Has anybody been checking out the new auction site Cars and Bids? I think it has a good concept so I put my 01 XKR on it. It's the first Jag. They are offering $1000 to the first 50 cars that sell. It is really funny to read the comments from some of the watchers. There are some very interesting characters

out there. Oh, wait I might be one of them.

 

That is a beautiful car. You really want to sell it???

 

No I don't. However I bought a new Truck and Fifthwheel and I'm running out of room and I already have a 2000 XKR with half the miles. So this one has to go. I do think the 2001 is a better car.

 

Best of luck with your no-reserve auction Tom and thanks for alerting us to another on-line candy store! As if I needed another to waste more time!

Still have your gorgeous XK-150?

 

It's getting harder to get work done around here with all the distractions.

yes I still have the 150, never selling it. It was my fathers.

 

It's always great to spend time pouring over things I don't need, and can't afford.

 

Unfortunately that's about all I ever get out of an auction site too. I might actually pay top dollar for something, but by the time I spot a car I'm really interested in, there's usually only three or four days left. I don't know why they don't do at least 21 days to give prospective buyers a decent chance of making arrangements to inspect a car. I almost never can make arrangements around my work schedule, plus it takes a few days just to decide its worth $500 to $1,000 trip just to check it out. I'm certainly not going to gamble tens of thousands bidding site-unseen but I know there are a lot of people who do. I don't feel I can trust anyone's word and no matter how many high resolution pictures, I'm not going to trust the resolution of my computer screen. I have to lay eyes on it and drive it.

There was a car on ebay a couple weeks ago that I was interested in. Luckily I knew somebody there that I could trust to inspect it for me and it was at a classic car dealer with regular hours so scheduling was not a problem. My friend found evidence that the car had been in an un-reported accident and didn't even drive straight. It's probably on a truck right now, and the winning bidder is going to be awfully disappointed when it finally arrives on the other coast. But it can work the other way too. I won a car on ebay once because I was the only person who ever came to actually look at it and I would have been happy even paying several thousand more. I think other bidders were holding back because it was a rather common car that usually gets a cut-rate, amateur restoration that hides a lot of sins. By seeing it in person, I was able to confirm it was truly a no-expense spared, professional restoration worth every penny and then some.

Everyone at the local car shows has seen my current fleet a bazillion times and so I was ready to get something different this spring. I was actually very gung-ho about it before March, but I tend to get a sinus infection every time I fly anyway so with this COVID thing, now I'm extra leery of getting on a plane. I'm not sure that I'd take the risk and spend the money to travel right now knowing that I'd have to go back home and take further chances bidding online. I'll actually be more inclined to fly if I see a regular classified ad and I think I'd have a chance to negotiate a price with the seller while standing in front of the car. As to the XKR, there's a couple dozen or so classic cars that have been on my wish list since high school which puts it too far down the list to fly. It does look very nice though.

 

I totally get what you are saying. The only car I bought online was 96 Geo Tracker back in 2006 on eBay. I got a good deal and I still have it today. The attraction for the sellers on auctions is the massive audience. If you look at bringatrailer.com it seems that 50% of the cars don't sell but it does put the seller and potential buyer together. I am willing to bet there are a lot of post-auction deals put together.

Regards to my XKR, I thought what the hell, I'm always lurking in the shadows and watching most of the auctions that I care about. With www.carsandbids.com they were offering a $1000 bonus to the first 50 cars that sell. I was also hoping that with Doug's 2.5 million subscribers it will get views. So, as of this morning, it has stalled out at $5500, if you add in the $1000 bonus I will make a profit on the car. If I'm a betting man, (and I must be) I think it going to sell for about $8500. However, we will see. In the back of my mind, I do worry that the buyer will not follow through or they will be disappointed. So this is my little experiment and just hoping for the best outcome for myself and the buyer. I have two more cars that I want to sell and I hope carsandbids is will be a great place to do that.