and are the US buyers going to be really
excited to see us selling cars in Europe
because I've had so many people say well
I wish I could buy this car in Europe
it's like well I'm calling it now like
here's the C it's in Europe yep and I'm
going to help you get the car here so I
hope that you want to bid on it and be a
part of the process of whether trying to
buy the car or commenting about the car
helping Elevate that car So eventually
it does get sold whether it stays in
Europe or comes to the US so what I've
done is I divided a bunch of cars I
shipped some cars that I purchased to
the us and we're going to launch cars
you know that came from here and we're
also going to on cars here because I
don't want to say I think initially
people would always think like well my
main goal is just to sell the cars in
the US and that is not my goal my goal
is to have the fluency that we've
developed for the US market for the
European seller and buyer you know
people don't have time right like the
whole idea of the website what's
developed in bat and for myself is we
built a virtual car dealership because
people are short on time and my part of
our sales is that the auction that gives
you all the information to be able to
basically come in the last 10 minutes of
the auction even if you haven't been
there from day one read through the
comments look at the pictures and make
educated decision and maybe you know
somebody doesn't want to walk into an
old brick and mor car dealership and
have a hard sale you walked around the
car uh not given the ability to look at
the car how many times have you gone to
look at cars and you want to just be
left alone to look at the car right yeah
and you can't do that if somebody's like
over your back talking to you about the
car or it may be like you know standing
the next to that scratch to to hopeing
you don't see it so I feel like what
we've developed over the years is that
ability for that buyer to to be able to
look at that car at their convenience
and go back and look at it and also you
know we work a lot of car collectors and
also buyers for collections and the way
we've developed our listings is that I
want that guy's mechanic to look at my
listing and I wanted to go look at the
75 undercarriage pictures those are
important to me it seems monotonous to
have all these pictures
but it's important it's really important
because that guy that might be buying
that car has a mechanic or has a friend
that maybe knows more about that Mark
and he can you look at this car and like
oh listen this guy's like basically
photoed
everything and and you plan to do that
here on the European cars as well yes
with a similar system yes yeah and fra
for the first bunch of listings I'm
personally driving on these cars just
like the cars that I sell on the these
you've had hands on yeah I drove every
one of them yeah yeah we you know so
it's uh that's going to be important I
mean obviously at the beginning at the
beginning yeah I mean I and I can only
probably stretch myself so far but I
will put somebody in place that will
emulate what I do and I feel is
important because every car if you don't
know the car it's hard to say we're not
really in the business of selling cars
we'll Market the cars right so it's
important that I touch a lot of the cars
and there's a lot of interesting cars
and I have some Prett neat cars coming
up and we'll probably just do it when we
roll out people will figure out when
they see the cars go live but no
freezers no te right now yeah I saw
there was a van there's a sports car
there's a convertible there's a we're
not just doing 12 julietas that all look
the same this is quite a variety yeah
it's quite a variety and like I like we
were talking this morning you know
looking around some some of the cars
here in this Hall is that the diversity
and to see cars that probably we might
have had some of these cars in the US
but they phased out because not be able
to get fixed or parts or they just
rusted away and it's neat to see a car
that like you maybe had it 20 or 30
years ago and be able to buy one that's
here it's been hidden somewhere in
Europe and you didn't know about it
because you know he wants to go through
all those crazy websites like it's
difficult yesy you're typing I do I mean
you know that's my crazy hobby but most
normal people don't want to do anything
like that yeah I I reached out on a car
actually the other day and I think there
was a deal in Switzerland and I I sent a
message through WhatsApp and like no
response and I'm like why is this guy
like not get in touch with me it's like
that's that's annoying I I bet you
that's frustrating for a lot of private
buyers and sellers too yeah so being
communicative is is probably one of the
oh yeah sort of parts of certainly your
approach in the US but how you going to
handle if you if you're in America are
you going to have people here in Europe
Fielding questions on the time zone here
are you going to be personally answering
for these on East Coast time how are you
going to do it there'll be a split but
