Bat

[55312]

So....I have my E-M up for sale on Cobra Country. Not much action there but I may be asking too much. Regardless, I thought I'd try Bring-a-Trailer to get more eyes on it.

Has anybody had any experience with these guys? I'm finding them a bit clueless about Cobra's in general and a bit uppity.

Thanks

Tim

[86Sebring]

I had good experience with bat, sold my unique easily. It was weird, had only a couple of low bids for days, I almost started to panic, and then in the last hour or so it picked up sold well. One can learn a lot on bat as well, some very knowledgeable enthusiasts there. glws

[55312]

Did you think their reserve was low? They were way low on mine and wouldn't budge.

Tim

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by 55312

So....I have my E-M up for sale on Cobra Country. Not much action there but I may be asking too much. Regardless, I thought I'd try Bring-a-Trailer to get more eyes on it.

Has anybody had any experience with these guys? I'm finding them a bit clueless about Cobra's in general and a bit uppity.

Thanks

Tim

Tim,

No offense, but your $77,400 is a bit out of the ballpark for an Everett-Morrison. At your current asking price, you are in the lightly used ERA/SPF territory. Even with the excellent specs your car has, I'm thinking more like $65,000 to get you an overseas buyer. BAT would probably not take the listing with a reserve over 60K, or so I have heard. Get the undercarriage dry iced (clean enough to eat off of), professional photographs (100 minimum), and I could see this in the 70K range on BAT.

Just my two cents worth, since you asked.

Bill S.

[55312]

No offense taken. I based the asking on what I was seeing on Curt's site and the strength of the Keith Craft motor. Keith and Tony built this engine long before Lance bought the company and drove it into the ground. BAT used another E-M with a 429 (series 385) in it with a 9" solid rear end. Apples and oranges.

We've met in Lake George years ago if I remember right. I do appreciate your feedback.

Tim

[twobjshelbys]

The folks at BAT in the early days I think were really under-appraising vehicles. Over time they've gotten much better and have gotten much more traffic as a result. I see over and over again that the last-minute effect pushes cars over the reserve and in some cases way over.

I don't know if the guys that set the numbers have gotten better at appraising or simply have enough market data from their own site that a reasonable CMA based on their own historical data. (CMA is real estate term - Comparative Market Analysis. Real estate brokers are not appraisers but are allowed to do their own seat of the pants price guess using, these days, the exact same information that appraisers use, all driven by the choice of comparables.)

My opinion now is that BAT has arrived at the auction heat that everyone applies the term "powered by alcohol" at Barrett Jackson and Mecum. On the other hand it also supports that two or more competitive bidders arrive at what they consider a FAIR price that satisfies their needs/wants and that in the past some BAT buyers have gotten smokin' deals.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by 55312

We've met in Lake George years ago if I remember right. I do appreciate your feedback.

Tim

Tim,

Yes, yes we have, think I had ERA 231, and at least one Mediterranean Blue Contemporary up there a number of times.

Bill S.

[Mark IV]

BaT is many months out for new auctions, plan accordingly. You can't just show up and get it on BaT these days.

[Blackbart]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

Tim,

Yes, yes we have, think I had ERA 231, and at least one Mediterranean Blue Contemporary up there a number of times.

Bill S.

Would be great if you could get to Lake George this year. (Both of you)

Lake George NY 2023 Summer Fun Run

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by Blackbart

Would be great if you could get to Lake George this year. (Both of you)

Lake George NY 2023 Summer Fun Run

Automotive events have taken a back seat this year as we have major family type projects we are working on . If we can work out the logistics, we may get a day in on our whirlwind trip through the northeast for family functions and such, no car worth mentioning, but at least we could interact with everyone. No promises though....


Bill S.

[panteralee]

A lot of Cobra replicas come up for sale on BaT. Do your research and look at all the previous sales (recently sold as old sales even a year ago do NOT represent the current state of the used car market). Decide if the estimated market value is what you would take. There is a contemporary going off today with a current bid of $44K. The one thing certain about BaT is that your car will sell if you set a realistic reserve. Unlike Cobra Country in which you might be sitting here two years from now still hoping somebody sees the ad. BaT readership is very large, they can be brutal to a car, but somebody will buy it regardless. Either accept no reserve or set a realistic one.

[Alfa02]

@55312, I've sold 5-cars on BaT, before they were bought out, they were much pickier when Swig & his partner were the owner, it also cost quite a bit more ($249 vs $99) now. At least back then you spoke with one of them and could discuss why you wanted a higher reserve, now a days, it's more like a "Fancy Craigs List" @$249 a week you had maybe 100-120 cars a week, now there's 600-700 cars a week, your car doesn't get the "Special Attention" it used to. I sold all my cars, by being fair, with the reserve, and not shooting for the moon. Great example was the Kellison (Cobra) yesterday, it was around 10-15K all week, The car was poorly presented, awful pictures, no feedback from owner, it wouldn't even start !! It was bid to $30,677 and believe it or not it didn't meet reserve. Be realistic and it will sell. Cheers Tom.

[redmt]

Read over some of the past sales on BAT. An old Ford pickup will go for more than your hand built, custom Cobra. Their writers are not car guys. They are pretty much clueless so read and approve your ad copy very carefully.

