Bring A Trailer Reviews 

I'm thankful for the reviews and comments on TP. I almost purchased from them.

Bring a Trailer has blocked my (second) comment on a withdrawn auction, "for review". But still not posted. Probably never will be.

I can only assume it is because I pointed out the truth that they do not want known.

Regarding this auction on Bring a Trailer;
(yellow) 302-Powered Cobra Replica
Withdrawn on 8/26/25

The seller previously listed in June and reserve not met. Then BaT re-listed "No Reserve". Let auction run for 6 days, then withdrew the auction.

This looks like fraud. People bid in good faith on "No Reserve". That Bat blocked my post that explained why this seems fraudulent, suggests they are complicit in a fraud. My comments below are the post they will not print.

-------------
Seller claims “The auction was removed at my request due to a submission mistake on my part”.
What was the mistake? That you agreed to “No Reserve” then backed out when you saw you might not get a good price? That is certainly what it looks like to the community. Please clarify.

If this car goes back on BaT with a reserve, that would absolutely confirm that this was a fraud against the community.

The ONLY right action here is to put the car back up as “No Reserve” and honour whatever price is bid, no matter how low. Otherwise, this appears to be conspiracy to defraud by the seller and BaT.

@BaT Again, if this is not sorted out clearly and transparently to the community, why would anyone honour a “No Reserve” sale if they don’t like the bid? This stinks of fraud. And not for the first time. REALLY BAD LOOK BaT."
-------------

Is it fraud? I don't know. But it sure looks that way and the actions by BaT support that conclusion IMO. Especially the blocking of relevant posts by users. I know mine was blocked. How many others were too?

They say, "It's not the crime that gets you, it is the cover up."

And yes, I have the screenshot/PDF of my post status as awaiting review.

I will revise this review should BaT decide to post my comment and explain their actions fully.

EDIT: Nov4 2025.

The worthless reply from BaT prompted another look at their site.

Sure enough, another Cobra, previously listed and not meeting reserve, re-listed 'No Reserve'. Pulled 24 hours before closing with low bids.

This one: 408-Powered Johnspeed Cobra Replica 5-Speed - Withdrawn on 11/4/25

Almost exactly like the previous one that, when I noted it, prompted BaT to block my posts. BaT supports fraudulent 'no reserve' listings. Pretty obvious now.

Beware of BaT. "No Reserve" means nothing. Shameless and despicable conduct.

(Second update)
And just today, this "No Reserve" auction;

Japanese-Market 1999 Subaru Impreza Sedan 2.0 5-Speed - Sold for USD $2,860 on 11/4/25

Except seller says they will not sell at that price. So, NOT SOLD.

NO RESERVE MEANS NOTHING. BaT is complicit. they do nothing to solve this. Well, nothing but block users who point out what is going on.

Quite pleased to see that this review comes up on top with a "bringatrailer no reserve fraud" search. Hopefully some people will avoid being taken in by "No Reserve" at BaT.

Customer service is HORRIBLE! No one responds to email, and they do not provide a phone number.

I was a successful bidder on a vehicle in May ‘25 and my credit card was charged the BAT fee, as expected. However, I wasn’t comfortable with some of my business interactions with the seller. After several email communications with BAT customer service, they acquiesced and returned my fee. I appreciated their responsiveness and flexibility on their policy.
ND

After relocating to Thailand in 2024, I initially planned to ship my 2007 Bentley GT overseas. The car had been fully maintained and stored securely in a private garage. But after learning that international shipping would cost nearly the same as buying a new Bentley locally, I changed course and decided to sell it instead.

Just prior to my move, the check engine light reappeared — likely due to something minor, possibly a loose connection related to recent exhaust work. The car had recently undergone $39,000+ in documented maintenance, including full EGT sensor replacement, both front air shocks, front-end alignment, and all recall work completed at Bentley St. Louis. It had also received a professional ceramic coating and was stored per Bentley’s long-term guidelines.

