The Chevrolet Express is a big van that can carry a lot of people or cargo. It’s often used by businesses and families because it’s very practical and sturdy.
The subprime automotive market is where people with bad credit can still get loans to buy cars, but they usually have to pay more in interest. It's risky for lenders because these borrowers might not pay back their loans.
Primalend is a company that gives loans to people who want to buy cars, especially those who might have trouble getting loans from regular banks. They also help car dealers get money to buy cars for their lots.
A dealer floor plan is a way for car dealerships to get loans to buy cars for their lots. They pay interest on the loan until they sell the cars, which helps them keep a variety of cars available for customers.
Buy here, pay here means you can buy a car and pay for it directly at the dealership instead of going to a bank. It's often used for people who have bad credit and might not get loans elsewhere.
The Tesla Semi is a big electric truck that’s made to carry goods. It’s special because it’s designed to be more efficient and better for the environment than regular trucks.
ICE vehicles are cars that run on gasoline or diesel fuel. They use engines that burn fuel to create power, unlike electric vehicles that run on batteries.
EVs are cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline or diesel. They use batteries to power electric motors, which makes them cleaner for the environment compared to traditional cars.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people recognize. It's known for being fast and having a unique shape, and it's been around for a long time, making it a classic choice for car enthusiasts.
The Metzger engine is a special type of engine made by Porsche, famous for being powerful and reliable. It's used in some of their sports cars, especially in racing.
The Dodge Viper is a super-fast sports car that looks very unique. It’s loved by car fans because it’s powerful and gives a thrilling driving experience.
The first gen Viper is the original version of a very fast sports car made by Dodge. It has a unique look and a big engine, making it popular among car fans.
A rebuilt title means the car was once damaged badly enough that the insurance company considered it a total loss. After repairs, it can be sold again, but it might have problems from the accident.
A salvage title means the car was in a bad accident or had serious damage, and the insurance company decided it wasn't worth fixing. It can be risky to buy a car with this title because it might have hidden problems.
A ceramic rotor is a part of the braking system in a car. It's made from special materials that help it last longer and handle heat better than regular rotors, making it great for fast cars.
Lug nuts are the small bolts that hold the wheels onto a car. If they're rusty or damaged, it can be unsafe to drive because the wheels might not stay on properly.
Ceramic brakes are a type of brake system that uses special materials to help slow down the car. They are lighter and can handle heat better than regular steel brakes, making them great for fast cars.
The Lotus Esprit is a lightweight sports car from Britain that’s known for its cool looks and great handling. It’s a favorite among car fans because it has a unique style and history.
The Toyota Tacoma is a type of truck that is good for driving on rough roads and carrying things. Many people like it for its strength and ability to handle tough conditions.
A dock fee is an extra charge that car dealerships sometimes add to the price of a car. It's meant to cover costs for getting the car ready for sale, but some buyers don't like paying it.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and stylish sports car that many people love. It's famous for its speed and cool looks, making it a popular choice among car enthusiasts.
The Ford Mustang is a popular sports car that has been around for many years. The 2005 version has a new look and is known for being fast and fun to drive.
SEMA is a big car show where companies display custom cars and parts. It's important for anyone interested in car modifications or aftermarket products.
In a no reserve auction, there is no minimum price that the item needs to reach to be sold. This means it will go to the highest bidder, even if that bid is low.
The Bugatti Veyron is an extremely fast and very expensive car that can go over 250 miles per hour. It’s famous for being one of the best cars in the world in terms of speed and luxury.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is a classic car known for its unique doors that open upwards. It's a very desirable car among collectors and car enthusiasts.
The Mercedes-Benz SL is a fancy convertible car that’s known for being stylish and powerful. It’s popular among people who want a mix of luxury and fun driving.
The Lamborghini Gallardo is a fast and stylish sports car made by Lamborghini. It has a powerful engine and is designed for high performance on the road.
The Shelby Cobra is a classic sports car from the 1960s that’s famous for being very fast and light. It’s a favorite among car collectors because of its racing history and cool design.
The Ford Mustang GTD is a special version of the famous Mustang sports car that’s built for speed and better handling. It’s designed for people who want a more powerful driving experience.
The Acura NSX is a very fast sports car that was made to be both exciting to drive and practical for everyday use. It’s special because it was one of the first cars to use a lightweight design to improve speed and handling.
The Porsche Boxster is a small, sporty convertible car that’s fun to drive. It’s known for being well-balanced and is a great option for people who want a taste of luxury sports cars.
The Nissan GT-R is a super-fast sports car that’s known for its advanced technology and great performance. It’s often called 'Godzilla' because it’s so powerful and impressive.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks sporty and can go really fast. It’s popular because it combines the power of a muscle car with the comfort of a regular sedan.
The Ford Explorer is a large SUV that can carry a lot of people and stuff. It's popular for families because it has plenty of space and can handle different types of driving conditions.
The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that’s very comfortable and has a lot of features. People often talk about it because it’s seen as a luxury vehicle that shows off wealth.
The Honda Odyssey is a family minivan that has a lot of room for kids and cargo. It’s popular because it’s comfortable and has many features that make family trips easier.
The Chrysler Town & Country is a family minivan that has a lot of room and comfort. It’s popular because it’s great for carrying kids and their stuff on trips.
