No seller support whatsoever. Also, there are the Trolls who disparage your vehicle and place low bids with no intention of winning/buying anything. I would place my experience with BAT in the categor... See more
While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more
To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more
Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
No representation from BaT. Purchased at 1978 F250 that was terribly misrepresented. Rust, no E breaks, bed not attached, some sort of weird coating wiped on paint, I thought BaT was supposed to ve... See more
Scam website, you have zero protection. They block all helpful comments from people about condition of the vehicle that may help you to avoid mistakes. They only carried that seller gets top price.
No explanation why I could not list with them. Customer service is the worst I have ever seen. Customer follow up is terrible. I have never left a bad review on a company in my life but this definitel... See more
1.3
Bad
151 reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 4% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
How this company uses Trustpilot
See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
BAT does not consider the seller's best interests.
BAT will not list a car with a reserve price that is close to what it is worth. They only make money if the car sells, so they will lowball the seller on the reserve to make sure it sells, even if the seller loses a large percentage of thier value to weak bidding!
I tried to use them to sell a car that has comparable cars listed online right now for prices between the high 50k's and high 70k's. My car is a mint condition example with less than 20k miles, fully optioned, and clean, with factory accessories like car cover and battery tender. BAT refused to list it unless I lowered my reserve bid from my stated 60k down to 45k, which is 10k less than any other listed comparable car on earth.
Thier representative told me "don't worry about the low reserve, the market will set a fair price" and then sent me a listing of a comparable car on thier site that had bid to 57k but NOT sold, due to a higher reserve. Obviously that owner had also been unwilling to sell thier car for so cheap a price, just so that BAT could make thier commission money regardless.
The fact that BAT will deny to list a car just beecause it is not sold at bargain sale prices is indicative of a dishonest and untrustworthy company.
1 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your car and we are sorry that we weren't able to come to an agreement on the reserve.
Ultimately, we want you to have a successful auction. When discussing reserves, our curation team takes into account previous results on the site and the general market for this particular car, as well as its condition, presentation, provenance, and a number of other factors. It's important to note that asking prices online do not necessarily reflect actual transaction prices or the overall market for the vehicle.
The goal of an auction is to sell the vehicle, and the purpose of a reserve is to find the minimum amount that a seller would accept for the car, while also giving the car a reasonable chance to sell with the understanding that it could certainly exceed that amount.
We'd be happy to revisit listing this car if you'd like, otherwise we sincerely wish you the best of luck with the sale and hopefully we'll have the opportunity to work with you soon.
discriminating and unprofessional
Seems like there is discrimination at work in the selection process. I own a classic 1979 Cadillac hot rod with close to $200,000 in documented improvements that was turned down by BAT. They would not allow me to post my car for sale and offered no logical explanation. My car was originally owned by my grandfather who purchased it new in 1979. It was passed down to my mother, father and brother before finally making its way to me. I invested a ton of money and spent more than 10 years customizing the car, using the best of everything available. I have a professional ap[praisal and receipts for every penny spent. They claim to carefully curate every car on the platform, yet there are multiple cars similar to mine but no where near as beautifuyl./ makes no sense and the worst part is the lack of professionalism in simply providing a clear policy detailing how the selection/qualification process works - because it doesn't.
2 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your Cadillac. We are sorry that we won't be moving forward.
To give you some additional perspective, we are a curated marketplace and are very selective with the modified vehicles we accept for auction as they tend to have a narrower buyer pool than more stock examples, and it is difficult to recoup an investment of this magnitude.
Ultimately, we want you to have a successful sale, and our team simply decided to go in a different direction based on our current volume and your requested reserve amount. We appreciate the merits of your car, its family history, and its modifications, and our decision does not mean it isn't desirable. As much as we hate to pass on any listing, it is a necessary part of our curation process.
We appreciate that you considered BaT Auctions and wish you best of luck with the sale. We hope to have the opportunity to work with you in the future.
I offered a 1958 Lancia Appia for sale
I offered a 1958 Lancia Appia for sale. They insisted I list as a no reserve vehicle. I insisted on a reserve. They relented and allowed the listing. I then tried to edit the description because it was mentioning designers and engineers who had developed other Lancia's but not the Appia Series II. This car had a well known designer - Vittorio Jano, but that was irrelevent to them. They posted the sale but organized it so the auction ended at 1:24pm on Labor Day. Suffice it to say, it did not meet reserve. The entire experience with Bring-a-Trailer was unpleasant. I am not an outsider to the collector car industry and like me, others I know within the industry have soured greatly to this platform. BEWARE!!