The vehicle is not currently registered or insured because it remains in private, secure indoor storage. It’s titled in my name, fully documented, and ready to sell.

I submitted the car to Bring a Trailer, requesting a fair and reasonable $26,000 reserve based on comparable sales and its condition.

White Glove Manager Beck Diefenbach initially pressured me to drop the reserve and sent a canned email explaining that BaT supports no-reserve auctions. When I pushed back and reiterated my desire to keep the reserve in place, he again tried to push the no-reserve route. After I finalized my position and confirmed I would only move forward with a reserve, he emailed again and essentially said he could no longer do business with me.

There was no serious engagement with my documentation, no recognition of the investment made into the vehicle, and no effort to work with me professionally. Just boilerplate replies and a refusal to respect a legitimate seller position.

This isn’t the service BaT advertises. It’s not “white glove” — it’s checkbox management and an attempt to push every listing into no-reserve territory to protect their metrics, not the seller.

I’ve since chosen not to list with BaT and have made a very wise decision to use a professional organization.

UPDATE;
Received this BS response from Dave Duke
Director of Customer Experience on August 1st

Hello Dennis,
Thanks for reaching out and sorry to hear that we were not able to come to an agreement on listing your Bentley.

A large part of our process is curating the vehicles that are submitted to us and trying to establish reasonable reserves to lead sellers toward a successful auction. We appreciate that you've put money and time into getting the Bentley prepared for sale, but based on the information you've provided us this is something we'd only be able to list in a no-reserve format. That's not a reflection of the car itself or of you as a seller, but is based on an understanding of our marketplace and trying to set expectations accordingly.

We would be happy to revisit your submission if you'd like to proceed at no reserve.

Thank you for your understanding.

Absolutely the worst online auction company operating in the United States.
Once all of the fees have been paid BAT hands off the transportation and payment seriously to their "partners" and supposedly relys on the "partners" to communicate with BAT customers. After a week of absolutely no communication from BAT or their partners I reached out to BAT and the customer service rep said all the right things to give the appearance BAT was still engaged in completing the entire transaction and then went back to absolutely no communication of any kind. When I reached out to BAT customer service I was unable to get anyone to answer the phone, but someone from BAT customer service did finally reply to my email requesting an update to scheduling the transport four days later. When the transport finally showed up they sent a trailer that was several inches narrower than the dimensions the seller provided to the transport broker. I called BAT shipping back at 10 the following morning and they were completely oblivious as to the trailer was too narrow and the vehicle was not picked up as scheduled. The seller who is a repeat customer of BAT described this transaction as a "clown show" and I can't disagree as none of the details listed on the BAT website when I decided to utilize BAT shipping and the payment process to the seller turned out to be what BAT actually did. Apparently they advertise one thing, but feel it is well within their rights to do whatever they please regardless of the service process steps they advertise on their website. If you enjoy paying a company to repeatedly frustrate you with absolutely zero foxtrot in regard to providing the services the represent on their website, then this is definitely a company you should do business with. If you do not enjoy paying someone to do as they please with zero foxtrot in regard to their customer support, then you definitely don't want to do business with them.

Bring a Trailer transport what a disappointment, Expensive ,unreliable, commits to a date and then it doesn't happen NEVER again. They are just paper pushers the act like brokers, and have no control of drivers or trucks. Call Auto Broker direct and save some money.

Communication with bring a trailer is really bad have sent many emails and they don’t respond since they have already received there commission,telling you vehicle is ready for pickup and not receiving any information from them . Luckily I had an earlier email with contact information for the seller, but I went with bring a trailer to handle all paperwork since I paid a commission for the vehicle . I got more information from the seller why it was taking so long and got his address to have a carrier pickup the vehicle ( still waiting) for the fees they charge I would have thought they would have communicated with me , bought through hagerty last year zero problems with communication , they give phone and email so you can communicate. First time with BaT and probably won’t use again since communication sucks.