you know we have because we have
bilingual people on the team if somebody
wants to hop on the phone or do a video
call you know we're big into like the
video walk around the cars you people
that can't make it to see a car know I I
always say hey luck you know take 20
minutes and set up an appointment we'll
walk the car you show you things that
maybe you would never even want to look
at on a car think it's important to ease
that buyer's questions basically yeah
well and do you want people to reach out
to list cars with you that are in a
certain range or do you want everything
under the sun to come your way in terms
of variety of cars or value level or
what should people do that are listening
to this and have all sorts of different
cars that they'd like to potentially
list on BET how would you vet for that
we welcome pretty much any car even
memorabilia things that might be special
maybe some magazine collections that are
sitting in some person's garage or you
know we're talking about like toy cars
and cars and all these things like
there's so much stuff you love that
stuff man I always see you that stuff
turning your head I know that stuff's
that stuff's exciting but just for that
question the clarity on that question
somebody's got a 80s car that isn't like
a super high-end car do you want them to
reach out to you and Le consider getting
it on the BET or is this more for the
100K cars you're looking to fish no we
we want those cars we want the the lower
Valu cars because we feel those sort of
cars seem to sit a lot on the websites
around here like those kind of mid price
lower value cars and the super expensive
cars right because maybe they ask me
price are like way out of whack or just
somebody put that car out on even a
dealer put the car on their website and
they never realize they've been sitting
there for like a year with some crazy
asking price with not many pitchers
forget about if the pites are good yep
uh just nothing really to substantiate
that asking price for so yes you know I
do want to be able to help people that
want to kind of put their toe in the
water right like I have this this old
BMW but I you know it was my dad's car y
you know and it's been in our family
forever and we just don't want it to end
up just gone or not taken care of yeah
yeah it wants to go to somewhere special
if it's a special car yeah and I and we
talked about this this morning where I
were talking like hey there's something
about that uniqueness of that Euro Car
like and I want to be able to to see a
US buyer be able to connect on a like a
really interesting car and we'll say it
Euro cars are better right like that's
your general General team yeah I think
so too we can say that that sometimes As
Americans you don't want to say that but
I think I always love buau cars my dad
did the gr Market importing thing so we
had European spec cars in the driveway
when I was a little kid and so I'm
spoiled forever and I Plex about all the
little details we were in Italy last
year I remember I bought a car on bat uh
eurospec m635 CSI which I I had one uh
when I was younger and it was the exact
color combination that I had and I
actually knew the car when it was back
like in the 90s and ironically it lived
in my hometown for a while and then the
car got sold and it kind of disappeared
and I I just finished the car you were
finding that car we were in an airport
or a restaurant dinner yeah so it was
interesting like cuz the car had some
like incorrect wheels and you those cars
had the TRX you know Wheels which uh you
know most of them got bined and you know
they had a Rec calling them so I I got
the car and I like plexed about putting
the correct Wheels with you know more
model tires so I had the I spent like it
took I think almost like eight months to
get the wheels built like custom lips
that had the same profile as the
original Wheels I just finished a car
actually like uh last weekend I was
driving it around and I said this
couldn't be more of a special car and
yeah the Euro cars are really cool and
it's nice to see uh actually on the
other side of this building there's a
couple of Euro 635s here which are you
just never see yeah right and uh I'm so
excited to be able to be involved in
these cars and touch them so much that
if I can help a private seller get their
car up on the site and even if it's just
simple photography you know we don't
need to be involved in the whole process
of selling the car anything I can do to
help get that next Community member it's
another connection it just grows what I
feel is super important at this juncture
of my life anyway
yep so someone who's here in Germany a
lot of people speak English but there's
maybe collectors that don't feel
comfortable talking about cars in
English or something like that you don't
speak German but you have a team member
can they reach out can they go straight
into a German conversation to talk about
submitting their car how would that work
yeah if we we get an inquiry of any
parts of Germany or other parts of
Europe we'll start an email and if