2 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you for your review and sorry to hear that you were disappointed in the service you received.
We explained the reasoning behind our description of the vehicle before the auction started, and though your car did not meet reserve our extensive sales history has shown that there is not a negative impact for sales that end on a holiday - in fact the opposite is often true and holidays have traditionally been very successful sales days.
We do sincerely appreciate your feedback, however, and we look forward to the opportunity to earn your business in the future.
Favoritism and unfair
I submitted a beautiful vintage car dealership sign, identical to one that sold last year on BaT. I spent hours on photography, taking 2 videos, staging, and prepping the sign. After about six days, BaT sent me a boilerplate email saying that my submission was declined. I invested so much time, money, and effort, only to receive a generic rejection. Then, a week later, the same sign was listed by a 'prominent' BaT seller. It seems you need to have an inside track to be successful. IMO, this equates to favoritism and unfair business practices.
14 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your sign, and we know how frustrating it can be for your submission to be rejected.
To give you some additional perspective, we are very selective with what parts submissions we move forward with, as it's a relatively narrow portion of our business compared to full vehicle auctions. While we wish we could list every great piece that is submitted to us, the reality is that we do have to curate within that space. Unfortunately, this means we do have to turn away some interesting pieces from engaged sellers like yourself.
We choose which items to list based on a number of different factors, including a seller's known history on the site, the timing of the submission, the overall quality of the piece, and a number of other factors.
We're not able to locate your submission based on the information in this review, but we would be happy to revisit the item and discuss this in greater detail.
As a first time user looking to buy a…
As a first time user looking to buy a car, I bid on a car (Volvo c30) hoping to buy a used manual car. Unfortunately, upon winning the bid, I realized that the car is actually automatic, not manual transmission. I then immediately notified the seller and cancelled the bid. The seller agreed. I then informed Bring A Trailer the situation and asked for a refund. To my surprise, Bring A Trailer responded with a very angry and unapologetic tone and refused to refund the over $1000 fee. I continued trying to explain the situation that the car is mot manual and thus it was not my fault that I am unable to buy the car, but Bring A Trailer said due to their policy, buyer had to pay fee regardless buying the car or not. What this situation shows is Bring A Trailer shows no mercy to new user who is not familiar to their site. It operates as a total scam as others said here. I recommend everyone who never used their site don’t bother. You bid on your own risk. They wouldn’t work with you or accommodate at all. I have opened a case and submitted a complaint to BBB.
24 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
As we have noted a number of times in our correspondence with you, the auction format inherently places an onus on the bidder to read the auction description and complete their due diligence prior to bidding. The third sentence of the auction description states "The car is also equipped with... a five-speed Geartronic automatic transaxle." Later, under a photo of the underside of the car, the description states "Power is routed to the front wheels through a five-speed Geartronic automatic transaxle." The automatic transmission is also mentioned in the "BaT Essentials" box near the top of the listing page itself, and the photos of the interior clearly show an automatic shifter.
Apart from the listing text and photos showing that this example does not have a manual transmission, the auctions are run for at least seven days to allow buyers time to conduct this research, and an open comment section and "contact seller" button are provided to enable bidders to ask questions of the seller. In our correspondence with the seller, it is clear that they did not willingly choose to cancel this sale but instead were forced to when you refused to honor your bids.
Still waiting on a vehicle I purchased…
Still waiting on a vehicle I purchased last month to confirm shipping process has started
16 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Sorry to hear there has been a delay with shipping. We've confirmed that your shipping order has been placed and we will update the ETA as soon as possible.
Would not use this auction site ever!!
Would not use this auction site ever!!! Worst experience. They are terrible in every way!!!
30 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We're sorry to hear you did not have a good experience with us. We would be happy to discuss this further with you if you would like to reach out to us at mail@bringatrailer.com.
Denied! Don't even consider BaT to list your vehicle for auction!to list my vehicle on BaT
Tried to list my vehicle on BaT, a 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe. After six plus days waiting approval from BaT, I'm informed my listing was not accepted to their auction site. There claim is a three day approval time frame. I spent quite a bit of time developing my entry which proved to be a waste of time. BaT did not give a reason for the denial, just that my listing request guide not meet their criteria for an auction listing. I would never consider BaT in the future to list vehicle for auction. Poor business practices and customer service!