There is something very wrong with Bring a Trailer ever since Randy Nonnenberg sold it to Hearst Autos.
In 2007 it was a very basic and wonderful site for those of us really interested in cars. Clearly the love of cars is now secondary to the monetizing aspect. When BaT began it was clearly a fun site for auto enthusiasts and it reached out to share all manner of news on autos for sale, including links to eBay, Craig's List and others. None of that is there anymore.

The comments before Hearst Autos took over included many great observations and generally useful input. There were some "Oh WOW" lines too but not the bulk of the input. Now there appears to be a cadre of shills or perhaps some generational AI comments to the point of distraction. Some of the comments have devolved into chat rooms between frequent contributors to the point of verbiage about hometowns and other irrelevant blather. More on that below.

I have sold and bought via BaT but will be extremely reluctant to do so again. Clearly the emphasis is now on moving the merchandise rather than having happy sellers and happy buyers.

I suggest viewing BringATrailer with a very jaundiced eye. If you are listing you will be pressured to lower your desired price and even greater pressure to list as No Reserve. As near as I can determine BaT collects money for listing a car on its site, charges money from the purchaser and contributes very little beyond that. Whomever they use to write descriptions often are clueless about the specific car or any significant history. And one particularly frustrating aspect is that it gets listed at some date by their whim. If you submit a car for sale they take an indeterminate time span to accept it. Then after informing you that it will be listed you have no idea when that will be. So, unless you're planning to be available for the next few months, you may be unable to respond to questions or otherwise interact with bidders. I'm aware of one seller who was out of the country when his listing went live and was unable to respond which resulted in some negative reaction and his car not meeting reserve.

About the AI and/or shills employed in the comments. Of course I have no positive evidence but one must be curious about one member using the handle Dollycat3. Curious that Dollycat3 joined BaT about the time Hearst Autos bought the site: November 2020. Since then he/she/it has made >7700 comments. Not one listing, not one purchase, in fact not a single bid. What's going on there?

Most of the comments from Dollycat3 are useless verbiage restating the information listed BaT Essentials section and seemed solely intended to hype up interest. To what end for Dollycat3 one wonders. More than 90% of the comments are heavily laden with over the top superlatives, comments about styling, color, potential and worth.
The AI or Shill is also attempting to come across as an arbiter of knowledge of each item and about the over all appeal.

Comments often start with:

"Absolutely stunning..."
"What a great deal..."
"Absolutely gorgeous..."
"Such a beautiful..."
"So exceptional..."
"Absolutely fabulous..."

and those are just from today, July 1st 2025.

Then there are the comments as the auction closes commenting on the bids being too low and the item being worth so much more. At first I thought that might have been intended to help the seller but then it occurred to me (DUH) that BaT benefits in their percentage of the price below $100K.

Reconsider working with BaT until they return to their roots.

Scammers!they send photographer for 300us from kindergarten

Bought a Jeep on Bring A Trailer May 20 2025. Seller was a total scam. Bring a trailer did no vetting of the seller or refused to look into them. I followed there instructions exacly. The seller was not in the USA. They where skipping titles. The seller was running a fake dealership from Illinois. I Paid for the vehicle in full. I did eventually get the vehicle, not at all as described. It does not even go down the road. The main problem is that it is now June 20th and I have no title. I can not sue or go after the seller because I don't even know who they are and the name supplied by bring a trailer is in a different country. I am shocked that a big site like this does not even get the ID from the seller. So now I am out $13,500 and Bring a Trailer says there is nothing they can do.

Bidder beware. Even if the seller miss represents the product bringatrailer.com keeps their commission!

They are a total scam

This has been one of the worst car buying experiences i have ever had, and ihave bought many cars, several online. 1st, the verified checkout. Very quick to answer your emails UNTIL they get your money and then they ignore you. Days amd days multiple emails without replies. Secondly, the BATsite itself has no way to contact them when you have an issue. No help chat, no email, no phone number (unless its is very well hidden) that i could find ANYWHERE on the site. 3rd is the BAT shipping...theyll contact you when they feel like it, lie to you, and then not return your calls. They also will nott answer emails...AT ALL. If you had a better experiemce, consider yourself VERY LUCKY. I will NOT BE USIMG ANY OF THEIR SERVICES EVER AGAIN. I still dont have my car.