somebody wants to just speak German
we'll put them in contact with somebody
on our team that and help them this is
via email or are you guys picking up the
phone
of WhatsApp I know there's got tools
here that people focus on that Americans
my European friends are always shocked
that not everyone in America uses
WhatsApp all the time like they do here
everybody is here which is great and
you're you and I communicate that way
especially when we're here but so
multiple ways of doing that yeah like
phone like if somebody wants to call I
think that's one of the main sort of
questions I get or ensil pressure points
where they're like hey I just want to
pick up the phone and talk to a human
being in Germany yeah or or in us but
pref preferably on the same time zone
here locally that has my car will accept
my car they can do that absolutely and
we're still I mean it's hard cuz we have
so much contact and we're we're doing so
much we still like to pick up the phone
you know even uh through the partnership
program now and I do get you know
somebody reaches out you know we
obviously have some formats to answer a
lot of questions up front but I always
like to be able to pick up the phone or
somebody on my team to pick up up the
phone and discuss the car and I always
find it interesting like you know I'll
call somebody like wow you're really
calling me like you didn't have to do
that I'm like I want to know about your
car like whether I going to sell the car
for you or help you about it it's great
that you're reached out like tell me
about the car maybe we're not going to
do something today but we might do
something down the line or you have a
friend that needs something and we're
we're you know basically all referrals
so so we got so many referrals it's
interesting you know I get somebody
reach out like yeah I have a friend he's
uh I didn't know anything about bat and
he just reached out by email and and I
send in links to different cars and that
person's like wow I didn't even realize
this site existed then they're signed up
and they're part of the community now
they're in yeah that's great so I think
you know especially like you're saying
for uh people in Europe that you know
want to be able to talk to somebody in
their the native language to feel more
comfortable about the processes we'll
have all that in place okay we're
excited to help everybody fantastic any
closing thoughts here anything I'm
thinking of forgetting trying to touch
on in particular people that are
listening to this in Europe that are
like okay how do I do this right so you
talked about phone support you talked
about language support talk about types
of cars top to bottom different values
different uh makes models different
locations you people have to get the car
here for you to see it will you pick up
the phone and talk to them via some
photographs how are the logistical
components going to work yeah we'll
start with some photos we usually that's
the first thing we ask even in the US is
part of the partnership program we want
to we want look at some pictures of a
car I always ask you know where are you
located give me some history about the
car we were talking about this last
night dinner like nobody's Throwing Cars
up on bat yeah but that's not people
think it's easy put it on the website
there's a lot of there's a lot of back
and for before that right yeah we a lot
of people don't realize that actually
sometimes we want to know like are there
adjustments that need to be made to the
car has the car been does it have an
online fingerprint already you I had
somebody reach out last week that had a
failed sale and you know I whether I'm
going to redo that car for that person I
just gave them some you know some free
advice and you know why maybe the car
fell short there were some things that
probably were right up front that should
have been taken care of and it's not
because the person that was selling the
car necessarily did a bad job it's just
every car has a different it's not just
like take the pictures of the car and
put it up on the site every model almost
has a specific photo set for us because
we have so much experience selling cars
on bring a trailer there's certain
things that people are be looking for
especially if you're selling a car in
Europe and we have a a US buyer is going
to engine number underhood number right
the data tag is it the right font yes
right like all those sorts of different
things are super critical and like we
were talking earlier about the you know
the culture of the cars right it's like
that's not a defensive mechanism the
this is not a demand it's just part of
like what are the Mar's day it's like
cry requirement now it used to be in a
quiet conversation or hidden and now
it's like part of the presentation
absolutely you know to list you know a
semi modern Porsche uh and not have a
DME report right or not have a detailed
pain meter reading map on a car these
are just basic things that help that
person that's buying a car from far away
feel good yep and uh that's what you
want is a buyer to feel happy and know