12 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your Cadillac and thanks for your patience while we get back to you to provide some additional insight during this busy time. It looks to be a nice car and we are sorry that we won't be moving forward with a listing.
To give you some additional perspective, we are a curated marketplace and are very selective with the vehicles we accept for auction. We are even more selective with the later-model cars we accept for auction, as their availability on the used marketplace factors into our decision as well. We appreciate that yours is enthusiast focused, but we are simply inundated with submissions of great vehicles at this time, which unfortunately means we are often faced with the difficult decision of passing on neat cars from motivated sellers like yourself.
We appreciate that you considered BaT Auctions and our decision truly isn't personal. As much as we hate to pass on any listing, it is sometimes a necessary part of our curation process. We wish you best of luck with the sale and hope to have the opportunity to work with you in the future.
Why will they not let me relist?
The buyer demanded his money back when he found out how much it would cost to import the car from Canada to the US. I sent the money back and tried to relist my car but the site would not let me.
6 September 2023
Unprompted review
Bring a trailer do not care about buyer but only their commission…
We won a car at bring a trailer auction. Bring a trailer listing said it was a 5 speeds but the dealer listing ,Fantasy Junction from california,said it was a 6 speeds like were looking for.Bring a trailer policy is to get any potential buyer/bidder to do their due dilligence calling the dealer for any additional info or for inspecting the car before bidding and we did.The dealer confirmed it was a 6 speeds 3 days before the end of the auction. We contacted the dealer at the time of the payment and he now told the car was a 5 speed and that the 6 speeds listed was a "clerical error".The 5 speeds was a deal breaker for us and we contacted bring a trailer and the dealer to cancel the sale. Bring a trailer is refusing to credit our credit card back as they refused to take responsibility from thier dealer error. The dealer sold the car before we could solve our issue with bring a trailer and himself. Off course we are disputing the charges and now got the legal machine involved. For any buyer, just know that the buyer is the one that get charge for the auction fees and that bring a trailer WILL DECLINE any responsibility from their dealers ,like fantasy Junction, no matter what! we will never get involve again form this scam and we are not surpise to see so many complaints against their operation. How can they still be in business ? i will avoid to spend time on their very little responsive customer service that always send you the same message about their no refund charge policy with the promise to contact you the next day , and we are still waiting. AS an update to our review, Bring a trailer proposed to refund the auction fees as they mentioned on BBB response to our review. We will update once we have the refund
21 August 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Bring a Trailer does not inspect any vehicles listed for sale and we rely upon the information provided to us by sellers in order to write the auction descriptions. In this case, the description on our website, where the auction was being hosted, was correct, despite the apparent error on the seller's own website. The seller also commented multiple times during the live auction about the car having a 5-speed transmission.
In the rare cases in which problems like this arise post-auction, Bring a Trailer does our best to find a reasonable solution to the problem. In this case, we've been in contact with this customer and the vehicle's seller directly to offer our assistance.
STAY FAR AWAY. RUDE AND ARROGANT
We spend the fairly long time its takes to submit a car to the auction. The car was a 1967 Impala SS i great condition and with all the nice upgrades like Sniper 2, Wilwood, AC and more. Took at while before we just received an email telling they could not take it to the auction. No reason or anything. The email was VERY arrogant and was in a state of shock, or almost...We have been in the car business for many years and never received a AI generated rude email like that.
26 August 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your Impala. We do want to explain that a human being reviews every submission that we get before responding or choosing to accept or decline. Your car looks to be a nice example and I'm sorry that we won't be moving forward.
To give you some additional perspective, we are a curated marketplace and are very selective with the cars we accept for auction. We are simply inundated with submissions of great vehicles at this time which unfortunately means we are often faced with the difficult decision of turning down good cars from motivated sellers like yourself.
Ultimately, we want you to have a successful auction. Based on the results of other, similar Impalas we've had on the site, our curation team felt that we would simply be too far apart on reserve expectations to offer a listing at this time. We'd be happy to revisit listing this one if you're open to listing with a significantly lower reserve, or as a "No Reserve" auction. Otherwise, we wish you the best of luck with the sale and hopefully we'll have the opportunity to work with you in the future.
