The Chevrolet Camaro is a popular sports car that has been around since the late 1960s. The 1969 version is known for its powerful engines and stylish looks, which many car enthusiasts love.
The AC Cobra is a classic sports car known for being fast and lightweight. It was popular in racing and is still admired today for its design and performance.
The Acura NSX is a sports car that combines luxury with high performance. It's known for its powerful engine and advanced features, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
BaT, or Bring a Trailer, is a website where people can buy and sell classic and interesting cars through online auctions. It's known for featuring unique vehicles and has a strong community of car lovers.
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Toyota SR5
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RoW 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet
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The Bugatti Chiron is a super-fast luxury car that costs a lot of money. It's famous for being one of the fastest cars you can buy, with a really powerful engine that helps it go super fast.
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The Indian 1930 Scout is an old motorcycle that is famous for its speed and style. It's a part of motorcycle history from the early 20th century.
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Featured on Bring a Trailer: No Reserve: 1930 Indian Four
Schnitzer body parts are special modifications made for BMW cars to improve their look and performance. They are made by a company that specializes in BMW upgrades.
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The Porsche 911 GT3 is a super sporty version of the 911 that is made for racing and fast driving. It has a powerful engine and is really fun to drive on tracks.
The Porsche Cayman is a smaller sports car that is fun to drive and has a great balance. It's designed to be sporty but still comfortable enough for daily use.
The Audi RS4 is a fast version of a regular Audi car that can handle well in all weather. It's good for people who want a sporty car that they can also use every day.
The Ford Bronco is a tough SUV that you can take off-road, meaning it can handle rough trails and adventures. It's popular with people who love outdoor activities.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric truck that can do everything a regular truck can, but it runs on electricity instead of gas. It's part of a new wave of eco-friendly vehicles.
The Tesla Cybertruck is a new kind of electric truck that looks very different from regular trucks. It's designed to be strong and has cool tech features.
The Porsche 935 is a special racing car that was really successful in races a long time ago. It's based on the 911 but built for speed and performance.
The Porsche 959 is an old super-fast car that was really advanced for its time. It had cool features like all-wheel drive, which helped it go fast and handle well.
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1982 March-Chevrolet 82G IMSA GTP
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LIVE
the bring a trailer
podcast hello everybody and welcome back
to the bring a trailer podcast happy
2025 Alex Porter coming to you from the
bring a trailer headquarters upstairs
apologies ahead of time if you hear any
Roofing noises we're getting the office
re roofed uh thrilled to be joined in
the studio by Howard Swig Howard when
was the last time we did one of these in
person so much better to be back we did
one where you guys were all in the in
the office here I was dialing in from
New York does not work as well when one
is remote didn't love that but delighted
to be back with you guys on site very
good uh to have you here uh also joined
by Randy uh Who does these with me in
this room all the time but it's been
since last year since we did one and we
were in SoCal interviewing several
people those podcasts are now out if
people heard the Magnus podcast and the
Bruce Meyer podcast two of my favorites
to finish off last year very strong
hopefully listen to them if you haven't
listened to them go back and check them
out they were great yeah Bruce and
Magnus were fantastic and it was a great
year we want to talk today about uh 2024
in review I want to hear what you guys
have been up to uh but I thought I'd
start right up here at the top by
teasing a couple of our upcoming events
which we're very excited about the three
of us will be together again in oh gosh
only about two weeks in Arizona for
Arizona auction week uh we've never done
an event there before Howard we actually
that's a lie that's a lie I'm jumping in
there were you going to correct were you
going to correct no no you got it I was
there moving tents around and stuff dude
come on we've never done an event there
at auction week I know we did one in
conjunction with the Copper State so
we've done two there but we did one in
conjunction I've got you on your he yeah
we did one at a car storage facility
what was it called Stables I don't know
we haven't we haven't talked to them in
a long time this is this is pre-co this
is a million years ago 2017 2018 uh four
till four was there and served coffee I
met no breaks there I think El did I
meet there some other some other folks
the Bentley guy yeah oh Bentley is it
Bentley guy he's probably not listening
to
this and um slugo showed up at that one
slugo will be at this one this onew
anyway I dove in there to correct you
rudely but uh we ought to definitely
promo the fact that we're gonna be in
Arizona it's a Saturday morning it's at
Auto 25th uh on the 25th of Jan and it
starts way bright and early earliest bat
event of all time 7:00 a.m. start which
is that was an auto decision they uh
well we're piggy back in with them
they're local partner one of two at
least local Partners in the Phoenix area
U have a great facility in Scottsdale
that most people know about they throw
an event and we're joining in to do a
