Online auctions have made classic car transactions much more frequent and much more accessible. Some folks are addicted, and even watch auctions on multiple monitors, while bidding on multiple makes at the same time. More and more people are buying cars online without seeing them first, and as a result, more and more buyers are trusting crowd-sourced info to help them click the mouse and buy their next classic car.
When eBay was the place to go for classic cars a decade ago, many of us had a healthy dose of skepticism when we looked at online listings. We knew to take each photograph and every word of the description with a grain of salt. This wasn’t because the seller was dishonest or withholding details purposely (although this does happen), but rather because pictures can hide things, and the seller may genuinely not realize an issue exists.
Nowadays, that skepticism is sometimes softened by questions from experts in the “peanut gallery”. Ultimately, the new owner gets to find out first-hand what he actually bought upon delivery. At that point, it becomes irrelevant how many people in the audience suggested during the auction that the seller is a “great guy,” and that they “saw the car and looks even better in person.” The proof is in the pudding.
In the case of the Midget here, this IS a spectacular original 30,000 mile vehicle, and the owner is very happy with his purchase. But sadly, the maintenance that has been deferred in the name of that originality has resulted in a major list of needs. We picked up the car in Illinois for the new owner and brought it here before it goes to its new home in the mountains of Tennessee, where a British restoration shop is not be available. The car will spend some time here getting a long list of improvements, many of which were not revealed or discussed by the commentators in the auction.
Worn out king pins/fulcrum pins necessitated an entire front end rebuild on this particular car (not supposed to wiggle like this).
We are not saying the seller has done anything wrong, or that the format is to blame; these types of online auctions have brought a whole new audience to the classic car hobby, which is great for the industry. However, it’s important to remember that all these old cars generally have deferred maintenance needs, and that dealing with these needs is a lot easier when you have a specialist who can receive the car on your behalf and refresh it for you.
We are available to sort your next auction win for you… let us divert your new classic British car to our shop before you take delivery so we can mitigate the hassle of figuring out what’s broken on your new toy! Please call or email if you are interested-we can also handle the shipping for you.
The buyer of this Midget will get a turn-key car when it arrives in Tennessee, and while he is going to incur extra cost for the service, what would have shown up on his door without our intervention would have been one giant headache.