I tried to advertise my car again and…
Final response from Bring a trailer !! They will not advertise my car if I don’t agree with the reserve issued to me !!! Plus they still charge $ 100 !!!! Stay away from this company
27 August 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We work with sellers to set reasonable reserves, but the goal is to ensure vehicles have a reasonable chance at selling and as such we can't move forward without a realistic reserve in place. After all, the point of an auction is to sell the vehicle, and an auction that ends with a too-high reserve not met is a bad experience for everyone involved.
Tried to advertise my Alfa 3 times and…
Tried to advertise my Alfa 3 times and it has been declined with the excuse of shipping issues, not happy at all as my colleague in San Malo France advertised his car with no issues
13 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your Alfa.
BaT is a curated marketplace and unfortunately we cannot list every vehicle that comes through our system. While we do have a strong userbase in Europe and continue to grow that area of our business, we have found bidding to be a bit tighter for vehicles located outside of the US, given the costs of import and the availability of similar models domestically. Ultimately, we want you to have a successful auction, and we will be happy to have a more thorough conversation about a reserve amount that is more in line with the current market.
Sell your vehicle anywhere else!
This is one of the worst online auction websites I have ever used, and I have used 5. They are dictatorial in their procedures and force you to use payments methods of their choice whether you want to use them or not. Also, if you post a professional and tactful comment, but it is negative, prepare to have all your comments banned. Even if you are trying to bid! Yes, really!
2 August 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you for your feedback and we're sorry to hear you are unhappy with your experience on BaT.
Buyers and sellers are welcome to use whatever payment method they can agree upon with each other after an auction is over, though we generally recommend a wire transfer or other secure, traceable method. For customers using our Verified Checkout program to pay for their auction wins, we offer a number of different payment options.
As for commenting, we welcome polite and constructive questions and input on any auctions on the site, as long as they adhere to our posted commenting rules: https://bringatrailer.com/commenting-rules/.
We rely on the community to flag inappropriate comments, and we also have staff monitoring our auctions in real time to address comments that violate the rules or are otherwise inappropriate.
These people are straight up dishonest
These people are straight up dishonest. DO NOT sell your car on BAT. There is no protection whatsoever from non-paying buyers. If you make polite comments questionning a cars condition, your comments are blocked, and you are banned from selling. They pressure you to sell without a reserve, then results are way worse than market value. This site has changed drastically over the years, and is now totally dishonest, and must be avoided by sellers and buyers
15 August 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We appreciate your feedback, though we'd like to correct a few misunderstandings:
- We expect all bidders (and sellers) to honor the commitments they make on the site. That said, we cannot control human behavior, and in the rare instances in which a bidder does not perform we have a dedicated customer service staff to assist in those situations.
- Our open commenting format is intended to allow our community to ask questions about the vehicles listed, and to engage in polite discussion about them. The intention here was to provide more transparency to the online auction process. We welcome constructive criticism and legitimate questions about a vehicle's condition or provenance, and we coach sellers on how to best answer those questions. That said, we do monitor and moderate the comment sections, and unfair or off-base commentary, personal attacks, slurs, etc. are not permitted.
- We do not pressure anyone into listing vehicles at reserves they are uncomfortable with or at no reserve. Having said that, we are a curated marketplace and there are certain vehicles we will only accept at no reserve. Though a no reserve auction means the car sells for the high bid, results have proven repeatedly that the reach and visibility of our marketplace make BaT one of the best places to sell a vehicle.
bad experience
bad experience
do not buy won a bid on a car when i received the car it was not like it was in there site listing had 12k worth of problems srs radio not working floor mats dark black not in there pictures, i also used there secure chack out caramel they secured a lone added in the warranty under a diffrent dealerships name come to find out theres no warranty got robbed for 2500 the finances bank is investigating this matter for fraud bring a trailer is not no help at all also caramel there partners will get you they conducted wire fraud investigation pending will update here soon
reply there so no warranty never was if there was warranty why would i cancel it why your car that has 12k worth of damage that was not stated in you listing you need to refund the buyers fee for incorrect listing what a disaster you and your partner are secure check out ok no warranty they used a fake dealer ships name called fair way auto sales they also said you and your partner useing there name list the phone number 6094793777 fairway auto sales dont know who they are got the car from bring a trailer seller out of Texas.
7 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We've confirmed separately that our Verified Checkout partners at Caramel have received your request to remove add-on warranty package you initially requested during the purchase process, and are working with the lender to recalculate the monthly loan payment without it. We appreciate your patience while that is completed.