what they're bidding on you yeah and and
cars could have issues and they may not
be perfect nothing's perfect even the
best restored car or the best original
car I mean you could pick anything apart
I always say but you have to sometimes
take you know three steps back and look
at what what you have based on the
mileage whether it's in kilometers or
miles what is this car like and what
what kind of Life did it be and it's
important um you know the biggest hurdle
for us is going to be like you know the
documentation and trying to convert that
you know European documentation so
somebody can read uh what's on there uh
you guys have been working on that I
mean that's actually I would man that
could be an entire podcast talking about
how cars are titled in these different
countries or not titled or registered or
yeah legitimately moved from country to
country or the taxation structure
between buying a car from Switzerland to
Germany to UK to America to all these
different places it's complex but you
guys have already invested in expertise
there knowledge on the ground here and
help on the New York side if they're
going back and forth so yes I'm very
encouraged by what you've already done
but I'm sure there will be more
learnings as you move for for an ability
to help people sure yeah and it's really
it's important because uh I mean even
within Europe too like you know have a
prer documentation on your transfer of
cars like it's never a bad idea it's no
it's yeah yeah it's that's what brings
the transparency and I think um you know
not that there's you know there's
perceived problems whether it's in the
US or Europe they'll smoke out like a
lot of potential issues what a car right
if there's a a seller that has a car and
has a fat paperwork or no paperwork or
or maybe the car had a change of in or
some you know something there because
you know we heavily rely on there's a
lot of tools in in in the US there's
tools here too there's just a separate
tool set yeah and no we're integrating
those and exciting to learn and add
those so it's useful for people on both
sides yeah so yeah there you know
there's some stuff obviously like you
know when you're he in Europe you know
if there's a US listing you can't really
look at a Carfax or you can't click on
it so I was thinking about that the
other day like where we're going to go
back to the old school bat when we were
like scanning that in and those in the
photo gallery right now it's become just
like it's there it's digital it's
expected it's expected to click on so
you can't see that and there's tools
here vice versa that maybe the US buyer
would want to see heard about but
doesn't know the name or the website to
go to we know that and we can add that
on on the site yeah and we have we have
updates to the site even that I haven't
even briefed you on yet Anthony that are
that are coming that will help that be
more transparent and help out because we
want that same ethos to carry through
right that's what makes for the happy
buyers in my op opion yeah absolutely
and moving on forward we we're you know
we're very excited about it it's kind of
been my I guess it was my life long
dream I didn't realize it yeah you know
it was just sitting there kind of right
in front of me but I just didn't realize
it yeah and my team's super excited you
know I've had uh this week I have a
short amount of people here on the team
helping do this video we're doing right
now but there last month you know I
brought a couple of my guys from my
media team and one is a fairly new
higher you I'm just out of college and
never traveled alone was like all these
experiences like a dropp them down like
okay we're doing all this stuff and
we're doing it it was so great to see
that all the training and the all the
work that I've done developing this
process that I was able to do it here
remotely while the cars are being
photographed uh we basically were able
to like load these cars in real time on
the other side yeah in the US so um it's
going to be really interesting to see
where where it all goes I'm excited to
see what cars are being submitted and
and where where it takes us and some of
the events we'll do next year to uh I
want to meet more people and shake hands
and talk more about the cars fantastic
well 2025 is going to be great we're
going to get to do a lot together we're
going to be over here in Europe fair
amount you and I I'm sure together some
the events that we mentioned I'm hoping
that people uh will reach out to us they
can find six vce pretty easily via bat
or even Direct ar.com and also reaching
out to bet and the BET team who will
also be supporting this around the clock
as we always do but seem equally excited
too lot they are EXC I mean people are
people are the the inventory that comes
from over here gets people excited but
the success stories and the oh this car
just landed from here oh my goodness do
you see that you know 73 Porsche RS sell
on bat out of Austria you know wow look
at that new listing in the Netherlands
you know those those sort of stories