The Infiniti QX80 is a big luxury SUV that has a lot of space and nice features. It’s popular with families who want a comfortable and stylish vehicle.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that’s known for being fast and looking cool. It’s a favorite among people who love muscle cars and racing.
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I'm surprised Donald Trump has not, when talking about his tariffs, said,
They're terrific.
Get it? Tariff? Tariffic?
No, no, no, I do get it, Doug. That was right away.
I don't, I'm trying to decide if that is too high-brow or too low-brow for him.
I don't know which one it is.
If it was Bush, he'd just say it accidentally.
Yeah.
Welcome back to Switchcast season six.
I'm your host, Doug Tabott, here with my co-host, Tyler Sanders.
And we're the, what are we?
The show where we don't talk politics, we talk cars, but we still make political jokes
if we can.
Switchcast is a podcast where we know what we're talking about despite evidence to the
contrary.
And when we mess up, we have our wonderful executive producer, Ethan Huffnagle, to fix
it in post, except for those of you who pay extra to be on Patreon.
And you get to hear all the things that should get us canceled, but don't.
Because it's our show.
Turn right.
If you do enjoy this podcast and you're not yet on Patreon, check it out.
I think it will be worth your extra money.
Patreon.com slash Switchcast.
You get access to not only watch the show live when we're filming it, but you also
get exclusive bonus content.
For instance, this week, our discussion topic is cars that make you look like a
jerk, even if you aren't one.
Nice.
As low as $2 a month, guys.
Yes.
Yes.
Join the Patreon community.
Uh, let's see, what is, oh, the free ways you can support us or other valuable
ways, one, support our sponsors.
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Tyler, what is fueling this podcast?
Our technical advisor, Dan Doucette, has brought in a delicious looking four
roses single barrel that is, uh, what is math?
Like 114 proof, 11 years old.
Small pours of that.
Yes, we've, I've had a single barrel here before and it was excellent.
So this is a different single, well, it could be from the same barrel.
Nope, it's from a different barrel.
So we'll see, because a previous four roses single barrel I had was one of my
favorites of all time.
That one was a low proof one, which is delicious.
I love low proof single barrels.
So I probably won't like this one as much.
This is a little, it's on the lower end of the spectrum.
I wish you didn't tell me the proof though.
I have this strange talent of being able to just like guess the proof of any whiskey
and be right.
Gosh, I'm so, I ruined it.
So I'll let sound effects here.
Uh, okay.
Some, some quick hitter news stories here to catch us up.
We talked about the subprime automotive market being in a real hurt a few weeks ago,
a couple of weeks ago, another subprime lender, Primalend files chapter 11 bankruptcy.
They are a buy here, pay here, indirect lender and a dealer floor plan lender,
which means they finance dealers inventory.
With a name like that, Doug, how could they, they really should be called subprime
a lens now some low hanging fruit there.
Real low hanging fruit.
That's right.
Still good.
Anyway, so that market is continuing to see some really big struggles.
Texas and Oklahoma are conducting a major crackdown operation on non-legal questionable
CDL truck drivers.
We've talked about this a lot.
Oklahoma's crackdown is called Operation Guardian.
And all they could come up with kind of lame.
No, people are making this political and it's not political.
The stats are out there.
Truckers need to be trained properly and they need to be able to speak English and
understand English and read English road signs.
And you know, honestly, being a this is a safety thing.
A thousand percent being a truck driver is a lot more.
There's a lot more involved in it than maybe I originally thought.
So I imagine the popular, the general population thinks this way.
But I've got someone in my extended family is a truck driver and they were explaining
to me kind of the different routes you can take to get around Cleveland.
And it's actually really restrictive where you can take a semi truck and where you can
not. And it's if you can't read the signs, you're going to end up in a place you can't
be where there's a low bridge that you can't fit under.
And it's like all of this stuff that's purely just navigating around where you can go.
Oh, and we're going to talk about that later on.
Oh, we've wasn't even playing got a crash video.
Yeah. Anyway, but the apprehensions included one trucker who was given a
non-domicile CDL guess what state not California, New York on his license.
The listed name was no name given.
That's a really common.
Was it like hyphenated?
That's a really weird name.
Ah, strange.
Hi, it's no name given.
Yeah.
So the state police and ICE were all involved in this crackdown.
I think a couple hundred drivers.
Oh, it was like 120 at the time of publishing this article, 126.
I think that they were deporting.
Oh, because they weren't even here legally and they had just gotten a non-domicile CDL.
So I will say this and this is as political as we're going to go.
When I first saw the headlines about people like blocking ICE vehicles
and protesting against ICE vehicles in California, like the first three news
headlines I saw, I'm like, wow, they really are taking this like pro EV thing
to a new level.
Oh, because I like, I just wasn't paying attention to what was going on
in the political landscape that closely.
And when I see ICE, I think internal combustion engines.
So it's just like EV, ICE, EV, ICE, so I like, why are these EV people so uptight?
Is it like the diesel boys, the roll, coal people?
Like they're really ticked about that.
But, you know, that's some, some innocence, I think that the world could use a little more.
Doug is less online than maybe you think he is.
He's online and bring a trailer.
That's a. Yes, indeed.
I'm going to throw something at our producer so he knows that the main segment
is coming up. We're real high tech here.
Oh, speaking of warm-up laps this weekend, I'm going to drive pit race, formerly Beaver
Run, which is going future formerly pit race, turning into a data center.
