Success Stories

Our latest Success Story comes to us from BaT member Escondidoron, who won this 306k-Mile 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 from c137 in an August 2025 BaT auction and set out for a grueling shakedown with the sixth running of Robin’s Run, a rally celebrating the life of his late son.
Escondidoron writes:
Humanity tends to ask certain questions at pivotal moments: “Is this love?” “Do these jeans make my butt look big?” And most dangerously, “What could go wrong?” Everything. In fact, that last question is not a question—it’s a lifestyle choice. It’s the phrase you utter right before the universe quietly cracks its knuckles and draws back its fist. I muttered those words the moment my meticulously planned rally car—a 1963 Porsche 356 Super 90 Outlaw—decided, four days before departure, that its custom six-volt starter would rather retire than participate. There was no replacement, no workaround, and no mercy. Yet, I still had to go.

This Success Story is Part II from Escondidoron, who purchased this 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 from c137 in an August 2025 BaT auction. He then set out for a 2,000-mile rally dubbed Robin’s Run in honor of his late son. Part I can be read here.
Escondidoron continues:
Day Three: Redemption by Cosworth
Greer to Jerome
243 miles—five hours, 18 minutes

This Success Story comes to us from zipcode, who won this 2007 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 Sportwagen in a February 2025 BaT auction:
I purchased a 2007 Jaguar X-Type wagon over a year ago, on February 10, 2025, from Vancouver, Canada. We waited until May 2025 to fly from Florida to Toronto to catch the train for a four-night trip to Vancouver. 

BaT member ardee2002 won this 1993 Volkswagen Corrado SLC VR6 from BaT Local Partner lromanosky in a November 2025 BaT auction, and he wrote in to tell us about it:
After 35 years of waiting, I finally won a 1993 Volkswagen Corrado SLC VR6. When I won this 41k-km example in December 2025, it was fulfilling a Gen-X dream. Born in the late 1960s, I grew up in the peak malaise era, followed by the rise of Japanese sports coupes from the 1980s. Being 6’4″, I never seemed to fit in contemporary Integras and 240SXs, so my university car was a Mk2 Golf—basic, sturdy, and fun. I developed a love for German engineering that never left me.

This Success Story comes to us from bamiot, who won this Sunburst Gold F80 M3 from casciomotors in a December 2025 BaT auction:
I had the fortune of winning this 2016 Sunburst Gold Metallic BMW M3, one of just two F80 M3s originally collected via Euro Tourist Delivery.  My younger brother originally built it for a client, who turned and sold it—it’s the second of his BMW builds that I’ve won. In this case, my brother and his shop Parts Score in Scottsdale, Arizona, had previously installed Pure Turbos Stage 2 turbochargers and KW4 coilovers, among other tweaks. The car had been further modified after a subsequent purchase in 2016 by other shops in California, I believe.

This Success Story comes to us from BaT member dustydangler24, who won this Porsche 930 Turbo Slant Nose from FinestVehiclesTraded in a December 2025 BaT auction:
I had been waiting a long time for the right slant-nose to come up for sale, and when this 1988 911 Turbo cabriolet M505 finished in Grand Prix White over Lipstick Red appeared on Bring a Trailer, I immediately knew it was the one. There was simply no way I wasn’t going to win it. A bunch of bids came in early, and I’m not going to lie—I had a moment of “uh-oh, this may get away from me.” But it landed right where I expected it to, and the rest was history.

Today’s Success Story, from BaT user kwaz023, concerns the 1965 Triumph TR4 that he won from BaT-MaN in a December 2025 BaT auction:
Much like purchasing our house over a decade ago, there were a lot of swings and misses as it related to my BaT experience. There were a handful of cars that I bid on; however, I always seemed to be outbid at the last minute. The only advice I could provide to those in a similar situation is: “persevere.”

BaT member WrayG3 won this 1995 Honda Del Sol VTEC, which came to BaT for the second time in April 2025 with The_Dude_Abides. WrayG3 recently wrote in with an update:
This particular Del Sol caught my attention the first time on Bring a Trailer in November 2023, a year and a half or so before I acquired it as a BaT Alumnus car in April 2025. The first time it showed up, I had just started a family and a new business (G3 Motorsports), and the timing wasn’t right to add another toy. I sat back and watched the car move on to its new home. I’ve been a Del Sol owner since 2004, currently own a 1995 Si that was my first car, and this example was my holy grail. Being a one-year-only color, Isle Green Pearl was the rarest of the bunch and only available on B16 VTEC Del Sols.

BaT member pevans has built himself a home garage of sorts around his BaT wins, which include a 2002 Panoz Esperante purchased from Techno, this 1991 Porsche 944 S2 sold by Pipoto, this 1986 944 Turbo auctioned by jmtwilson, Indy Car carbon-fiber bodywork offered by IvantS8, a quarter midget racer project listed by Markwins123, and his partner’s 1992 Porsche 968 cab bought from Local Partner motorcarmarketusa.
pevans writes:
I wanted to send you a different kind of Success Story. I’ve been building onto my existing garage, and while we were hanging up some wall art, my partner in crime—Brenda—made a remark: this was a garage that Bring a Trailer helped build. I stopped what I was doing and looked around. “Well, I guess it is,” I replied.