Wanted to list my car on BaT and completed their extensive list of questions detailing the car, as well as submitting 50 images & 4 videos and wanting to list the car with a reserve.
Couple of days later received an email asking if I let go of the reserve I would get a broader exposure.
After replying that I DID want a reserve, got another email telling me they would only list it without a reserve.
Another email told me they had a formula for what conditions had to qualify for a reserve auction.
So they ask you questions, then tell you they have arbitrary rules for their listings and they are very busy, so you don't count much anyway.
Seems like unless you car is in the 100s of $1,000s in price, you don't matter

Bring a Trailer likely to delete any comment which might dramatically lower the sales price of a car, and thus the commission they earn. When I posted pictures of a car that had clearly been repainted in various areas (magnified to make it obvious to anyone), BaT moderators deleted the post. Whether they did or the seller/and or friends of seller hit the "not constructive" button to flag the post, I don't see how a picture and a members opinion of what that picture shows is somehow deemed "not constructive" and removed. So buyer beware...they just want a sale and their commissions. Their score on here is all you need to know. Buyer beware!

Complete Bullshit auction house. They dont print your comments if they feel it will negatively affect the auction and jeopardise their commission . No regard for the poor guy trying to buy in good faith on the other end . Lots of shills and sneaky shit going on with bidders and their friends who are trying to jack up prices . I have pointed out 3 instances in the past year to BaT and they have done nothing at all . BUYER BEWARE !

Scam Site!!! Don't trust this process. It is rigged and the only winner is BaT when they charge your credit card and ghost you.

BELIEVE THE OTHER REVIEWS YOU READ HERE!!

Don't trust the comments on the so called "auction" site either. Mostly made up of Bots and AI that pretend to admire and inquire about the cars but never purchase. Not legit.

There is no way this auction site is on the up and up. Beware of phony cars, phony bidders, phony titles, phony commentors and comments. They are all carefully crafted to lure a trusting car lover into the trap.

Run far away from Bring a Trailer and don't be scammed!!!

Fraud. Should be investigated.

The scams are so obvious on this website, if you read the description, watch pictures and read comments, you will find everything.

Half the comments are fake to create the "market". They must have gone full scam, because they are selling cars with fake titles now. Scary place. The owners of the website are brave, because there is Federal fraud happening there.

** Reply to Reply
"We only remove comments if they are abusive or otherwise violate the rules" - well by removing comments of those that point out fraud (which is exactly what you are doing) you enable the fraud, and are legally liable at that point. It will take one smart guy to subpoena you to show who removed the comments, why, and show real users behind ever action, and your site will crumble from the massive scam you try to pull off. BaT fraud is all over internet, and you still have the nerve to come here and lie.

Your entire game runs on censorship. By removing real comments you created fake market, profiting off of elevated prices.

No vetting of sellers and no recourse for buyers who get screwed. Seller claimed to have performed an inspection with no issues and that turned out to be demonstrably false. Now a car purchased for 12000 is 25% more expensive with another almost $3000 in repairs caught in the first inspection I performed. Have documented the issue and tried to work with Bring a Trailer, but they are completely ignoring me.

Edit (response to BAT): It is a shame that is the approach that your platform takes when there are many low cost/high impact mechanisms for changing that dynamic. And your customers support has done literally nothing aside from reiterate the same talking points as here.

You can't ask a question they don't like. They can delete any comment you make. Anything negative is automatically deleted. The customer is just a sucker they got played. There is no recourse for buying junk. Any Hustler can buy any piece of junk at auction and throw it right on bring a trailer and whoever buys it is stuck holding the bag. But they don't care because they got their commission. Something's got to give.