About ten days ago, Hagerty Marketplace launched their online auction site with ten cars to start. In addition to their entry into the traditional auction market with Broad Arrow Auctions, Hagerty wanted to enter this fast-growing space currently occupied by Bring A Trailer, PCMarket, MB Market and others. Hagerty Marketplace Auctions closed their first ten cars with a 100% sell through rate with a mix of non-reserve and reserve offerings. A successful first step by any definition of the word.
Their service is both similar and dissimilar to what you will find with their competitors. Similarities are in the way someone wanting to sell their car goes about the process. Submit your car to Hagerty and they will review the listing and respond to you with an acceptance or not. If your car is accepted, you will pay a $99 listing fee. A specialist will contact you and help with the listing details, photographs, and strategy on the sale.
They also have the two-minute reset on their auctions where any bid that is placed within two minutes of the scheduled close will reset the clock back to two minutes to prevent sniping and allow for any potential buyer to get their bid in before the clock runs out. Then once your car sells, that’s where things are a bit different with Hagerty. While other online auctions simply put the buyer and seller together and let them work out payment and title transfer, shipping details and the like, Hagerty gets involved in this area.
They handle the transfer of funds from buyer to seller and the transfer of titles. They believe this aspect will provide both buyers and sellers with more comfort level with the online auction process. If you are a buyer, you will also pay Hagerty a 7% buyers commission (with a minimum of $500). Others cap this fee at $5,000. Time will tell if buyers value the Hagerty difference at a price point above $71,000 where the increased buyer’s fee will start to accumulate.
We watched the first ten cars close and there was plenty of last-minute action.
1963 Ford Fairlane 500 Squire Wagon – No Reserve
This car received the most views of any car on the auction site with almost 15,000 viewers. We suspect this was due to the wagon auction being posted on various social media sites and forums. Plus, it was a real kicker of a wagon! Powered by a HiPo 289 V-8 with a factory four speed manual on the floor, it had the earmarks of a gentleman’s estate hauler. 14 bids were recorded and the final price, without buyer’s premium, was $23,500 against a Hagerty Valuation Tool estimate of $25,900 for one in good condition. Well bought as we say!
1992 Porsche 968 Cabriolet – No Reserve
The 968 is a great buy in the world of Porsche. Well balanced and with good power and stylish looks the 968 provides a good bang for the buck. This one was equipped with an automatic transmission which should keep the price down a bit. However, with lots of two-minute bids coming in this car sold at $18,000 with 9 bids. Exactly where Hagerty puts the value on their web site tool.
2004 Aston Martin Vanquish – Reserve
The big V12 powered Aston looks beautiful from any angle. And we think it may have been the buy of the day. Listed with a clean Carfax, it brought 26 bids many in the final minutes of the auction. Hagerty lists the value, in good condition, at $73,500. But the lucky buyer drove off with it for the sum of $45,007. We can only assume the extra 007 dollars was an homage to James Bond!
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL – No Reserve
Classic Benz styling with only 57,000 miles and a clean Carfax. Hagerty says it is worth $18,500 in good condition. The multiple bidders thought it was worth more and the final bid was $21,500.
1990 Jaguar Xj-S Convertible – No Reserve
We think the XJ-S design is aging quite well. Handsome from any angle, it begs to be driven. This one was relatively low mileage for a 33-year-old car with just over 65,000 miles on the odometer. Backed by a clean Carfax, the Jag sold for $12, 250. A lot of car for the money. And almost $4,000 under the Hagerty value of $16,200.
2000 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG – No Reserve
The Mercedes E55 was their version of the BMW M5 sedan. Lots of power in a sport tuned chassis. The ultimate people carrier of its time. This example was only showing 55,128 miles and according to Carfax had never been in an accident. Lots of interest in this fast sedan with 28 bids coming in with a final sale price of $18,750. Again, a good buy based on the “Good Condition” average value of $22,800 on the Hagerty site.
1968 Ford Mustang GT/CS – No Reserve
This was the regional “California Special” Mustang Ford offered on the west coast in 1968. If you haven’t seen one before that is probably because there aren’t many around. Equipped with an automatic transmission and a 350 CI V-8, this car had 17 bids and sold at $22,000. You won’t have a problem insuring it for that amount as Hagerty lists $35,100 as the value for one in good condition.
1979 GMC Sierra Grande 25 Pickup Truck – No Reserve
Trucks are as popular as ever these days and this one was no exception with 20 bids coming in on the red GMC. Selling at $8,000 it showed 117,000 miles. Hagerty shows it as being worth $11,800. Well-bought.
2019 Ford GT – Reserve
The star of the first online auction (at least in price) this Ford GT was listed with just over 7,500 miles and offered with a clean Carfax. Bidding sat around $600,000 for the last couple of days. In the final minutes it was fun to watch as 27 bids drove the price to $760,000 where it was sold. A good value when you use the Hagerty Valuation tool estimate of $900,000 for one in good condition.
1992 Mercedes-Benz 300SL – No Reserve
Another example of spirited bidding with 23 bids being placed and a final sale price of $16,000. Hagerty shows this car at an average of $12,500, but perhaps the low mileage of 13,200 miles was responsible for the premium price for this one.
Summing It All Up
So Hagerty’s first group of cars in their new online auction format was a success. They showed us some good entry level collector cars up to ones for serious money. Everything sold and buyers and sellers alike should be satisfied with the results. They have already listed the next group of cars and we look forward to seeing more from this platform in the future.