vat style event as well so anyway I will
be there I am stoked both you guys are
going to be there too correct they have
a really sick Facility have you been
before Howard to the storage facility
Autos I have not the last uh event we
did there was Jan 19 so it's been a full
full six years ago I think so I'm I'm
pumped what was the scale of that one
six years ago was it hundreds of cars no
no no no no no I bet knocking on 100
cars showed up I bet I bet 70 cars
showed up we've already got I bet 65
want to come to this and Min hund want
to come it's gonna be a big one this
2019 which we thought was such a banner
year at B remember when we did we put a
bow on 2019 there nobody had ever heard
of Co before Y and we finished 2019 we
like that was a crazy year and now now
you look back and you're like wow we had
like 30 cars ons totally I was thinking
about that for year in review yeah I
mean for me 2016 to 2019 was just one
big block of time there were there were
no the only goals were do more and be
better that was pretty much it and stay
up all night drinking Red Bull like
getting cars on the site correct you
remember that didn't matter what month
it was there were no Seasons no months
it was just it was just grow full pedal
to the metal not that it's not entirely
totally sh just keep shoving it was
shoveling where the hole was not getting
deeper like we
weread the metaphor is falling apart
from me here but yeah it was a it was a
it was a sopan task you couldn't get the
ball up to the top of the but point at
the end of 19 I feel was for me the
first time we all kind of collectively
looked back and said okay like look back
down the mountain and said wow look how
far we've come totally um and then that
seems like ages ago which it was I also
realize I've lied even more because we
had an event in Arizona last year
at Matt's facility at 91 and maybe the
state we've done the most events in yeah
totally I mean the the I just met I
thought we hadn't done one at at auction
week yeah we did the one at auction week
the other two were off of auction week
but auction week's an interesting thing
right like different auctions have come
and gone I've never been you guys tell
me what it's like I don't even know what
to expect I was in Arizona which we can
talk about recently dropping off a car I
met Howard on that trip uh out in the
desert and Matt Crandle 911r partner was
saying that
huge number of people show up for
auction week in Arizona absolutely and a
lot of these cars and coffees they have
they spin off some of them they do them
just that week some of them they do like
year round right with their weather
which is enviable for so many other
parts of the country but uh auction
week's fun I mean if you like going to
tent auctions Howard and I have always
had sort of a a love haate with tent
auctions right we go and we see it and
honestly 10 auctions are what made us
create bat as an alternative right
because some of it's like fun and you're
and then some of it is just infuriating
and you're like this is so backwards why
can't something be done differently so
we kind of tip our our cap to them a
little bit for giving us all the ideas
but regardless it's a fun time down
there there's a lot of car people
Arizona's just great January where else
you going to go to do car stuff in
January I'm excited just to be down
there and yeah there's a lot of
Specialists there's other dealers yeah
all these B Partners have sprung up down
there um I think it's a pretty good time
they're bringing back the concour so
historically that was like a full week
kind of like a mini monter and a real
captive audience to come to auctions and
concore and all this other ins stuff
going on so uh the locals down there are
trying to bring back the kind of grander
of the week and I think this year will
be kind of a coming out party for what
it can be I'm really excited no Russo
and steel this rip rip auction in the
round no longer no no there's some new
players there's some old I used to drive
out to the desert to what was it called
Talking Stick yes walking or talking
both was had uh both were had it was I
forget was uh was silver auction out
there which one was out there you'd go
out there and and it was like it was not
like the Marquee it was like the opening
act like the opening band where you're
like do we want to get there late or do
we want to actually see the opening act
plenty of parking there there was a lot
of parking but it was fun I mean it was
an alter I mean I I I was into you know
shopping for $7,500 cars I actually
thought it was pretty cool right you
hang out at you hang out at Barrett
which is its own fun time but like the
7th
$200,000 69 Camaro to go off in a row
you're kind of like well is this is this
really a target-rich environment maybe
not so you Cruise out and yeah you see
the Willies wagon with the like running
on seven cylinders engine swaps you know
you're like this is my these are my
people totally totally so anyway there's
a lot of variety down there so and for
till 4 we're also close with those guys
they have events through the week
there's going to be like people meetups
and cars and cool stuff there's a lot
going on during the week to your point
Howard and if you want a place that's
the exact opposite of Phoenix you can
tease our other uh event we're gonna be
at sure one or maybe even less than two
weeks later 10 days later we will be the
three of us along with Zach shout out
will'll be in Paris uh my first
international trip with you gentlemen
for retromobile very different Scene
Randy a uh that will be fantastic I've
wanted to take you guys out there for a
long time and get to walk the halls and
hang out and not only the city but the
auctions out there are fun the Expo sort
of display they do at retromobile is
something that is not done in the US at
all because yeah I don't know if it's
the weather or the culture or just the
history of how of Auto shows and how
they've done that but you're hanging out
in like the Exposition Center and all
