Success Stories

Last year, BaT member mlc66 and his wife completed the High & Dry Rally in the 1998 BMW Z3 1.9 that he won from burtsmith1600 in an October 2024 BaT auction. He recently wrote to us all about his experience:
At the start of 2024, I promised a friend that my wife and I would join his vintage car tour across California and Nevada that fall. October came around and it was two weeks from the start of his “High & Dry Tour” and, unfortunately, my 1998 Subaru Impreza “STI” conversion was woefully short of being ready to run. What should I do? After a short budget negotiation with my wife, we hatched a plan to buy “an interesting old car” specifically for the event. We set the budget at no more than $10,000 and compiled a short list of “interesting” cars with three pedals, which included Miatas, MGs, Triumphs, and an assortment of BMW E10s, E21s and E30s. Ultimately, I placed the winning bid on a 1998 BMW Z3 1.9.

BaT member stephen844 recently wrote to us with some interesting history on the 1956 Volkswagen Beetle that he won from Beuk73 in a July 2025 BaT auction:

The car came with receipts and documentation as far back as its “Birth Certificate” and papers from all eight of its previous owners! There was a cool story to tell about it after researching, beginning with its original owners, Elizabeth Loring Keyes Burckmyer and Lawrence A. Burckmyer, Jr., who were both professors at Cornell University. Elizabeth was a talented artist who taught drawing courses there, and was a trained biologist who had many of her etchings published in books and scientific journals. In 1956, she went on sabbatical leave to tour Europe and ordered this 1956 Beetle from Wolfsburg to take delivery in the Netherlands.

This Success Story comes to us from BaT member AlexW, who won this 1988 Caprice Classic wagon from Competitioncars in a September 2025 BaT auction:
In September 2025, I purchased a 1988 Caprice Estate with 27,000 miles from Competitioncars. This was my first experience buying a vehicle on Bring a Trailer, and the thought of buying ANY car online felt 100% against my best judgment; I am a risk-averse guy, and I know firsthand what can happen to cars over the years (i.e. unreported accidents, hidden flood damage, previous owner neglect, falsified titles, odometer shenanigans, etc.). Still, I really liked the wagon I was looking at. What I especially liked, and what allowed me to throw my typical caution to the wind and make a bid, was Bill’s presentation of the car. The photos and description he provided in the listing rang true, as did the totally transparent videos he posted.

BaT member Jekyll and his son wrapped up this year’s Monterey Car Week after winning a Euro-spec 1972 BMW 3.0CSi listed by BaT seller/Local Partner Mohr Imports as part of their Car Week Collection, Postcards from Monterey. He wrote in to tell us about it:
I never expected to bring a car home from Monterey. My 19-year-old son had asked whether we could attend this year’s Monterey Car Week. He recently graduated from high school, and we had spent a lot of the summer restoring and upgrading my 1962 MGA, including an engine rebuild and a five-speed conversion. His original hope had been that we would complete that project in time to drive the car down to Monterey, but alas, anyone who has been involved in a restoration will know that timelines are fluid and rarely adhere to any set deadline.

This Success Story comes to us from BaT member Shasta_McNasty, who won this 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa from carl48 in an August 2025 BaT auction:
It was Jeremy Clarkson’s fault, really. I was perfectly happy with my 2001 Boxster S. I still am, in fact. It’s a great car. But I had a niggling thought in the back of my mind—put there by Mr. Clarkson—that a Boxster is not a 911, every time I drove it. The engine may be in the correct place in the Boxster, but it’s in the wrong place in the 911. Yes, the Boxster has way more luggage space for a long weekend away than a 911. And yes, the Boxster is a much better value than a 911. But in the end, it’s not a 911, and it was impossible to escape the feeling that Porsche artificially crippled the Boxster to ensure the 911 remained the more desirable car. I had a similar feeling pulling up next to Corvettes as a former Camaro driver. So it was probably inevitable that I would eventually get a 911. In late 2023, I seriously thought about buying one. But which one? I considered water-cooled cars, but I have a soft spot for air-cooled vehicles. Five of my six motorcycles were air-cooled, so why not get an air-cooled 911 to match?!

01/12/2026 Update: BaT user NIACC wrote to us in 2023 about the 1971 BMW 2800CS that he won from 2800carzoom in a July 2023 BaT auction, and today he’s back to give us an update on the recently-completed refresh!
NIACC writes:
Sometimes you get lucky, and everybody wins. I knew the seller was pleased. The 2800CS is back on the road, looking and running terrifically.

BaT member FastCarJoe brings us our latest Success Story, about the Porsche 930 Turbo that he won from Makellos_Classics in an April 2025 BaT auction:
Sometimes a car purchase feels destined from the start. That’s exactly how it happened with my modified 1979 Porsche 930 Turbo, which I spotted on Bring a Trailer just as our group of 10 friends was planning a trip to California for the Luftgekühlt Air|Water show.