SewellGT

Year: 1991
Make: Nissan
Model: 300ZX
Mileage (numbers only please): 14000
Color: Silver
Price (no $ sign please): $1
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (Region): SouthEast
Body Style: Coupe
Transmission Type: Manual - 4 speed
2 or 4 Wheel Drive?: 2 Wheel Drive
Engine Type: Fuel Injection
Stereo System: AM Radio

While I'm not one to recommend backing out of the deal, what's the contractual penalty for doing so? Just curious...

bmwtmx

Besides being kicked off BaT and the general negative feedback I would get I don't think there is a penalty. Buyers back out all the time and the transaction dies.

C2 Turbo

Don't think it would be easy to just back off the deal like that or else every one be doing it. I know If I got that sort of deal, I would make sure I make the owner and the BAT responsible to come through.

Hope it works out for you.

dave morris

Wow.

Boy, I can't figure this one out. You wanted 35, turned down 32, and it sold on BaT for 26.25. Huh?

All the aftermarket stuff probably hurt the sale but even so, since you were including most all the original parts it shouldn't have made that big a difference.

So the buyer paid 26.25 plus 5%?

ForceReconTrojan

When I sold my 951 earlier this year I went around with BAT on the phone/email. The reserve they wanted me to be at was ridiculous, considering what I sold it I was proven right. They did not care that my car was exceptional, they kept saying over again that these are the best practices of a auction house. I just said that I remembered when they were a fun site that displayed cars that were on sale on CL. Now they think they are Christies.

Maybe they are now. I like looking at the site but hell they have 2016 RR on their now.

tommyboy214

bmwtmx

This has been a painful experience and that guy with the paintwork comments (not to mention the guy who kept saying the car was tracked) killed it. I have an actual brochure from 1992 which clearly shows a 300ZX TT in silver with painted pinch welds. I kept asking my girlfriend how to reply and she said not to because I got a little testy with accusation that the car was tracked and was not prepared for the verbal assault that ensued so I heeded her advice. I tried to insist they weren't painted but he kept coming back saying they were even though he had never seen the car and had no intention of buying it.

But as ForceReconTrojan pointed out, BaT insisted on a low reserve and did not care about the car nor the fact that one just like it sold for $46.5k just a couple of weeks earlier. They rejected the car outright the first time I submitted it because of my reserve and the mods so I removed most of the mods but they came back at the same reserve. At that point, and after a bunch of emails, they came up a little bit and I decided to move forward.

In all honesty my girlfriend has an account and I was going to bid up to $30k on the car and pay the 5% fee if it didn't break that number which is why I was so floored when they sold it. Had they just told me about the "make good" option and explained it to me I would have been prepared to bid. I have since gone through the T&C's and it is buried deeply in there so I guess I should have had my lawyer look at that first. When I saw the car didn't make reserve I figured just as well and was happy to keep it.

ForceReconTrojan

BAT needs to do a better job of explaining their nuances, a strong Seller and Buyers FAQ would go a long way. Second, I went back and read the comments, that guy was a jerk and me sitting on the bleachers could see that it would cause doubt and hesitancy in bidding. The fact BAT does not do a better job of policing the comments from the peanut gallery is another factor that these deals can sometimes get sideways. Look at EBay and how things have completely skewed to the buyer. I buy and sell and it sucks because as a buyer I know exactly how to leverage a seller and vice versa.

I would recommend you keep your strategy off the public forums but losing 5-7k dollars is ridiculous. Best of luck.

bmwtmx

At the end of the day I have been fortunate enough to own a ton of amazing cars and I have bought some at great prices and others I have sold well too. I have also been screwed a few times but none of these deals is going to change my lifestyle one bit. I feel very badly for the buyer who was super excited and is an avid Z enthusiast who owns a 240z and 280z and always wanted a 300ZX TT but, gasp, couldn't afford one he wanted. I'll just honor the transaction and chalk it up to not reading the fine print.

Big Swole

Great outlook Steven. Thank you for at least letting us know how BAT is about things. This will only help others in the future.