these classic cars are there and dealers
and vendors is everything for sale or is
it partly a show pretty much everything
is for sale there's some vendors that
are there that'll like put a car in
their Booth that's not for sale if
they're selling wheels or something sure
it's a display uh or they're yeah
they're selling like detail product or
whatever there's some cool stuff that
shows up in those that is not for sale
but the vast vast majority of vehicles
on the ground are for sale and the the
way the seasonality and the weather over
there works like winter is usually real
quiet so stuff kind of hides out and
then like shows up at retro it's like
the first thing of the year and some
fresh some fresh metal there's some well
fresh also dealers over there hold cars
for like three years before they sell
them so it might be fresh or it may have
been there we did a winter refurbishment
on this one totally it's like the second
or it's the first Cobra that Bruce was
talking about it's like oh now we
painted it a different color to bring it
back to Retro Ral reer to sell it again
totally didn't sell put it away for a
year then raised the price by 50% and
reoffer bring back yeah totally you do
that they do that on red fin that's like
this house just popped up but actually
it was delisted a week ago after sitting
for a 100 days totally yeah totally so
anyway but the event I mean it's all
cars you if you're over here H out in
the US you haven't seen and a lot of
vendors you haven't seen and a lot of
them do bring fresh stuff which is
pretty fun so yeah Arizona plus France
kind of a weird Whiplash it's exciting
it's really exciting and I think Howard
was a little jealous of the fun we had
at Galpin so he and I are going to
cruise around Arizona and meet up with a
couple of our sellers while we're there
we're excited about yes I can't wait to
swoop you from the airport we're gonna
get right into it yeah I'm really
excited about that it's your point Randy
lots of folks that we want to connect
with in the Phoenix area and of course
we're going to try to connect with some
folks in France as well absolutely
anybody who's going to be at either of
those events reach out to us let us know
what's going on and we're going to be
hanging out at a booth what's what's the
plan where should they find us at retr
mobile at retro mobile we're going to be
roaming um we've got some European local
partners that are going to be there who
we're spending time with but yeah
roaming the show there's a sort of
preview night that we'll be at people
are having dinners different evenings
there's cool other places to go in the
city so yeah we'll be visible and
available very excited for both things
jents so I'd like to dive into 2020 24
but before I do that I I teased a little
bit Howard and I were out in Las Vegas
with a couple colleagues I was dropping
my car off in Arizona my silver NSX with
Matt crle that'll be live on bat soon
when I what does crle say when you show
up and drop keys at his door he says six
weeks or he says four days it's on the
site he had cars I I don't think I'm
blowing up his spot spewing out of his
facility like not he Busy cat he's like
I need this car I was like take your
time that was a loud one invading
Greenland so he had cars spilling out of
his facility and so I said take your
time Matt no problem and he's like no we
need to go fast we don't want it here
long we don't take our time we don't
want things to sit here so that was
really fun uh shout out to our buddy
Mike the dentist who we hung out with in
Vegas who's a podcast listener and we'll
probably hear this one he gave some
great feedback did a imitation of my
introduction which was very funny uh
hung out with our colleagues Mike and
Robbie which was awesome Zach was there
so that was a really good trip and fun
and in a future podcast episode i' like
to talk to Zack about our drive out
there which was fun two nsx's Howard
drove out in a 4cylinder rental Mustang
yes I was in Palm Springs the week
before and I got upgraded or downgraded
not sure to a to a four-cylinder Mustang
convertible so that took the back roads
from Palm Springs to Vegas which is a
nice little desert run good good roads
future collectible the four cylinder
Mustang it was pretty fast for what it
is I didn't love it but but I'm not a
huge new Mustang all things are
collectible Alex we'll see where that
goes totally uh yeah that was
mean-spirited I apologize Randy anything
interesting car related over the winter
for you you mentioned your son was
driving yeah I'm the opposite of you
guys you guys go to like warm weather
destinations we headed to the mountains
in the snow and I taught my 14-year-old
kid how to do donuts in an 81 Toyota SR5
with a five-speed thought it might roll
a couple of times because you know you
go do it in like a snowy parking lot but
there's a couple concrete patches yes
and so get it kind of swinging it and oh
this is really fun on the snow and then
it hits it like catches on the concrete
they call that catching an
edge and I was like could we put this
thing over I was like I hope not but no
I was probably just being paranoid but
it was yeah so it was crazy swinging
that truck around and having fun U my
dad when I loving it he loves it he
loves it he when he's like hey let's go
drive the truck you know I think he
might have referred to the truck as a
junker pickup at one point which it kind
of isard Howard not Howard agrees that's
what so Ray and Howard like kind of see
eye on like car selection I'm like this
is the perfect Mountain vehicle you know
but uh no it was terrific we had a
totally fun time and he's getting used
to the stick shift and uh we'll be
driving in another year awesome that's
fantastic how's Palm Springs Howard do
you like it I love Palm Springs I love
it as well yeah it's my favorite uh R
did a little skiing as well is that
right yeah winter time and Idaho man it
was fantastic there's there's it was
interesting though cuz I pull out an old
