Porsche 910 from 1967
Source: Bringatrailer.com
Bring a Trailer, the popular online auction site for collectible cars, posted record sales in 2023 even as classic car prices plummeted.
Bring a Trailer's revenue rose about 2% last year to more than $1.4 billion from $1.35 billion in 2022, according to Randy Nonnenberg, the company's CEO. In 2023, Bring a Trailer sold more than 30,000 cars, an increase of 19% compared to 2022.
The growth in the number of cars sold compensated for the price drop. The average price of a car sold on the site fell from $59,500 in 2022 to $54,000 in 2023.
The company's growth provided a rare bright spot in the classic car market in 2023, as prices fell from the feverish highs of 2021 and 2022 and rising interest rates took their toll on collectors. Total classic car auction sales (for both online and live auctions) fell 3% to $4.19 billion last year, from $4.32 billion in 2022, according to data from Classic.com. According to classic car analysts, prices have fallen by 10% or more for many models.
592 miles 2014 Pagani Huayra
Source: Bringatrailer.com
In an interview with CNBC, Nonnenberg said inflation, economic uncertainty, a volatile stock market and unrest abroad have cooled demand among potential bidders. But he said sellers are still offering trophy cars and buyers are bidding even if their bids are lower.
“People were a little bit nervous about their portfolios, so that could slow down discretionary car purchases,” he said. “We thought we'd see people stop selling or holding on to cars if they're nervous. Interestingly, we haven't seen that. We still saw people wanting to trade in something else. It's just changed prices a little bit.” .”
Bring a Trailer's low-cost, easy-to-use platform also continued to attract car enthusiasts. According to Nonnenberg, the number of registered users grew to 1.2 million in 2023, compared to 880,000 in 2022.
The number of active bidders rose to more than 520,000. Sellers on Bring a Trailer pay a flat fee of $99, while the buyer's fee is 5% of the car's sales price, capped at $5,000 – a fraction of what traditional car auction companies charge. The site offers everything from $3,000 motorcycles to $200,00 Porsches and $1 million Ferraris.
The great appeal of Bring a Trailer is its auction voyeurism. Users track bids and sales in real time and view photos and comments about rare cars. The site auctions up to 1,000 cars at any time, and auctions for each car typically last a week, Nonnenberg said.
For 2024, the company is launching a new suite of services to speed up the checkout process and help buyers with paperwork, money transfers and other requirements.
Nonnenberg said this year's sales will be as good or better than 2023's as prices stabilize and bidders gain confidence from possible rate cuts later in the year.
“The spring months are very popular on Bring a Trailer as people are starting to leave winter behind, open their garages and start worrying about travel and cars,” he said. “We think we're on track for a typical spring for us, and that's exciting.”
While Bring a Trailer didn't beat its previous record for the most expensive car sold on the site — a $5.36 million La Ferrari sold in 2022 — it managed to sell two cars for more than $ 2 million. The most expensive sale in 2023 was a 2014 Pagani Huayra, which sold for $2.9 million. It also sold a rare 1967 Porsche 910 race car for $2.5 million, a 2020 “Liquid Carbon” Ford GT for $1.8 million and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT with only 601 miles for $1.8 million .
Nonnenberg said more and more newer cars from the 2000s and 2010s are coming to auction.
“Even cars from the 2000s are starting to become collectibles,” he said. “Because everything is electric, those cars from twenty years ago are becoming more special. Many people think BAT is for cars from the 1960s. Actually it is much more modern.”