[panteralee]

The very nice contemporary bid to $57K and stalled. The market has spoken. Also, I "hear" BaT has something like a 4-month lead time right now to put your car up. So don't think they do this overnight.

[Gpfarrell]

Originally Posted by redmt

Read over some of the past sales on BAT. An old Ford pickup will go for more than your hand built, custom Cobra. Their writers are not car guys. They are pretty much clueless so read and approve your ad copy very carefully.

It’s 2023. The ad writers are 1) Constrained by corporate attorneys and 2) can’t reasonably be expected to be marque experts on every obscure offering.

The Peanut Gallery is where the expertise comes from and anyone that has read a few series of comments knows a large slice of BaT’s value comes from the endorsement or criticism offered by fellow enthusiasts.

So yeah, a well-done old Ford pickup can easily get a more gracious bid than a cobbled together Cobra with a SBC and an automatic.

[55312]

Thanks for all of the input.

I asked them about lead times and they said ~4 weeks. They proposed what they call a reserve of $52,000. I have maintained this car for 17 years. I worked at 2 Ford dealers for 7 years and worked on an original small block COB Cobra with RH drive during that time as well as a number of 390, 427 and 428 Mustangs, Galaxies and Fairlane's. I think BAT is low for a Keith Craft built 427 with 11,000 miles on the engine..... but I'm quite biased.

I've got some thinking to do.

Thanks again

Tim

[Gpfarrell]

Originally Posted by redmt

Read over some of the past sales on BAT. An old Ford pickup will go for more than your hand built, custom Cobra. Their writers are not car guys. They are pretty much clueless so read and approve your ad copy very carefully.

It’s 2023. The ad writers are 1) Constrained by corporate attorneys and 2) can’t reasonably be expected to be marque experts on every obscure offering.

The Peanut Gallery is where the expertise comes from and anyone that has read a few series of comments knows a large slice of BaT’s value comes from the endorsement or criticism offered by fellow enthusiasts.

So yeah, a well-done old Ford pickup can easily get a more gracious bid than a cobbled together Cobra with a SBC and an automatic.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by 55312

I think BAT is low for a Keith Craft built 427 with 11,000 miles on the engine..... but I'm quite biased.

I've got some thinking to do.

Yes, you have some thinking to do. Remember that Craft had a rather unfortunate flame-out in to bankruptcy court. There were numerous threads on the Ford forums about parts being left for work, shuddered up facilities with itty-bitty signs, "talk to our lawyers" stuff, and the like. There is a still a bad taste in the mouths of of many FE/Cobra/GT40 guys, like this post from Chris just a few weeks ago (along with pics). How you deal with that particular perception is tricky, but perhaps an "older" KC engine can be clearly differentiated from one of the newer ones. I don't know. Mr. M. is pretty good at that sort of thing so maybe he'll give you some suggestions.

https://www.gt40s.com/threads/is-cra...usiness.56394/

[HealeyRick]

I've only sold one car on BaT, but am a frequent commenter. I understand setting the reserve is the most difficult part. BaT makes their commission when they sell your car. If it doesn't sell, no commission. So it's in their interest to set a low reserve to make sure there is a sale. If you can't accept their reserve and are not a gambler, just walk away. Their copywriters are formulaic and often wrong and are constrained by legal. Be prepared to fight with them over what they screw up. Have your own description of the car prepared and be ready to be one of the first commenters to post your description to get what the car is all about across. Then you need to stay engaged for the full auction to address any issues that come up. Overall, be honest. Those that know the cars will spot any misrepresentation and won't hesitate to call it out. I think it's a good way to sell a car quickly at a relatively low cost. You should also know that just because someone is a high-bidder doesn't mean they will buy your car. BaT won't take any action against them if the deal goes south.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by 55312

Thanks for all of the input.

I asked them about lead times and they said ~4 weeks. They proposed what they call a reserve of $52,000. I have maintained this car for 17 years. I worked at 2 Ford dealers for 7 years and worked on an original small block COB Cobra with RH drive during that time as well as a number of 390, 427 and 428 Mustangs, Galaxies and Fairlane's. I think BAT is low for a Keith Craft built 427 with 11,000 miles on the engine..... but I'm quite biased.

I've got some thinking to do.

Thanks again

Tim

BAT is no different than all the other auction places when it comes to Cobras. No matter what, they bucketize them:

1st tier: Shelby, Superformance, Kirkham

2nd tier: Backdraft, Factory Five, ERA (although ERA might be 1.5)

3rd tier: All the rest

[And if you look at BJ and Mecum lately BD and FF are pushing numbers that Shelby/SPF did a couple of years ago. I think this has to do more with availability and wait times than anything.]

Just look at where and when BJ and Mecum slot them.

Your credentials to them just minimize risk but don't make it worth more and aren't likely to even appear in the description.

You can add all this stuff as an owner comment and it might help move things along.

I think you'll do better on Cobra Country with a realistic price somewhere between their low and your wish. But who knows, BAT has had quite a few surprises of way over reserve. As with all auctions it only takes two or three that really want it to get things moving.

Good luck.