truck to drive up there everybody's
driving new stuff lots of the new in the
summer there pull out all sorts of
killer old stuff to drive around but I
was like am I like irresponsible driving
around I mean sure this thing's going to
I don't know rust or salt or whatever
but you got to drive old stuff there's a
couple Grand wagoners driving around
with ski racks and stuff on them those
are pretty
classic Scout total wreath on grill spec
but thankfully everybody's not driving a
Grenadier you know it seems like that's
what I mean you saw some graders of
course we saw graders well represented
totally so I mean a lot of just modern
Suburbans and Expeditions and stuff but
man I I think it's cool to have an old
is like our first dealership we're gonna
open as in FL could have they probably
could Seattle Idaho who knows but I I
was thinking of what a cool snow car to
drive around up there would be I I think
I had to shovel out the back of a pickup
bid that was a low point of the trip I
was like this ought to be a 4Runner
instead I wouldn't have to do this but I
thought like a beetle like having a
having like a 66 Beetle up there to
drive around in the snow I thought would
be kind of neat so anyway I'm thinking
of what other cars to B into other cars
in the snow would be Classics and I
don't know there's some fun ones
fantastic well boys should we talk about
2024 we're past it it was a big year for
bat there's some high level numbers but
you know before we do that I you know
thought it might be nice for us to just
almost take a breath and reflect on it
it felt like another we were joking
before we started that you you know that
it used to feel like the pedal was
always down but I still it feels like
that way to me to some extent in 2024
cuz we jammed man we did a tremendous
number of auctions and the flip side of
that is people are bidding on cars like
crazy still totally right like even when
people are like oh election sky is
falling or whatever event Los Angeles is
you know on fire things are crazy you
look down and you're like whoa like 475
for that car or oh that 50k car Reserve
bid to like 725 you're like whoa like
who was that guy totally so I think
there's just it's very I don't know I'm
looking down at a midyear 911 bid to 73
Grand you know and you're just like wow
people blue car people are still rocking
and rolling no that's a black cab there
was a good blue long Hood today yeah
some of that speaks to Alex you were
sharing some numbers with me of our new
new registered users in 2024 and still
crazy amounts of kind of new blood
coming into the community which which is
amazing well over 200 ,000 new users
signed up talk to me about this 20 today
2014 BMW M5 sold for 23 Grand that's the
V10 that's a lot of cars this is our
future pod subject of affordable late
model that car I don't know what that
car does in the quarter but I mean
that's that's a fast car 500 horsepower
I think unbelievable turbo 4.4 some of
them are sixspeed somebody offered me
many years ago like one for like 13
Grand and even I was like I'm too scared
of that oh my gosh 14 m5s 2018
s550s I mean you want to talk cars you
can buy for under 25 Grand that were all
180 Grand new it's a it's a long list
totally totally sorry I cut in on your
2024 recap but trying to be real serious
when I see crazy uh results like that I
love being like what what is happening
well not to put you on the spot but do
you have other highlights from the year
that seemed crazy to you that I mean the
one I was thinking about I've already
talked about this on the Pod before but
that rolling bones 32 Ford I can't stop
thinking about it still and that car
that's definitely our hot rod record 250
Grand or something like that loved that
car was looking at it again today that's
still my highlight of you still go back
to it I love that that's maybe my
favorite car we've ever listed search a
term you go rolling bones to find that
car or is it in some uh is it in some
watch list where you can get to the link
I just type in Rolling Bon he just types
in Bones it com bones it may be the yeah
I wonder how if you type that how many
come up to that that's that's like power
users have like search shortcuts like
that that's a whole podcast episode too
how do you get where you're going oh man
I navigate bat like an artist uh Howard
arti artist what about you any big
highlights from 24 individual listings
yes uh honestly when I think back to
like kind of overarching themes for 24 I
just think of like us really maturing as
a business both uh internally with our
staff and organization and processes and
kind of externally with our kind of
leadership position and our place in the
market I think that's one reason why
we're really excited for Europe Europe
feels new and challenging and
entrepreneurial and it's going to be
difficult and and a worthwhile challenge
to break into that market and you know
do half as well there as we've done on
the other side of the pond so um we're
excited for that but in answer to your
actual question yes many if I asked you
Alex how many Bugatti chirons we listed
in 2024 what would you say oh I I got a
number it was more than I thought I
think it would be five oh ni I thought
it four I thought it was two it was
actually Four we were and we sold two of
them
our number one and two results were both
chyrons I know that that's part of my
notes Here one and two they were both
one was like three and a half and one
was over four I think right Mill another
observation I had that I an item that I
feel burst onto the scene in 24 that did
not really exist previously were these
one: one scale Formula 1 display models
what is up with these wait we got some
that are half scale one to one scale we
got full scale but I feel like we've
listed like 40 of those things this year
I don't really call them like being a
thing before that so that's been
interesting do we know what they're for
they they must be for display purposes
you're a sponsor of a Formula 1 team or
something and you want something to show