that it's it's invigorating it's
exciting yeah it's a it's sort of a new
flavor of BET right bet is not just
stagnant it's growing and it's moving
and there's I tell you I mean there's
just so much recognition of the bat
ethos and community and the just
difference of bat over here that's why
these people are always telling me like
when are you coming when are you coming
it's needed so badly so I think now that
the phone lines are open and the the
emailing Box is open and the submission
flow starts happening yes I think it's
going to be really really exciting to do
that with you Anthony I feel very
privileged to get to do it with you but
to also do bat in in Europe so we'll see
where it goes yeah that's a so far it's
been a great you know I think it's a
great success story even the uh the
local parner program that you know three
years ago is just like a fought like
that you have what 50 now yeah 52 or 54
in the US and three in Canada and you
know one soon to be five in Europe and
the UK so that's a that maybe we finish
with a final touch on that I mean your
your plan isn't to come over here and be
the only partner in Europe your plan is
to be over here and you talk in a very
interesting way to me very different
than other Sellers and even dealers that
I hear of of VI working together with
the other ones that are in uh other
countries how do you hope that that goes
I guess is a question that's that's an
interesting point you bring up Randy
because I I'm a super competitive guy
don't get me wrong race car driver uh
I'm competitive but I like to see other
people be successful
and you know I have lots of sellers
friends on the bat site the dealers and
I'm always happy to help you know we got
a question or even how I address this
comment like don't be mad like you you
have to take a look at you know what
that person really wants and I feel like
also the dealers here in Europe I don't
want them to think that I'm coming in
here and you like rolling everybody down
like I I want to try to connect and and
bring that sense of community and that
everybody should work together we share
a lot of the same clients right so the
clients don't ever want to be alienated
but you know yes obviously there's
always guys that have like an allegiance
this is my guy I deal with and and I'm
only buy cars through them or sell cars
through them is said we want to try to
work together to expand the platform and
it's not just monetarily uh it's more I
feel like I'm part of this culture where
we're trying to save these cars save
them for our children
right we don't want these cars to die
out and people say like oh what happens
after everything goes electric well we
we see there's a little bit of push back
with that now right is that we can
basically make sure that especially some
of these cars from even the 50s in the
60s that are kind of dying off a little
bit is there's this new Rejuvenation and
the they're part of the history and
there's so much in Europe the history of
the cars it's just so deep compared to
the US right you know we a JY right JY
has so much the sense of Pride here and
the cars and we know we're just looking
at a bunch of Mercedes this morning and
it's like these cars are important and
they they should be saved and the only
way to save them is that everybody has
to do their part as a community and yes
you know dealers in their business is
selling cars and I want you know dealers
to feel like they can reach out also and
we can help them you know put some cars
up and maybe you never know what that
could lead to they you do want them to
do that yeah abely yeah absolutely for
sure yeah I thought it's been and I I
try not to abuse this but I actually
steer people who are wanting to be
partners or learning about Partners
whatever to you as sort of an example of
that and you've been very open with your
time to talk to some of them and be like
this is kind of how works on BT and this
is what we've built in a nonprotective
non-competitive sort of way you're just
like hey you're far away from me and
there's there's a whole pool of cars in
your zone so try doing it this way this
is the 1600 below way and see how it
goes and many of them were like wow I
get to talk to Anthony I mean you're a
very public visible success story and so
I appreciate that personally and I think
it's been helpful for some younger up
incomers and some newer folks that that
that are newer to bat and and I think
it's appreciated yeah I met some sellers
at the V we had in New York a few weeks
ago and you know obviously I can't see
all the cars in the site I have my own
lean I'm in you know trying to keep
things going and we're just bombarded
with so much work is that you know I had
a couple of sellers who a young uh
dealer that you know I went and looked
has you know sold quite a few cars on
the site you know he asked what what
should I do I'm like well stay in your
lane whatever you're doing is working
right like uh just we get to your
clients and try to show everything with
the cars and and do your best right so
there's I think what really is appealing