Beyond that, we have a dedicated post-auction customer service team who will be happy to follow up with you regarding the issues you've encountered with the car itself.
There is a pattern here.
There is a pattern here. See all the other negative reviews. It’s their way or the highway even though you are paying for it. Similar experience with them ignoring a well researched fair reserve value for my motorcycle. It’s clear they want you to be willing to sell your vehicle at wholesale or less price just so they can make a sure sale and get their commission. It’s the same with no reserve. They push for no reserve so they are guaranteed a sale even if is not in the best interest of the seller. They don’t care. When I looked at similar motorcycles like mine that sold via no reserve, the majority of them were sold way below fair market value. I did my homework.
24 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
As we've noted in other responses here, BaT is a curated marketplace and we are selective with the vehicles we accept for auction. When discussing reserves, we do tend to be conservative - after all, the point of an auction is to sell the vehicle - while also understanding that there are risks involved for sellers and that we many not always be able to agree upon a number that works for both parties. Though a reserve is not a guarantee and is instead the least amount a seller can accept for a vehicle, bear in mind that there is always room for a vehicle to bid higher than that during a live auction. We hope to be able to work with you in the future.
Bring a Trailer
I wrote a pretty negative review of this site. One of their service reps, Christian M. responded to me and wrote a detailed response. The truth is that they cannot police all the jerks who appear on their site. It's an honest site. There's an old saying, "Let the buyer beware." On this site, I would urge the seller to beware. Auctions are a deadly serious business. When I buy a car at auction, I owe the seller the cash immediately. That's the way auctions work, but the seller has to turn over the car to me immediately for the winning bid, no questions asked, no negotiation -- it's just over. Most people who go on the auction sites look for a particular car, i.e., a 1965 Mustang. I look for an auction that's going south on the seller. So, think about it. Once the first bid is place, you are caught in the auction, come what may.
17 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We rely heavily on our community to help us make sure that the comments in our listings are constructive. We have a "flag as non-constructive" button for members to use, should they find a comment that they feel is not constructive to the listing. If multiple users flag a comment as non constructive, the comment will be removed.
BaT's community is full of passionate and knowledgeable users, and sometimes that passion can be overwhelming. That said, we aim to keep the comment section a friendly and welcoming place for users of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Though the comment section can sometimes be daunting for a seller, the wealth of knowledge shared by our users is of great benefit for the community as a whole.
Contact request denied…
I merely requested seller contact information so that I could talk about potential issues and receipts. BaT refused my request---I was the high bidder and BaT was afraid that I was trying to avoid its financial commission. Pitiful and very unprofessional!! I will never bid again!!
17 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
We have recently changed the way we handle auctions that end without meeting the reserve. The high bidder is now given the opportunity to make an offer above their final bid online, and we no longer directly connect the seller and bidder to discuss offline.
This was done to add structure and transparency to the post-auction process, and enable more buyers and sellers to utilize our Verified Checkout process.
It is important to note that bidders are not obligated in any way to make an offer if their high bid does not win the auction, and that if they have any questions about the vehicle they should be sure to ask them during the 7-day auction period either in the comment section or by contacting the seller directly.
I tried Selling my 1975 FJ 40 Resto-mod…
I tried Selling my 1975 FJ 40 Resto-mod Landcruiser that took 3.5 years to restore at one of the best Land Cruiser places in Texas, and This Zach character from BaT told me that 80K was too high of a reserve. For a vehicle, I have over 118K hard money (Not including all the work I did myself. That took over 3.5 years to restore. What makes me even madder is they sold a Landcruiser like mine (not as good) for $270,000. Also, Yesterday they sold a similar year LC for 58K, which was not a fraction as good as mine. What happened to me setting the price? I paid them to list it and let's see what happens Screw this company they SUCK.
12 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Bring A Trailer
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your FJ40.
BaT is very selective with the cars we accept for auction, and ultimately we want you to have a successful auction. It's important to note that our team takes many factors into account when discussing reserves, and individual auction results are not always indicative of the overall market for a vehicle.
Beyond that, unfortunately the amount put into a vehicle does not always translate into a sale price. While BaT is happy to have a frank and honest discussion around reserves, ultimately we sometimes have to make difficult decisions about what we are able to accommodate.
The Trustpilot Experience
Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.
We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.
Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.
Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.
Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.
Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.