for it right yeah they'll put him at an
event or they'll put them there's one I
don't know whether at Ferrari there's
one at the on the wall yes totally yeah
I I don't know but I I heard of that one
going to South America you hear that one
right the ALF for Mayo one went to South
America we had two big other ones the
alpha and I think a LS Hamilton thing
that were yeah 170 180 Grand I didn't no
I didn't didn't hear it was going
amazing like Peru we listed almost 3,000
Parts this year which like Parts in
memorabilia in which these kinds of
things are included including two 4 cam
motors for you Alex both sold that's
correct that's correct uh love seeing
the fermans love seeing them sell even
more we had our most expensive
motorcycle uh ever sold in Bat history
this year which was an Indian
1930 indan mm what's the number on that
205 205 we had two because we had
another one that also sold really strong
we had one family they were both kind of
unrestored one familyowned and then uh
another one I think that might have been
911r the one that went for 200 first
bike over 200 uh we listed MJ's 850i
that was that was early I think that
like very popular that was the number
one most popular listing this year how
many views on that uh 150 or 160k
something like that 150,000 views yeah
here let me pull it up it was a
tremendous amount E31
that's on the all time list 6B it was a
manual right no I was telling to Alex I
and I was I searched by results most
popular and like the first 35 or 40 are
all pre2 24 like all of our big most
popular I guess measured by views 21 and
22 19 to 22 yeah yeah yeah there was
some big heat back in those days that's
correct uh 128,000 on the views on the
Michael Jordan 128 215 comments sold
really well 110 Grand that's probably
that's probably the most ever for a not
CSI E31 possibly we got an Alpena one
selling this week that one will also
technically a non-m that one will get
some dough dude Jordan is Jordan was so
sick man I mean like the Schnitzer body
parts on this and stuff like what's the
documentary where it's like you know
when they were three peting uh everyone
was last dance I was watching that and
there's just a clip of him pulling up to
practice every day and this is like 96
he had a C5 Corvette must have been
pre-production or something in '95 or 96
he probably had the first one had 993
twin turbo didn't he 993 twin turbo he
rolls up in I want to say he he rolls up
in a 456 Ferrari maybe he has a C4 ZR1
that he rolls up in and it's wild
because you had to be able to drive a
stick back then now if you're an athlete
or somebody famous you can drive
everything's an automatic what are they
driving everything was a stick back then
including his E31 I have a question for
you Howard this is probably not too hard
I have a couple of them Randy already
saw these so he can't he can't cheat
what do you think the top five five most
sold makes and models are makes and
models I didn't look at this I looked at
the year list I mean you're going to
guys are going to know what the number
one make and model is well make is
Porsche right yes correct and model is
it's a Porsche I'll give you a hint I
mean we'd assume 911 is number one
number one through three it is are you
breaking it down by Era or you're just
saying 911 overall 911 okay that's
clearly that's clearly do you know what
number two is is it that's a more
nuanced question totally number two make
and model just do model individual model
is it a Corvette it is correct okay I
thought I thought that had a good chance
anybody want to try for number three
wait but which Corvette is the C all
Corvettes oh I gota yeah yeah yeah Vette
there we go I'm ready 911 911 vet Benz
it's not a Benz not a Ben no Benz in the
top five oh wow I'm I don't know what
I'm talking about well the one reason I
mean any model that's been around for 50
plus years is is a shoe for that helps
that helps so that's why vet was a good
guess think of other long-termers uh I
mean is Mustang top five number three
look at Howard he of auctions man come
on S S1 seles I'm ready also on the list
of affordable Classics uh BMW 3 Series
is number four and Toyota Land Cruiser
number five I thought like totally oh
number nine is GMC sieras we didn't go
top 10 totally so Mercedes makes top
makes the makes are Porsche Chevy Ford
Mercedes BMW in that then Ford Contour
SVT is after that do you think Toyota
might be number five
totally Randy there's your snow cars
reverse Donuts dude that would be cool
no what I need snows I do have top five
years it's really interesting weirdo
this is the one that blew my mind the
most out of all the St can you open with
just the oldest year that's in the top
five they're in a hold on wait that
ruins it they're in a row or they're not
in a row but all five of them are
sequential they're a
sequential it's like a royal flush it's
a royal FL very interesting what decade
but they're out of order they're out of
order it's a royal flush that you
dropped on the ground a pick back up yes
I mean it's either 90s or 2000s it's
2000s so number one was 06 number two is
04 number three is 07 number four is 08
and number five is 05 that is the
weirdest so through 08 are our top five
years isn't that fascinating what is
that era though it's the end of manuals
man it's like my GT3 downstairs oh right
like that's a really good ERA we haven't
done enough do you guys own a car of
that era Howard end of the analog era uh
do we own a car 08 we've got an 07 base
Cayman which is nice that's right in
there you've got a GT3 that's right in
there no traction control on that car
right it's like it is kind of an end of
an eror it's a little new for me my Audi
is an 01 I'm almost there but not quite
you're close I'm not quite there you're
close if you need the uh the RS4 that
Everyone likes then you'd be right in
there 708
RS4 are the first legal one here in the
US wow I love that Alex that's a very
fascinating stat you had your what was
your your CLK black what year was that