So yes.
What you driving?
Warm-up laps, taking a 9-11.
Nice.
The funny thing is on the like the waiver thing and the instructions, they said, if
you go off the track and you, you know, you damage any of their property, you're
liable for repairs.
And I kind of want to be like, but, but are we, they're, they're just
turning into a data center.
Yeah, they're going to bulldoze the whole thing.
That sucks.
Well, at least you get to go one more time.
I drove that a long time ago with Extreme Experience and it was a super fun track
that I've just never managed to make it back to.
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There's a thousand auctions a week, more than that.
I'm bringing a trailer now, plus cars and bids and P car market and then the
RM Sotheby's and SOMO and auctions among auctions and most of them go fairly
normally, but every now and then one is such an epic fail that we have to
highlight it.
And I happen to notice this one because I keep track of Metzger engine GT cars
for my database GT vault.
And this one went more sideways than somebody in a first gen viper on
original tires who lifted off the throttle.
And I think this is them surprisingly as we'll come to find out the most sideways
this car has ever gone.
Well, I don't know about that.
It's impressive given.
Given the wreck.
So 2007 911 GT3 RS was on bring a trailer, very highly sought after car,
four hundred fifteen of them for the U.S. in white color.
So that's one of the rare colors.
Excuse me, Doug, it's Carrara white.
They actually spelled it wrong.
They did auction.
They spelled it Carrara white.
It's Carrara white ceramic brakes.
The only issue is that has a rebuilt title for a wreck.
Yep, yep.
And we talk about often whether or not rebuilt title cars are worth buying.
And of course, when you put one on a public auction, you expose yourself to
a lot of comments, a lot of questions, and you better be prepared.
Yeah, you better have your ducks in a row, your story ready to rock.
Did you see Doug, the photos from the wreck?
I did.
They were interestingly enough.
They were not posted on the auction.
And when somebody asked for the photos, the seller said that their office had
burned down and so they lost all the files for the photos.
That's a real like dog ate my homework kind of excuse.
Oh, hold on.
We'll get to the dog to there is a dog involved.
Right.
So they couldn't post the photos, but lo and behold, if you go on a supplemental
vehicle history report website like Epic VIN, which you can do using our
affiliate link in the video description, they had the photos of the wreck.
So something you don't get from car facts and like anybody could have gotten them.
And then, thankfully, somebody also posted them to rent list.
So they were readily available on the internet, but the seller is making
an excuse that their office burned down.
That's why they don't have the files in a digital world.
Same excuse for why they didn't have the service records of the repair.
But they knew who had done it.
They were bragging that true speed motor cars had performed the repair.
So it's like, OK, we'll call them and get the receipts.
Yeah, I'm sure they still because it wasn't that long ago.
I'm sure they still have them or some record of them somewhere.
Exactly. This is bring a trailer, people that you can't get around the peanut gallery.
Even if everybody in the peanut gallery is not going to bid, which often happens,
like you got to answer the questions.
The damage photos were not that bad in my estimation.
It was the front right corner.
There seemed to be no damage to the A or C pillar.
The glass was still intact, which when I had an accent at, I don't know,
like 40 ish miles an hour, I hit something right front corner.
The glass shattered, the A pillar was creased.
I think the C pillar had a little crinkle in it.
And it's like, this car has to be total.
But this one, like everything outside of the right front corner was fine.
So it was like subframe, maybe front tub, suspension pieces,
you know, hubs, whatever, probably not that big of a deal.
Weren't there multiple accidents, though?
No, somebody was I don't think so.
I think it was because it shows a total loss in terms of it shows the car
fax report, the police report on car fax for the accident, then the total
loss for the insurance claim, then the salvage title, when the title becomes
salvage, then the rebuilt title issue.
That's all one process.
I must have misread it then.
I thought there was something, some other incident in there, but wait.
So if there's a police report, that means this didn't happen on track.
Or somebody, it did happen on track.
And then they moved it to a ditch nearby your friendly local insured ditch,
which we love to do or ditch.
I won't throw anybody under the bus, but people have told me they were
doing those things.
I'm just like, OK, right.
The driver's airbag did pop and the passenger airbag did.
Yes. So the photos were OK, not great.
But the seller's responses or lack thereof to people's valid questions
in this instance really hammered them.
Yes, to use a little auction pun, one of the best.
One of the best comments, I think, of all time was in this auction.
So people brought up the fact that not only was the front brake rotor had
like a huge chunk out of it, which is a ceramic rotor, very expensive.
And I think if you have a chunk out, you don't really want to drive it, right?
Like that's damaged enough that you don't want to use it.
Or this chunk was pretty big, a tiny chunk, probably not a big deal.
But but there is a number of lug nuts that were rusty.
On one wheel, there's three out of five.
On another wheel, there is one and another wheel, there is two.
And like really rusty.
And people were like, hey, so what's with that?
And the seller said, oh, well, I was in the hospital for a long time
and somebody was watching my German Shepherd and he peed on the wheels.
And that's why the lug nuts are rusty.
Yeah, he just really went and peed on like all four wheels of the car.
Well, three. Oh, yeah, three.
One of them is clean. Clean as a whistle.
Yes. And he only hit three lug nuts on the one wheel.
He's not very accurate, Doug.
He's really just there for the business.
So then he didn't answer questions because he had a death in the family,
which if it's true, that is awful.
But it there's there's just a lot of mishaps happening at a time
when maybe you maybe you shouldn't be auctioning the car.
Yeah, there's just lots going on.
And some of that you can't really predict, I guess,
but this was really an inopportune time.
And the seller did not leave that many comments.
No, for a car of this caliber, you would expect some engagement.
I did appreciate, though, one thing that made me chuckle.
So the shout out to the gray man on bring a trailer.
First comment, I can fix her on the listing, which I love.
A comment a few days after that, this this person was really
just going down the rabbit hole on this.
And I loved the journey of their comments.
They said is a second license plate screw included with the sale.
And I didn't know there's only only one plate screw in the rear.
I'm like, you're auctioning this car and you can only afford one screw.
Well, he couldn't he couldn't even clean it because there's a bunch
of dog hair in the back that somebody pointed out.
And he said, yeah, that's for my shepherds, for my shepherd.
It's like, OK, you can answer where the dog hair came from,
but you can't answer like where the car was repaired.
It was just circled around everything and excuses for everything.
There was a great summary by one of the commenters said,
the office with the accident pictures burned down.
You had an explosion accident.
Your shepherd's peed on your lug nuts and a family member passed away.
I hope getting rid of this thing gets you better luck in life.
So good.
This is one of the strangest
auction sequences in terms of comments that I've seen in a long time.
And it also looked like there's like mold that was on the driver's seat
at one point and it wasn't cleaned very well.
Where's that photo?
I think the car looked better in the post accident photos than it did
on the bring it to where there's a different color white on one of these doors.
Oh, I'm sure it's like on a couple of photos.
It just looks a little strange to me.
But it is nowhere near as bad as the salvage title
rebuilt title nine on six GT three.
You tried to buy the blue one that's still for sale.
No, the ceramics on one side and the steel brakes on the other
and was still visibly bent after it was repaired.
And somebody was like, I can't possibly afford GT three bodywork.
Let me, you know, shove Carrera stuff on this.
It'll be like a touring.
Yep. No, thank you.
Honestly, for after seeing the damaged photos, I would take a flyer at this car.
It went reserved, not met to 130 K, which is well short
of the last rebuilt title GT three RS that sold, which sold for 186.
Now, granted, that was fire damage.
That was the one that was in the Rhodes Scholars building fire.
So that's a, you know,
different type of damage, both a little bit risky.
But yeah, the seller definitely hurt their own auction here.
And there is a million reasons in here,
including their German shepherd on why this car did not sell.
But it's it's definitely a lesson in how not to do
a bring a trailer auction.
Seriously, well, unless as somebody opined, you're trying to settle a divorce
and you need to establish a very low market value for your car
that you actually want to keep could be could be a valid strategy.
Speaking of bidding on auctions and continuing the bring a trailer theme,
I thought we do a lighthearted segment on the best excuses
people leave to not bid on an auction,
which is similar to, you know, car dealers or car salesmen, the excuses we hear.
But when people actually put them in print to be immortalized
and announce why they have chosen not to bid on a car
instead of just quietly not bidding, we find it incredibly entertaining.
So there's some like there's some themes that we see regularly,
which is, you know, I tried to bid, but, you know, bring a trailer screwed me.
It glitched out at the auction had already ended, which you have two minute
clock that resets every time somebody bids.
You shouldn't wait till the last five seconds and then claim
that your computer glitched out or is bringing trailers fault
that you couldn't get a bid in. But I've seen that dozens of time.
I even have one in my list that is, I know.
Oh, beautiful car.
I just noticed it probably 30 seconds too late.
What do you mean?
It was on the Internet for six or seven days. Come on.
That one blows my mind on a seven day auction.
It blows my mind more when we have a car listed on our dealer site
and all the third party sites for like four months, six months.
We finally sell it in the next day.
Someone's like, Oh, hey, I just found this car.
I've been looking forever.
I don't believe you've been looking.
No, they haven't, because let me tell you, I knew every single nine and six
GT three that came up for sale, because I was everywhere.
If you really want it, you know, they didn't want it bad enough.
You know, you know.
All right. So these are these are actual quotes that we found
in bring a trailer auctions of people announcing why they're not going to buy
a car. One of the big themes is, of course, let me humble brag about my car.
So I would buy this, but I bought one eight months ago.
I have one from cars and bids on an old Fiat that says, why have a seventy six
one eight three P fifty seven multiply fifty nine Abarth and a seventy four X?
Otherwise I would be listing the whole collection.
Mine seems lame now.
A quote I'd be buying if I didn't already have one.
Thanks. Cool, bro.
Here's another one.
I'll give this one like two points for validity, but otherwise, no, I was going
to bid, but so and so had been trying for an esprit for a long time.
Why do you like that?
Good friends with them, or do you just want to say that you're not bidding?
I have one on an old Tacoma here that, you know, it was pretty low mileage,
but it had been used to somebody's like, if it wasn't for the paintwork
and packed mud and off-roading, I would still be in great seller.
It's a truck. What do you expect from a truck?
They use the truck.
People announcing their exits on bids.
One that I see very often is,
well, if they didn't have the dock fee, I would bid.
Oh, how often do you get that?
Pretty often, but it's always the same people.
And they're one of two categories.
One, they never bid on anything, so you don't care.
Or two, they only bid on private party listings.
So they're the type that they're the Corvette curmudgeon.
I'll never buy from a dealer.
They're dock fees.
OK, just reduce your bid by the dock fee amount and call it a day.
Nope, it's principled.
I also love the people that I have a couple of during the auction
where they like ask for something for the seller to go through extra work
and then don't follow up on it, like the commenter doesn't.
So somebody said, can you do a proper cold start video, please?
And a driving video. Many thanks.
I'm a buyer, but I need to know more.
They never commented again, and they never bid on the car.
Even after the seller uploaded that.
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
My favorite one, and this is my last one.
I couldn't quite believe this one is an excuse.
This is a good one.
I've heard, you know, I was on a plane.
I got called into a meeting, whatever valid distraction.
But I was getting my eyes dilated.
What? That's not.
You know, the auction's happening, bro.
I don't understand.
They have been bidding actually, too.
And it was just like the last five minutes.
It's like, OK, well, just throw a throw a shutter down bid
and then go get your eyes dilated.
I have one again.
This was during the auction that I just I had to pick it.
This is for some awesome green like 2005
SEMA show car Mustang with like 7000 miles.
And it's got a custom stereo in it that during the driving video
has a screen to enter the code.
Somebody asked if the if the seller had the code for the radio,
and they responded in a bizarre way that essentially meant yes.
And the guy followed up with makes no sense.
You have not confirmed to have the code or that the radio functions.
I'm out.
It they're not going to bid based on a radio code
on a like highly customized SEMA SEMA show car.
They're like, no, Brady, it doesn't work. I'm out.
I'm sure it doesn't work. It's a show car.
What do you expect?
And they said the little waving emoji.
I appreciated that the seller that said they responded quickly
and said you were never in.
This would already would have been the most expensive car you put a bit on.
Oh, so they went to their profile and called them out.
I will do that every now and then, but I have to be careful,
because, of course, our username is switch cars, which is our brand.
I can't be all like I'm a private party and just say what I want.
But I've I've shut people down a few times with with ridiculous questions
or assumptions or assertions or whatever.
So anyway, just like the forums,
you don't need to announce your exit on an auction, either bid or don't bid
or ask a question or don't ask a question.
But yeah, nobody cares that you're not bidding on this Lamborghini
because you have seven others and you enjoy them so much.
Just nobody cares.
Well, you might get three likes on your comment.
So I guess three people care, but you don't even know who they are.
The dopamine doc.
The dopamine of people you've never met and don't know who they are.
Yes.
Switch cars is the enthusiast dealership where we buy,
sell and consign only cars that we like ourselves.
Check out our handpicked inventory online at switchcars.com
and mention switchcast for special pricing.
You can find more information online at switchcars.com or come visit our showroom
in a beautiful Twinsburg, Ohio, where you can experience the switchcars difference.
There's been a lot of physical auctions lately.
Well, not a lot.
It's not January in Scottsdale or what is it, February?
No, when is Meekum Kissimmee?
Whatever the four auctions are, that might also be January.
All right, maybe.
It's not August in Monterey, but we had a couple recent broad
aero auctions, one in Las Vegas and one in Zurich.
And I thought it was a good time for an update on auction results,
what we can learn from the market based on those and what we can learn
in general about the strategies of selling via auction based on some of these auction results.
So we're going to unpack them, reverse engineer them, and see what we can learn.
So the broad aero auction in Las Vegas, particularly in conjunction with the Las
Vegas Concord, they published an 82% sell-through rate.
We used the HammerPrice app to get the most up-to-date results,
although that app failed us on the sell-through rate because they essentially
listed all the cars as sold, even if it was a high bid reserve not met.
So if you looked at the app, it looked like it was 100% sell-through rate minus one car,
but then you went on broad aero site and they showed the cars still for sale.
So we had to kind of figure out which ones didn't actually sell.
Do you have a context or an idea?
Is 82% normal?
Is that low?
Is that high?
82% is normal for a physical auction.
That's higher than most of the online auctions get.
We did unpack this earlier this year, and I think bring a trailer around the 75% mark.
Oh, that's right, because we pulled all that data from all that data.
Right, and I think cars and bids was around 72% if memory is serving me correctly.
But we typically see above 80% for the physical auctions, and of course,
Barrett Jackson is all no reserve, so it's going to be 100%.
But does a high sell-through rate mean it's a good thing for the sellers?
Well, Doug, you're looking for about five seconds.
Start with the big money.
The Veyron market is back up with one leading the Las Vegas auction hammered at $2 million.
And of course, it was surrounded by the largest gathering, I believe, of Veyrons ever for the
Concor event, so that probably fed the hype there.
Similar cars were selling one and a half, one seven recently, so that's an uptick there.
Okay, and the 300 SL that was auctioned there also went like crazy.
The Roadster?
Yeah, it was.
It went for gullwing money.
It was spicy.
Yes, I think it was 1.8.
But apart from the big numbers that we see, the average car that sells,
is it a benefit to sell it at a big time auction or an online auction, like bring a trailer,
cars, and bits?
So let's look at a few examples.
One, BMW Z8 Topaz blew over Crema, which I took particular interest in because I've been looking
for one, 28,000 miles bid to 240 grand.
Now that compared to an almost identical car, same spec, same mileage, that sold for 251
on cars and bids just a few months ago.
And if you're on cars and bids, the seller would have net 251 versus the 240k if it had
sold there, the seller would have net 210-ish.
Gosh, what a hit.
Right.
Let's see.
This is a great example.
A 2006 Gallardo with 6,700 miles, it hit that exact car bid to 96 and a half earlier this year
on bring a trailer.
And I believe it was the same dealer that ran an on bring a trailer that also sold it at Broad Arrow.
So you'd think if it sold at Broad Arrow, it would go for more, right?
Oh, you would think.
They didn't take 96.5?
No, it sold for 92.5 at Broad.
Arrow, which if you take the seller fee out of it, that is 82,500.
A 14k hit from reserve not met on bring a trailer.
I think they should have taken that number.
Plus they had to ship it out to the auction.
An online auction comes to you.
The epic fail or we'll say the epic fail on the estimating side.
There was a 1953 Hanson Cobra motorama, which if you don't know what that is,
I didn't before I saw this one either.
I do now, of course.
The estimate was 150 to 200k.
It sold for 40.
I have one almost as good.
Yeah.
There is a 1964 and a half Ford Mustang GT 350 CR continuation retractable prototype.
I didn't know what the heck this was.
It's essentially somebody that got Carol Shelby's blessing to make this
recreation Resto mod thing estimated 100 to 150 sold for 25.
I was you didn't let me guess.
Oh, I was literally I was going 20, 20 right there.
Golly, it's yeah, it's not you can get Carol.
So you could have gotten Carol Shelby's blessing on a lot of things.
Yeah, what I will say though is after looking at all these results,
I paid attention to the estimates and what things sold for.
And I noticed that all the blue chip stuff that we had talked about,
the Veyrons, the 300 SLs, all that was like gangbusters and a Corvette C5.
Well, we'll get there, Doug.
We'll get there.
I was ahead of the curve is all I'm going to say.
Um, all of the other stuff is below estimate, even if it's sold.
And sometimes significantly, your 911s, your M3s, your Dodge Vipers,
all of the more typical attainable enthusiast stuff down.
And not to skip to the conclusion, but we'll give you the conclusion now.
So you don't have to listen to the rest if you don't want to.
But that's what we tend to see.
The really excellent blue chip stuff or the stuff that you're on the leading edge
of a market rising can do very well at those auctions, especially since you remove
kind of the commenters that say, well, I could have bought one for this.
I could have bought one for that.
Here's a, you know, this car just sold.
You know, you remove all of that kind of negative transparency in a sense.
When you're throwing a couple of $30 martinis.
Exactly.
And sellers can do very well, but for the 80% in between the box and whisker plot cars,
the ones that fall, the non outliers, I just don't understand the model.
You're always better served to go to an online auction.
Because even if it doesn't go as well, it has to go 25% less well to make up for all the fees.
The fees are intense.
And it's why these auction companies can stay in business when they're taking,
you know, they're, you know, taken from both ends of the deal.
You know, they're, they're making out well.
The house always wins.
Yes.
I will say, even looking at the Zurich cars, it's the same stuff.
Yeah.
You know, I honestly forgot I was looking at an auction in a, like in a European market,
until I saw like a 911 GT3 club sport.
And I was like, what the heck?
Oh, that's right.
And we learned something else from that auction as well that we've talked about.
And that's that the Europe to US arbitrage is essentially all but over.
Prices are really strong there.
The exchange rate sucks.
It's up, it's 1.1615 ish now Euro to US.
And it was 1.1 last year.
Um, the tariffs add insult to injury.
And side note, it's ridiculous that they apply to classic cars, but they do.
So a 91 Diablo 600 miles sold for 435, the, you know, US equivalent over there.
A 94 XJ2 20 with 200 miles, silver over gray sold for 485 US equivalent.
So that's close to 600 K by the time you get it here, which is top of market.
But then the sellers only netting like 400.
Taking a bath.
Yeah, I've, I've been eyeing a green on tan XJ2 20 in Europe.
And it's a nice price.
It's 350 Euro.
But by the time I get it here with everything added on, it's 500 grand.
And I'm just like, I'd say and it's yeah.
So much.
Yeah.
And I don't know why I'm used cars.
I don't get it.
A year ago, if I bought it for 350 Euro, I'd be in at 400 delivered.
Yeah.
And yeah, it's, it's changed dramatically.
That's insanity.
So to go back on the point that I just made though, there's a couple cars,
normal cars that sold really well at this auction.
There are.
So we have to give credit where credit is due.
91 NSX was 7,700 miles red on black, 135 hammer, which well exceeded recent
transactions on all the internet sites.
And but again, that's what you have to do to net proper.
So the seller nets a little bit above 122 grand, which is a fantastic net for the seller.
There was a 98 pace car, Doug.
That's hammered at 45 5000 miles.
That was a very, very good result for that seller.
Now this is probably an outlier car.
It was owned by Team Scandia since like the 98 Indie race.
They bought it from the Indie Motor Speedway.
It was driven by Parnelli Jones.
It had all of the things that you want on a pace car.
So that means mine must have been worth 35 and I've been had.
Right, right.
But uh, lest I knock the physical auctions too much, there is a component of them that
really is cool that cannot be replicated by the online auctions.
The online auctions are generally better for sellers, but the physical auctions
create a buyer experience that is unmatched.
It is a lot of fun, sometimes expensive, but worth it and a lot of fun to go to these auctions
because the culture, the buzz, you know, just the atmosphere that surrounds the excitement
of the cars being on display, you see them in person.
So it's like going to an exotic car show and then, you know, even getting a bitter pass
even if you are, you know, a bottom feeder and can only place the opening bid is so much fun
to be a part of that, to see the numbers physically transacting, to get expensive cocktails,
and to sit in the room while people are spending millions of dollars.
It can't be replicated online.
And actually buying a car there is a whole nother rush that is again not able to be replicated.
So I think they will always have their place in that regard because it really is a pretty
special experience.
Let's switch over to some recent crazy online auction results as well because those merit
talking about.
A Green Diablo 6.0 Verde Hydra recently set a record on Bring a Trailer.
Uh, it was not low miles, it was around 19,000 miles sold on Bring a Trailer for 890 grand.
Whoa.
And the seller nets, you got it, 890 grand.
Oh, that math is easy.
That math is real easy.
Well, I mean, minus the prep costs because they used motive archive to, you know,
photograph the car and video and they did an amazing job.
But, you know, what do they charge?
Maybe five percent, I would guess.
To prep all that or maybe a fixed fee, but on 890 grand versus 10 percent each way to a
physical auction house, that's a big result.
That's a new market setting for either green cars or Diablo 6.0s.
I'm not sure which was a bigger driver of that.
Green is just so hot right now, Doug.
It's so hot.
It's really unfortunate.
Yeah, because 10 years ago, that just would have been a green Diablo.
Well, I've talked to you and John Sable a lot and, you know, 10, 15 years ago,
like a venturing, the color of my 968 that I loved was kind of a kiss of death for a car.
Nobody wanted it.
Nobody cared.
And then we had a 2011 GT3RS in gray black that went reserve not met for 512 grand on
bringing a trailer.
It only had 1600 miles.
But to me, that result is asinine.
That car was shopped around forever in the low fours last year and nobody found a home for it.
And it just kind of went to one dealer price went up, another dealer price went up more,
another dealer price went up more, which seems to be happening a lot in a bunch of different
markets lately.
And you wonder the bidding, the bidders all look legitimate and the bids look legit,
but you wonder and go, one, why did BAT take a reserve higher than that when the market doesn't
support that?
And two, what's really going on that the seller didn't take 512 because that's
more than anyone's been willing to pay in the last year for a gray car with red graphics.
So I don't know, maybe shenanigans, maybe I'm just behind on the market.
But the one I want to highlight, do you have ones you want to highlight before?
No.
Okay.
This is, honestly, the Corvette Pace car.
The one I wanted to highlight because it's cool and not super appreciated and it's not caught
up in all the speculation is a midnight blue 987 dot, no, 986.2 Boxster with a three six swap
that sold on P car markets.
One of the coolest things I've seen in a while.
I had the proper wheels, proper stance, good color.
It was a set of sports seats away from the perfect spec 987.
It sold for like 26 grand.
It looks so good.
The wheels are fantastic.
The color is amazing.
It has a full leather center console, which I adore.
It's so cool.
And honestly, I have not been a fan of the recent trend of taking 991 wheels and putting
them on older cars because I think the wheel, the steering wheel looks a little too modern.
Oh, steering wheel.
I was like, they put 20s on a Boxster.
The steering wheel.
But I think they used a very like base model very, I don't know what the wheel came from,
but it actually kind of works in this car.
It does.
It looks really good.
It does.
Everything about it was good.
The aluminum gauges.
Yeah.
So props to a overlooked, not publicized auction result.
Whoever got that is going to have a barrel of fun for less than 30 grand.
That brings us to our ever popular plate two sample game brought to us by solanspine.com.
Go see Dr. Hoover over at Solanspine.
Even if you're not from Ohio, it is worth the trip to get fixed properly.
I know people that ship their cars across country to have them worked on.
Why not your body?
It is far more important than your car.
Well, no, no, no.
So the name of the game is we read off a vanity plate and the other person has to guess not
what it means because they're usually patently obvious.
But what it means about the owner, what car do they drive based on what they have chosen to
advertise about their personalities on their plate?
And before we get into that game, speaking of plates, we do have a gift from Ed Krakoyak,
who sent us this sign for a plate sample thing.
Tyler, you have a gift.
I have a gift.
It actually has nothing to do with plates, but he did ask for a plate in return that we signed,
but he sent you a hand-burned coaster with 997 GT3 on it.
Thank you so much.
I love it.
Yup.
And they've got my name.
It's got your name on it.
Amazing.
And then he also complained that if you buy a McLaren from McLaren Chicago,
you get this dinky little plastic plate insert.
So we asked for us to send one of our nice metal ones made for us by Celebrity Machines
back and we'll have the podcast crew sign it.
So we're going to do that for Ed.
You can buy your own on nuts4sticks.com.
All right.
How many companies can we push right here in the middle of the segment?
First plate for you two guests.
Yes, I'm ready.
Are you ready?
Okay.
Oh, no.
Uh-oh.
Are you ready?
One of these in HEIC and so it's not in the way.
Yes, it is.
Okay.
Sorry.
Just kidding.
Ethan's going to be so mad.
The first one is from Brandon S, a regular listener, big time collector.
