"It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key"

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
09/13/2018 at 17:44 • Filed to: Bring A Trailer, 997, Parsh

- Winston Churchill, talking about Russia this BaT listing for a non-running 997:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The seller claims to be a finance company, but I think it may actually be Sgt. Schultz (I know NOTHING!). The comments section is more entertaining than the LaFerrari listing, at any rate. Someone will be getting a bargain nightmare!

I say price it as though it needs a new engine - AT BEST (who knows what other evils lurk). Truth be told, I’d bet this car needs more than that...

DISCUSSION (19)

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 17:55

When did BAT lose their QC/become so sketchy?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
09/13/2018 at 17:56

Seriously. The place is a free for all these days

WilliamsSW > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
09/13/2018 at 17:56

I think this listing is to offset the reputation gained by listing a LaFerrari that’s currently at $3 million with a few days to go.

WilliamsSW > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
09/13/2018 at 17:57

I’m pretty sure this is the lowest I’ve seen them sink, ever.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
09/13/2018 at 18:03

I remember when (Flavien?) was trying to list a minty Fiat Panda 4x4 on there and was rejected for it not being unique enough.

But a broken late model 911 is, wtf?

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
09/13/2018 at 18:14

It’s always been full of scams and shysters. They’ve just stopped hiding it.

lone_liberal > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 18:17

BaT has morphed and changed so much that I don’t even know what they’re supposed to be. They started out as a site that kind of aggregated listings for unusual or cool cars so you didn’t have to look all over the web. The cars often didn’t run hence the name of the site. Then the cars they featured started going upscale and lost some of the funkiness they used to show. T hen they started their own auction service and it became an online Barrett Jackson with a lot of sameness and high priced stuff . I used to read it daily but now I’m at maybe two or three times a week.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 18:19

Shit, if you actually needed proof that BaT is nothing but scams and crapcans?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-datsun-240z-28/

Yep! You can own a 240Z that isn’t even usable as a parts car with an Oregon registration and a Florida title issued days apart! And it was previously offered on eBay, but the winner allegedly “ didn’t think he would win and flat out did not have the funds”.

Future next gen S2000 owner > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 18:23

LS Swap!

WilliamsSW > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
09/13/2018 at 18:29

Ick. This is the reality of trying to buy something like a used car from afar.

A seller with something unusual will be attracted to the wide audience that BaT has - - but shysters are drawn to the fact that many bidders won’t be able to look at the car up close.

I’ve attended Mecum though - there’s some seriously scary shit going across their auction blocks, too...

RallyWrench > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 18:30

If this car goes any higher someone’s robbing themselves. This isn’t a PDK, it’s just a shitty Tiptronic automatic. Ths is a parts car unless the buyer has an engine ready to go.

One of my guys recently bought a really clean, good colors, 50k-mile, manual ‘05 997 from a client who didn’t want to fix it for $8k, with a yard-saled IMS bearing. At the bare minimum, a rebuilt engine is over $13k from a specialist (like Vision Motorsports) assuming the core you provide is good, not counting R&I labor, fluids, shipping, or ancillaries. More if they supply core. Used engines are hard to impossible to find and over $15k. RND engines in a box are $18k with a significant core charge. Factory engines are well over $20k, and when I looked for the aforementioned car, none were available in the correct engine range (M96.05, really early 997).

WilliamsSW > RallyWrench
09/13/2018 at 18:36

I think you *have* to assume that the engine is completely gone (be it an IMS or whatever), and I think you also have to assume that there’s other problems (trans???) too.

Good catch on the Tiptronic - I have no interest in the car, so I didn’t notice that.

Agree on the price - maaaaaaybe if you are a Porsche master tech with a spare engine lying around, you can buy this, but if you’re that person, why would you do it to a Tiptronic car?

WilliamsSW > lone_liberal
09/13/2018 at 18:38

I still pore over it fairly religiously, but I’m mostly drawn to ‘60s cars that pop up on there pretty infrequently. Other than that, it’s just the oddball stuff like this that entertains me, while making me scratch my head.

It’s a big win for them to land that LaFerrari - especially if it meets reserve. This listing shits on their own brand, frankly. I’m guessing they’re doing this as a favor to the seller for some reason.

lone_liberal > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 18:40

Well, it does require you to bring a trailer!

WilliamsSW > lone_liberal
09/13/2018 at 18:47

I’ll give it a few points for that - for seller transparency, though, that’s a goose egg. :)

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > lone_liberal
09/13/2018 at 19:51

I just use it to torture myself with NSX auctions. I’m getting what I need out of it.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 20:31

I’ll go against the grain and say I like where BaT is at (older version was good too). Lots of drool worthy german cars on there like

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-porsche-928s-20/ (even tho auto)

moar 928! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-porsche-928-s4-28/

nicely built m3 e30 swap https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-325i-32/

this is funky as hell to look at with all the work done to it https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-bmw-bavaria-5/

etc etc

WilliamsSW > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
09/13/2018 at 22:26

Oh, I like BaT, too - I’m on there practically every day looking at new listings. The comments section is pretty good, too - it’s a good way to learn a bit about a lot of different cars.

I like German cars, but do wish they had more 60's American cars on there, too.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > WilliamsSW
09/13/2018 at 23:35

Yeah. That 240Z - and especially the seller - is a red flag factory. Not to mention, it’s a unibody . Yep, the 240Z’s are all unibody. So the frame’s completely shot to shit too. You can see the rot holes in the structural.