that's like an 04 or something that was
later yeah okay that would be a cool one
to have that white one that was a great
Car Howard and I had friction on that
one I started editing it and he was like
you're editing too much of this draft we
sold it right before they they went
crazy yeah yeah totally right at the
wrong time right at the wrong time right
at the wrong time 444 5,000 auctions for
the year 40,000 of them were cars the
rest were motos and parts 219,000 users
1.5 billion dollars in sales 40 were
Vehicles four- wheeled Vehicles 4,000
were trucks and cars okay 40,000 that's
Little curation Mix there we did what
36,000 last year so it's a big jump in
total number huge jump in volume yeah
totally and with roughly the same amount
of staff shout out to our staff they did
such an amazing job this year most
popular was MJ number two okay here's a
phenomenon I wanted to ask you about
Howard and you may have to choke back
your throw up that comes into your mouth
uh number two most popular thing after
the MJ after MJ cyber truck one of our
first trucks that was a phenomenon that
came and went that4 those went so fast
they came and like people were propping
up new websites to try to sell them and
then came crashing down and it's like 30
days later remember it was elon's going
to sue you and all this stuff and none
of that none of that ever happens none
of that ever happens all the guys in
their Porsche STS right under threat
people had to Fan themselves they were
so hot and bothered with those came out
wait this is a foundation model or
whatever cyber Beast yeah and then I
mean we'll still sell those I I still
see I saw one in town I saw one driving
here today right I was at a dealership
yeah the other day I saw about 50 of
them lying up yeah so yeah it's
fascinating that was definitely a moment
in time a brief moment for about six and
a half weeks and you also saw similar
stuff with new Broncos and Bronco
Raptors and and uh those had a longer
Shelf
a longer sort of Buzz F150 Lightnings
those those were also a brief those
pretty brief on they're still around and
cool but they're on lock are they
they're canceling it I think I think for
no they scaled it back I they're going
to keep it around but they'll scale it
back but yeah the folks that won their
cyber truck for 175 Grand that's that's
tough they're all wrapped now too so
something must happen L wrapped yeah
hard to keep it clean it's like your
refrigerator it's tough there I think
there may be one live though right I
mean they're they're still trickling
through and I me we would sell those and
they're they're an interesting vehicle
but we'll see what the future holds for
what sites were they propping up you
want name names oh I mean there there's
other auctions that were basically
betting the farm on Cyber truck flipp
I'm asking a question I already know the
answer to yeah that was a rhetorical
question yeah yeah yeah they're out
there if you look around you don't have
to search very far auction my cybertruck
docomo visit that I've got that
bookmarked that's definitely a
registered that's definitely a
registered URL
uh third most popular was a new
talk we listened to a couple of those
the like Aventador Co talk right we sold
one yes that was our third the one that
did we sell one of the gold ones or did
the gold ones go over and the other ones
bid basically with that that people just
couldn't bear to let itre we listed
three or we listed more than three three
I think those things I'm actually okay
with those I don't like the price but
I'm okay with the vehicle uh number four
most popular was one of the chyrons and
number five was one of the new 935s the
Ro 935s the like GT2 turbo things which
we sold one of we sold multiple of those
yeah for sure I think we listed the same
car twice but yes well one was Bare
carbon and one was the had like the oh
there were two okay there were two there
were two one the really wild photos yes
shut downtown it looked like Ken Blocks
Vegas run you know what I mean somehow
they got like empty Time Square it's
like Time Square wasn't Vegas it was
Time Square that the photos on that were
super crazy I didn't know what the deal
was we have our annual Awards going
right now and I don't know if that's
been nominated but it should be that
should be nominated for photos for sure
or maybe they did a vid oh this was uh
faf the one that we the all bare carbon
one that was the fifth most popular was
a faf car there you go we also did
manage to sell a 959 in 24 and I
mentioned that because we have a really
awesome one presently live I looked at
that today which is very very awesome
959 are awesome djm investment selling
it out of SoCal silver with the striped
interior that's a very very cool car
with a California bar sticker yes and a
very very low like 13,000 km it's very
low that's trouble that means the price
goes through the roof yes but that's man
I I looked at that listing great listing
great photos silver is your color on
those to I think I mean I liked white I
painted my scale model white as a kid
but Silver's pretty hard to deny as of
the time of this recording it's already
at 1.1 mil get out of town I saw at 100
Grand this morning eight days left one
0959 I love that we posted the 03 40K
receipt for the EPA federalization work
that was interesting that made me happy
yeah that was wild I hadn't heard of
that firm they sent it to Texas to do
the federalization I I thought that was
unusual I hadn't heard of it great stuff
any other uh 2024 highlights you guys
want to mention I'm scrolling through my
watch list on the Bat app as I always do
all the closed cars I'm I'm barely back
through December though I still got all
myv I got to go like super deep to get
earlier in the year the re the Reva boat
sale is still very Mountaintop for me
but yeah I'm consistent a lot of 356s on
the list know ready likes Mustangs I'm
sure LS Howard what do we want to do for
25 what's the goal I was I was going to
answer your previous question and say I
was I was uh a little disappointed to
see interest in a lot of the 50s stuff
kind of not increase and uh I speak from
a a personal uh stance there a given
that I love and and have some those cars
um but it's interesting to me that yeah
stuff like julietas and hey and Lanas
are maybe not Sky rocking up meanwhile
C2 and C3 vets like seem to have this
renewed enthusiasm and price trend so I
don't know if that's existing buyers and
enthusiasts or newcomers probably a mix
of both that think an awesome big block
C3 vet is cool which I do cross
generational interest maybe like a lot
of our colleagues who are roughly our
age have interested muscle car and
Corvettes and stuff but you don't hear
too many of them getting fired up on
Julietta are a deal julietas are a deal
they're spiders sell under 50 grand for
spiders I know there there's crazy stuff
I know um I'm like wow this is back to
some older sort of pricing curves but
then yeah I look at 63 split window vets
I'm like yeah I kind of want to get back
in I really love that and I was like
whoa that car sells for 225 I'm like
what are we talking about so yeah
there's it's interesting to kind of
stand at the air traffic control board
and watch what's moving around you guys
really have your finger on the pulse of
it some 50 cars are still I mean we had
a couple great go wing and 300 SL
Roadster results this year uh one of our
in our top five I can't remember what
number it was was a go wi the rudge
wheel silver there a rudge wheel go or.
that was really really nice so there's
some 50s cars that are still you and I
were talking at lunch day like with
there's some cars that are like a must
have regardless of the era for serious
collector and that's still on that list
no and it's awesome and and I feel very
fortunate to be in the position where
many years ago for some of these cars it
was like should I list it with you guys
and now it's like how quickly can you
list it which is which is amazing we
want to keep keep that up yep absolutely
that's a big goal of mine in 2025 we
really shaved down weight times and made
sure people got their list turned around
as fast as possible in 24 and we've
maintained that all year and so
definitely want to maintain that through
25 people feel good about that our folks
on that call today were talking about
that Randy folks on that call you guys
were on with a whole bunch of bet
sellers right I love your guys job I
wish I I wish I would get the invite to
some of these calls I want next one I
want to dive bomb in yeah because you
guys like round up what is this a bunch
of power sellers or dealers or different
folks and like talk to them about the
ethos of bet and how to do it we pull
back the curtain a little bit and we're
like hey you know sometimes we want to
make our working relationship with you
as good as possible and really what we
want in the end is them to provide us
with as much thorough Rich honest
information as they can about their cars
so that we can create awesome listings
and help you know buyers get as informed
as they can and so we do everything
digitally as a lot of listeners probably
know and we don't do a tremendous amount
of that face to face so we've been doing
these calls where we talk to repeat
Sellers and and kind of pull back the
curtain a little bit hey here's what it
looks like when you submit information
to us here's what a listing looks like
here's what we see on our end here's how
you can help us help you make things go
fast and here's how you can help you and
your organization get the best price for
your car so it's been really fun Howard
and I shout out to Ryan Huber and his
folks for for putting that all together
but Howard and I have been joining some
of those Howard's joined a lot of them
and it's really fun how many people on a
call like that I mean today there were
five or six sellers probably something
like that some folks that we've known
for you do this like every week you do
this a lot right y yeah yeah know a
little Personal Touch goes a long way
and uh it's been a great touch point for
these guys and we have a little uh
presentation that's kind of the meat of
it but then we have a little Q&A
afterwards which is has always been I've
done maybe 10 of these now super rich
just discussion a lot of questions and a
lot of these folks have sold hundreds of
cars and been around for years and years
and they got a lot to say and they got a
lot of you know a lot of thoughts so
craziest location on the call today
witch Kansas where uh I me the guy who
was like a dealer in both New Hampshire
and Belgium that was the most
interesting one that's a multinational
totally dealer in two different
continents who's been selling for years
uh he just sold I said that that
mentioned that that March Chevy imsa car
that's cool was a sick car anyway uh
really fun uh the thing that was
heartening for me Randy was just the
enthusiasm these sellers are just still
so excited about bat and that makes me
feel so good you know I love that uh any
goals for you for 2025 Randy any big
broad ones we're gonna list 880,000 cars
what's man who knows numbers wise right
I mean I just like watching some of
these evolutions and trends like what
you're talking about 50s cars what
you're talking about most popular cars
in the 2000s being a little bit more
modern I mean my overarching goal is to
take honest transparent transactions
like to the masses and let people
transact this sort of way with special
cars and I think we're getting more and
more people so that they can do that we
really need to spread the word that it's
fast now I think it's kind of like when
people are just operating Howard this is
basically your entire time here at bet I
was going to joke about people operating
with data that's 3 years old that's
basically what you have to deal with on
a daily basis of people thinking they're
car is worth what it was 3 years ago but
when I say that I'm more thinking people
thinking of bet like we're pretty honest