here is that there's so many dealers
that I don't now and I want to meet a
lot of these guys too because they have
cars and I'm just so interested on the
cars El too if we can get some of them
out there and get them out on bat and
help bat grow into further markets I
feel like it'll keep our hobby alive too
well I think that's a great point to end
on I think it's fun talking about this
stuff I think you and I could talk for a
long time about all these markets all
these cars all the opportunity uh it's
really fun to be in Germany with you
we're going to have a German meal
tonight and uh celebrate kind of
starting to get this thing to come to
fruition people should definitely watch
for 16 vehicles on the site and these
European located there's still going to
be we should clarify that there's still
going to be called 1600 Force same
username same way of subscribing you'll
probably see a little bit different
backgrounds or that sort of thing in the
listing um and obviously the the driving
videos your signature components will
still happen they'll just kind of be
different looking license plates on the
cars in front of you when you're chasing
around over here right yeah was it was I
when I did my first one uh I went to go
back to the computer look I'm like wow
this is so crazy like look at these cars
that are passing me right even the buses
like I had put one up on YouTube by
mistake and a follower like text me like
what are you doing where yeah it's right
oh no I got to pull that one down yeah
that's like years out see your out so
people will be able to find it there and
they should definitely subscribe to that
and that category you talked about
earlier which is listings located in
Europe that's a category and is
searchable and is subscribable on bat
people should also know yeah that soon
we're going to a multicurrency model so
when you're listing Vehicles here they
can in Euros for European buyers as well
they don't have to be dealing in US
Dollars which has always been a little
bit clunky and and unusual uh so that's
going to get better and better and yeah
we'll have more product releases and
we're investing in this as well because
you're investing you're doing uh things
with facility and inventory and team
here and we're doing that as well so
when we're marching sort of in side by
side partnership it seems to go well so
we're going to do that here as well and
it be it would be great you know for
especially people that are new to the
site new signups that you know use the
app and look at the app and play with it
and and maybe you know do some test
spitting on cars and be involved in the
comments and the cars you know because
obviously there's so much could be
involv you don't have to be able to just
buy a car on the site you could just be
part of the daily chatter yep yeah or B
people had that model or know that car
or know you know their parents had that
car or it's something they know about
yeah local expertise is always a plus so
thanks everybody for listening this has
been super fun i' enjoy talking to you
Anthony yeah it's great it's a ton of
fun we'll do this again and again and
people have questions hopefully they'll
fire them to you or to me and we'll go
have some more fun in Germany all right
great
About this episode
Excitement builds as 1600veloce expands into Europe, with co-founder Anthony Sarah discussing the partnership with Bring a Trailer. The episode highlights the unique challenges and opportunities of selling European cars, including navigating complex documentation and shipping logistics. Anthony shares his passion for European vehicles and how his team aims to provide a transparent, community-focused experience for buyers and sellers alike. With a diverse range of cars set to be listed, the conversation emphasizes the importance of connecting car enthusiasts across continents.
In episode 104 of the Bat Podcast, Randy and Anthony Serra preview an exciting special announcement about 1600veloce opening operations at a facility in Göttingen, Germany as the second BaT Local Partner in Europe. They talk about the deeply passionate place from which Anthony and his team have developed their business ethos and their love of the BaT platform, and discuss why it's such a good fit for car enthusiasts in Germany and well beyond. They tell how to subscribe to Listings Located in Europe on BaT regardless of your location, describe how submissions and multilingual communications work for Europeans wishing to use Local Partner services and representation, give a sneak peak at BaT's upcoming release of multi-currency support, and more. Keep your eyes peeled for the main announcement about this exciting turn of events to come shortly.
BaT is always on the lookout for partners with whom to bring the variety, buyer/seller experience, and community that make our platform stand out to new audiences. If you are an accomplished seller who would like to start a conversation about becoming another European BaT Local Partner, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode: