Bring a Trailer Review: Is Bring a Trailer Legit?

Bring a trailer review

Bring a Trailer is an online auction platform and community that focuses on making it simple for car enthusiasts to buy and sell classic, collector, and enthusiast vehicles.

The BaT Exclusive program enables users to sell their vehicles directly on the site, with BaT creating exclusive listings and offering them to their readers. By utilizing this program, users can leverage the platform’s extensive reach and specialized knowledge to market their vehicles effectively.

Bring a Trailer is known for specializing in the sale of classic cars, collector cars, hot rods, and custom vehicles, making it a go-to destination for buyers and sellers of these types of cars. However, it’s important for buyers and sellers to conduct their research and consider other options to ensure that they make an informed decision that best suits their needs and preferences.

Is Bring a Trailer legit? is it the best platform to buy and sell cars? To answer all that questions here is the comprehensive review on Bring a Trailer by our AutoStar Transport Express team on the basis of customer satisfaction, buying and selling process, fees, and it’s market stability.

Bring a Trailer

How Does Bring a Trailer Work?

The process of bring a trailer differs depending on whether you’re buying or selling:

  • Bring a Trailer enables participants to ask questions, schedule viewings and inspections, or schedule test drives. However, the reserve price that a seller is ready to accept is not displayed.
  • In order to sell your vehicle, you need to submit information about it online. You need to call for White Glove service. Once the listing is approved and scheduled, the auction is live with an informational listing, photo gallery, and other seller features.
  • Bring a Trailer does not announce whether a reserve has been met, and when an auction ends, it connects the seller with the highest bidder.

Types of Vehicles at Bring a Trailer:

A wide range of cars can be bought and sold in BaT. Among the vehicles are terrains, classic cars, vintage automobiles, convertibles, electric vehicles, go-carts, military vehicles, motorbikes, projects, RVs, vans, station wagons, and boats.

 

How does Live Bring a Trailer Auctions Work?

There are several features that help ensure a successful auction, including an informational listing, a photo gallery, and additional seller features.

  • The BaT community discusses each auction in the comments section, and sellers are encouraged to engage with the community by answering questions. Answering questions increase bidder confidence.
  • A potential bidder can use the Contact Seller button to ask questions, schedule a viewing, or schedule a test drive.
  • The seller can lower their reserve at any time during the course of the auction if they wish.

How Does Bring a Trailer Bidding Work?

Bidding on BaT requires registration, then:

  • Bids are verified by a credit card hold to ensure the commitment of potential buyers. Once a bid is placed, a 5% hold is placed on the credit card on file.
  • The auction clock is extended by two minutes every time a bid is placed in the auction’s final moments. The auction isn’t over until two full minutes have passed.
  • Before placing a bid, bidders are encouraged to review the entire listing and the comments section. It is important to understand all the details and insights of the car before placing a bid.

How Much Does Bring a Trailer Charge?

It is the seller’s responsibility to pay a listing fee of $99 to Bring a Trailer. The buyer has to pay $349 if you wish to have professional photographs taken of the vehicle with our plus service.

There is a 5% transaction fee for the buyer to pay Bring a Trailer in addition to the actual vehicle price. The minimum amount is $250, and the maximum amount is $5,000.

The Bring a Trailer company does not facilitate the payment process between the buyer and seller of the vehicle. It only connects the two parties and lets them negotiate the payment terms themselves.

BaT Car Selling Process:

Bring a Trailer Review

The complete selling process is stated below in the steps:

Step 1: Vehicle Submission

Choose a service level and then submit your vehicle by answering questions on the submission form and uploading photos.

You can choose from three levels of services on the site:

  1. Classic service: An auction specialist writes a custom listing for a seven-day auction as part of the classic service.
  2. Plus service: Professional vehicle photography is included in the Plus service. Plus listings are kept on the site for seven to 21 days. There is a high level of quality and professionalism in the photos on Bring a Trailer.
  3. White-glove service: A concierge will handle the rest of the sale of significant cars and collections, assuming you qualify. Contact a Bring a Trailer representative and let them know you are interested in selling. Classic service will have you approve your listing, and Bring a Trailer will schedule the auction. With Plus service, Bring a Trailer will schedule the vehicle’s photo shoot, but most of the process will remain the same.

Step 2: Inspection of the Car

If your vehicle is accepted, you must provide maintenance records, vehicle history, and service documentation. Then an auction specialist writes an honest listing for the vehicle.

Step 3: Collecting Details of Car

For each sale listing, they spend several days detailing and photographing the vehicle so that its best-for-sale appearance is displayed. Every listing has a video designed to put the buyer in the driver’s seat.

Step 4: Listings on BaT

Each client receives regular updates, answers to questions, and real-time monitoring of auctions. Bring a Trailer provides you and the winning bidder with each other’s contact information if the auction reserve is met at the end of the listing (or if there is no reserve).

You can then complete the transaction directly and arrange for car shipping. Bring a Trailer also offers support during this step. Still provides you with the contact information of the highest bidder if the reserve is not met during the auction.

BaT Car Buying Process

On Bring a Trailer website, you can browse current auctions, view detailed listings, see photos, and ask questions. You can also schedule a test drive to see the vehicle.

Providing you with steps in order to buy a car:

Bring a Trailer Review

Step 1: Bring a Credit Card

A community account requires an email address and allows you to question sellers, comment on listings, create a watchlist, and set up email/mobile alerts.

To purchase a car, you must set up a bidder/seller account. This account requires you to provide your full name and address and to maintain a credit card.

Step 2: Win the Auction

Auctions on Bring a Trailer typically last seven days, but some premiums (a higher tier of auction reserved for fancier cars) previous fourteen days. During this period, bidders can research the seller and ask questions.

Watch the final hours and minutes of the auction closely if you’re bidding on a vehicle. Typically, the highest bidder at the end of the auction period wins.

Step 3: Pay Auction Fees

The winning bidder is charged a 5 percent fee after the auction ends. So, if you buy a vehicle worth of $50,000, you pay $2,500.

Automatic payment also acts as a deterrent to non-serious bidders, especially when the cost reaches six figures.

Step 4: Pay For The Car

When a winning auction bid has been made, an automated introduction is made between buyer and seller, including names and addresses.

Both parties negotiate payment terms privately. Bring a Trailer offers tips and advice, but it is not involved in the transaction.

Step 5: Get Your Car.

A buyer and seller coordinate shipping, ranging from in-person pickup to door-to-door car delivery. Bring a Trailer provides recommended shipping services for buyers and sellers.

Bring a Trailer Pros and Cons:

We have analyzed Bring a Trailer reviews and came to a point of stating both its pros and cons.

BaT Pros:

  • A User-friendly Website
  • Bring Trailer Seller fees are reasonable
  • Classic cars and collector cars for auction
  • The CARFAX report is free
  • In-house listing writing facility
  • Advertising is available for vehicles
  • Sellers have a choice of service levels
  • Reports on vehicle history are available

BaT Cons:

  • Bring a Trailer buyer fees are high
  • App unavailable
  • Chat is not available
  • Online Transactions are not supported
  • Buyers and sellers cannot be verified
  • Long Distance Delivery Issues
  • It may not be the Best Platform for Mainstream Vehicles.

Is Bring a Trailer Legit?

Bring a Trailer is a legitimate company, but it doesn’t guarantee safety. BaT is regarded as a trustworthy platform for buying and selling collector cars. In order to ensure the integrity and security of its platform, BaT employs a number of measures, including:

  • To list a vehicle, sellers must provide valid government-issued identification and proof of ownership.
  • BaT accepts only bank wire transfers or cashier’s checks, which helps reduce fraud risk.
  • BaT’s buyer protection program offers refunds for seller fraud or misrepresentation.
  • Moderators review and act on reports flagged by users about suspicious listings or activity on BaT.

It is important to note that all purchases (with the exception of the buyer’s fee) take place between buyers and sellers, and Bring a Trailer does not guarantee the authenticity or condition of the vehicles listed, It may damaged and you may have to repair it with high costs and that is one of the major problems with Bring a Trailer auctions.

Does Bring a Trailer Offer Transport?

Currently, BaT does not offer auto shipping for vehicles listed on its platform. However, many sellers may offer to arrange shipping as part of the deal.

It may be necessary for you to arrange to ship for some sellers, while others may offer door-to-door shipping. Buying a vehicle through BaT does not require Bring a Trailer to handle the shipping.

Buying a Used Car From Bring a Trailer?

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Call us at 888-802-8250 to answer all your questions.
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Why Choose Bring a Trailer:

With more than 350,000 users and 145,000 bidders, BAT’s knowledgeable community vets each listing to ensure potential buyers can bid confidently.

Although Bring A Trailer is legit, that doesn’t mean it’s secure. Before listing a vehicle, it asks sellers for documents, maintenance records, photos, and videos. Buyers can request inspections during the Bring a Trailer Car Auction process, and sellers can communicate with buyers. But Bring a Trailer does not guarantee the authenticity or condition of vehicles on its site, except for the buyer’s fee.

Bring a Trailer Features

  • A comprehensive photo gallery and objectively-written descriptions help user represent each car honestly.
  • An Auction Specialist, a dedicated point of contact for each seller, guides the auction process.
  • Buyers and sellers can communicate constructively about a vehicle by leaving comments on each listing.
  • With sniping protection, the auction click is extended by two minutes each time a bid is placed, giving everyone a fair chance to place their highest bid.
  • To complete the transaction, they connect the seller with the winning bidder after the auction closes.
  • The site showcases everything from rare collector cars to a wide range of projects.
  • Members can send BaT exclusive listings of their vehicles to have them posted on the site.
  • For the most part, the Bring a Trailer website is easy to use. Listing your vehicle is straightforward.
  • Vehicles can be added to a watchlist, which can be helpful.
  • The BaT Auctions network offers greater transparency, and more comprehensive listings, on top all, Bring a Trailer fees are less than traditional auction platforms.
  • Off-roaders sit next to track cars, domestics next to foreign, and parts next to projects. They’ve even auctioned re-creations, kits, and boats.

Cars and Bids vs Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer and Cars and Bids can both provide buyers and sellers with specific types of cars but the types and bidding processes may vary. Users can browse and bid on a wide selection of cars, including classics, exotics, and specialty vehicles.

The two platforms differ in the type of cars available for sale. Cars and Bids tend to offer a more diverse selection, including many more affordable and practical models. On the other hand, Bring a Trailer tends to sell higher-end, collectible cars.

Users can bid on cars on Cars and Bids in real-time, just like at an auction. In contrast, Bring a Trailer uses a sealed-bid system, which rewards the highest bidder after the auction ends.

Sellers can list their vehicles for free on Cars and Bids. However, the buyer’s fee for Cars and Bids is 4.5 percent, with a $225 minimum and $4,500 maximum. The Bring a Trailer auction costs either $99 for sellers who take their own photos or $99 for sellers who do not. BaT’s buyer’s fee is 5 percent, with a minimum and maximum of $250.

End Note on Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer has a straightforward website that’s easy to navigate. Their seller fees are fairly reasonable, while their buyer fees are on the higher side. Despite offering helpful services like professional photos of your vehicle, these come at an additional cost. A challenge for Bring a Trailer is the lack of payment and transaction infrastructure. Buyers and sellers must handle transactional logistics, including the transfer of funds, on their own.

Overall, Bring a Trailer is a legitimate auction website for both, buying and selling vehicles of all kinds.

While Bring a Trailer is a reputable and reliable platform for buying and selling vehicles, it is important for buyers and sellers to conduct their research and make informed decisions based on their individual needs and preferences. Bring a Trailer should be considered one option among many when looking to buy or sell a vehicle, and other marketplaces and dealerships should also be evaluated to ensure the best fit.

Mark Dugger

Mark Dugger

Born and raised in Southern California, grew up in an athletic environment where he excelled at football, baseball, wrestling, golf, skiing, and water skiing. He chose computers as his professional calling, accepting the position of Systems Officer for a prominent cruise line. For the next ten years, he would circle the globe multiple times, visiting over 100 countries. Mark joined AutoStar Transport Express just 1 year after it was created. He is one of the pillars the company was built on. He started off as a coordinator, he excelled though the years with his hard work and dedication. His job performance not only grew his career but our company and as a whole. Mark now holds the position of operations manager overseeing the engine that makes our company run.
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