2021 2022 like the growth was so fast
that yeah it took it took a month or a
month and a half to get your car on bat
now it's like if you have all the
information it's it's on BET one to six
days I mean it's like super fast and so
a lot of people are operating with old
information so we're we're not super
Adept at like tooting our own horn about
like look at us look at us This Is Us in
advert in and stuff we can just kind of
you know let the product speak for
itself but people are operating on Old
information and need to know that in
2025 like it's rapid to get your car on
BET so that's one of my goals to make
sure that just perception matches
reality where sometimes it doesn't we
need to trot you out in front of more
people Randy you're you're media shy I
know I'll be like like car wash guy on
the corner with the with the panda suit
and the sign saying like three days to
get your car bat that's what I went to
college for I'm ready I'm ready for that
job your dad will be sooud for that job
yeah Subway guy twirling the sign total
Subway guy yep no I can I can do that
job that's what that's what we're doing
at retromobile you're asking what we're
doing at retro I'm walking around with
an arrow a
t-shirt in French multiple transl ugly
American that's great uh no and as it
relates to Europe that that feels like a
real unconquered territory both in you
know business and cars to transact but
also yeah talking about kind of the the
bat cultural ethos that we hope to get
people on board with there and that's a
you obviously a multi-year project but
absolutely uh we're excited to kick that
off really meaningfully in 25 I'm very
excited about Randy uh people think
differently about selling cars there and
it took quite a few years for the bat
ethos to sink in here so there's a
challenge Aid to that in Europe
absolutely people buy cars like crazy
over there right because buying on Betts
we've made pretty darn easy yeah but
selling your car takes some interaction
takes some patience takes an approach
takes some infrastructure of photo and
different sorts of things excited to
potentially after you guys heard this uh
roll out the ability to have Pro photos
taken in areas over there in the UK to
start that sort of thing I think just
sort of introducing things that aren't
currently there for sellers to kind of
get that this is the way to do it is
exciting and uh it will be you know
building the building The Fortress one
briak at a time but we're do all over
again we've done it before we can do it
again y plus we know what we're doing
now thank God anything else before we
close out out I'm heartened by this
discussion I I had a 2024 was a wild
year but I'm really excited about 25
because I've teed up a lot of
interesting stuff any other parting
shots on the last year I mean we were
kicking around Road America for later in
the summer probably too early to tease
that but I did uh go we're going to be
there you can tease it we're definitely
going to be there if I get to drive a
car at the event I was using my
brother's iRacing simulator this weekend
uh getting some laps I want to come over
and borrow that where B located fig out
the track goes wow R you need to get a
few laps in get some practice in that's
right I'm trying to orient my calendar
around that event too we're announcing
more and more events people we should
plug uh yeah checking out the b calendar
and uh signing up for updates and
announcements I'm looking around our
podcast room here at all the alumni
Gathering posters that we have from over
the years and this year we're starting
with Arizona and then we're obviously
all going to France but then Feb and
March I got some new info for you guys
about March okay good so yeah yeah
anyway there's going to be more bat gett
togethers I think the iners stuff as you
guys know I'm a big proponent of that
and it's really fun to get out there and
high- five some folks and see some
actual cars and do some things in the
flesh in the metal instead of just on
your phone so um we hope everybody will
sign up for those alerts and come out
and see some I had a lot of fun I mean
2024 in review I had a lot of I had a
lot of fun at Pittsburgh at the
Pittsburgh event I had a lot of fun at
the montere event I man I went to a
bunch of events this last year and we
had some good ones oh man we closed it
out in New York and that was amazing oh
the New York one I forgot to mention
there was a lot of great stuff and
there's going to be a lot of great stuff
this year well thanks Jens for doing
this and thank you all for listening as
always we'd love to hear from you
podcast bringatrailer.com is how you can
get a hold of us we will catch you next
time
About this episode
Reflecting on the past year, the hosts discuss the highlights of 2024 for Bring a Trailer, including successful auctions, notable car sales, and upcoming events like Arizona Auction Week and Retromobile in Paris. They share insights on market trends, including the growing interest in certain classic cars and the evolution of their business. The episode features engaging anecdotes about their experiences with cars, memorable listings, and the excitement of connecting with the automotive community. The conversation wraps up with goals for 2025, emphasizing speed and efficiency in car listings.
We reflect on the whirlwind that was 2024 at BaT. There's a temporal argument leading up to an extended plug for our upcoming event at Otto Car Club during Arizona Car week; excitement for Retromobile in Paris; what everyone got up to over the holidays; teaching kids the highs and lows about old trucks in the snow; the most popular makes, models, and production years of 2024; bad poker habits; bad auction timing for a hi-po Benz; a brief and very angular flash in the pan; favorite listings from the past year; values to be had in the 1950s Italian market; our greatly improved listing turnaround times; our professional goals for 2025; and a new role for Randy.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