Nice.
1-7-5-PT-885.
1-7-5-0.885.
I'll help you out there.
It's got to be like a top speed of the car.
Yes, maybe.
I don't know what...
What goes 1-7-5?
Is this like a...
Is it a BMW of some sort?
Dan, do you know this?
Does this number ring a bell?
The specific number, no, but I think I know where this is going.
Well, quickly, where is it going?
It's a frequency, isn't it?
No.
Nope.
1-7-5-0.885 is the average 24-hour speed of the Corvette C4 ZR1.
Oh.
Yes.
When it broke the record for the most distance traveled in 24 hours,
that was its average speed, 1-7-5-0.885.
So it is on his Corvette C4 ZR1.
Suggestion by me.
Thank you very much.
If you all want more great plate suggestions, let me know.
First one for you, Doug.
Line them up.
L-I-N-E-E-M-U-P.
Nissan R35 GT-R.
No, but I see where you're going with that.
Street racing, something Corvette C7 Z06.
It is a Dodge Charger.
All right.
Don't worry, Doug.
Don't worry, Doug.
The plate frame says, I'm Italian.
Meet my balls.
Okay, moving on.
This one from Ryan on Instagram, Oklahoma plate.
Bahum.
That's how I feel about your joke.
It's not a dumb.
My joke, it's the plate frame.
What?
That's a Volkswagen bug.
Yeah.
Nice.
Nice.
Bahum bug for those of you not paying attention.
Thank you, Michael M, for the meatballs previously.
But next up for you is NASDAQ, the stock exchange, N-A-S-D-A-Q.
Mercedes.
No.
Right.
Yeah.
A8L.
That's an A7.
Very close, though.
But it looks like a base A7.
And it's in the left lane tailgating a minivan.
It's perfect.
Thank you, Matthew S.
Yeah.
All right.
From Family Cruisin on Instagram, S-E-C-8.
S-E-C.
Section.
Anything, I guess, is going to be offensive.
Ultima.
No.
It's not an ultima.
No.
Is it a Ford Explorer from the mid 2000s?
No.
Try give up guessing.
Other end of the spectrum.
What?
It is a brand new, fully blacked out Cadillac Escalade.
Oh, that's never going to guess that.
I think they're bragging that they're a slumlord.
Goodness.
Next up for you, Doug, this comes from Adam W. Aitball.
It's either Coke or a Magic Aitball.
The second one.
Magic Aitball.
Magic Aitball.
Is it like a V8?
No.
What am I missing?
It's a black new beetle.
It's round.
It's shaped like a ball.
It's a bit of a stretch, but I like it.
It was kind of cute.
I get that.
I get that.
Does it have like a panoramic roof where it can project answers?
Okay.
This one from downloading.
No, thank you.
From Green Mountain Gearhead on Instagram.
Van diesel.
DZL.
Van diesel.
Like a Honda Odyssey?
Nope.
What the heck?
Whatever the heck he drove in like the babysitter or whatever.
I don't know.
Chrysler Town and Country?
No.
What is it?
Van diesel.
It's a Sprinter diesel.
Yeah.
Okay.
I was really stuck on the wrong part of that.
There you go.
But if it was a Porsche van, it would be one with DZL
contrast graphics custom ordered from Porsche.
100%.
You don't want to get.
Yeah.
Get your deviated something.
Deviated septum.
Next up for you, Doug, comes from Brian M. NB Yond.
Y-O-N-D. NB Yond.
It's an infinity.
Yes, it is.
Nice.
Good job.
Doesn't matter what kind of infinity.
QX80.
Who knows what that is?
But it's a good plate.
Yes.
Okay.
Last one for you.
I-H-8-2-W-8.
I hate to wait.
This is from Tom Boy on Instagram.
That's a BMW.
No.
A Camaro.
This is his plate, by the way.
We had a number of submissions this week for people that they submitted their plates.
Section eight was not one of them.
Yikes.
It's like a charger or a Corvette.
Well, you're close with a charger.
That is the closest you have been and are going to get.
Okay.
It's a 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo.
Oh my goodness.
What a deep cut.
What a deep cut.
All right, Doug.
Last plate for you.
It's just Y-O with five O's.
I don't know.
It's an old Toyota pickup truck.
You know, they would like take the-
The old-
Duck's done pressed.
Sorry, Brian M.
Not pressed.
Way to end on a high note.
I don't need to take this.
Thank you for joining us for Switchcast with Doug Tabott and Tyler Sanders produced by Ethan
Huffnagle.
Switchcast is an automotive entertainment and opinion show and nothing we say should be
taken very seriously.
We do not give tax, investment, legal, emotional, or professional advice and the only licenses
we hold are driver's licenses.
The opinions expressed on this show are exclusively held by the people pontificating at that moment
and do not reflect the values of our producers or sponsors.
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If you like this show, you can stream it in its entirety on your favorite audio podcast
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About this episode
A recent auction for a 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS on Bring a Trailer turned into a disaster, with a series of questionable seller excuses and lack of transparency about the car's rebuilt title status. Hosts Doug and Tyler dissect the auction's bizarre comments, including a dog's involvement in the rust on lug nuts and the seller's claims about lost accident photos. They also discuss the broader implications of auction strategies, comparing physical and online auction results, and share insights on the current market trends for collectible cars.
