Phone bidding with Barrett Jackson

[TimG]

A car I’m interested in bidding on/buying was just consigned to Barrett Jackson Florida earlier this week. I found out about this car going thorugh two days ago. Barrett Jackson makes it nearly impossible to phone bid on a car.

They want a letter of credit from may bank, this is only possible for a commercial account, they don’t do it for personal accounts. I had them print out my current balance and 12 month average balance and Barrett Jackson would have nothing to do with this letter from a bank executive even though I certainly could cover the car with my average. They asked me to overnight a cashiers check for $15,000, I’m not doing that. They take no credit cards, so a deposit that way is out of the question.

They really don’t make it user friendly to buy a car over the phone and I’m ready, willing and able. I’ve purchased what I would consider expensive cars from Mecum on a $500 credit card deposit, but I have no track record with Barrett Jackson. I’ve left two messages with their phone bidder representative begging him to help be get on board to bid on this car tomorrow and have heard nothing.

Nobody I know well will be there to bid for me and that's an uncomfortable position to put someone in, anyway.

Does anyone else have any experiences like this with Barrett Jackson?

[TimG]

They replied with an email and I'm giving it my best shot on bidding on the car. I don't know if they'll accept my credentials with no letter of credit at this late stage, but we'll see.

[Rick99]

Good luck Tim, I hope you can get your car.

[Vern B]

Must be your banks policy to not issue a letter of credit. My bank has done it for me several times for the same purpose.

Home equity loan might be something to consider as an alternative

[barnett468]

i know both craig jackson and steve davis. its their game. you should have sent the 15k.

here's 2 email pages you can try. address it to steve davis.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...contactus.aspx

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...contactus.aspx

[TimG]

I have more than enough in my checking account to cover my high bid, they just wanted guarantees from the bank that the funds would be held through the auction dates and that the bank would honor any check or wire transfer presented to them.
At least they corresponded with me even though we couldn't get it set up.

Got someone to bid on my behalf, but didn't get my old car back.

[Verne_Frantz]

Tim,
Sorry to hear about your experience. I had a similar experience when I wanted to register as an on-line bidder at a live auction. My bank would not issue me a letter of credit because they said, I could withdraw my funds after they issued the letter, in which case they would be liable for the payment after the auction. I needed to apply for a loan to secure the money and that would take nearly a week for the application process. Obviously that didn't work. I never thought to ask them about freezing my account until after the auction date. I ended up using a credit card number which was accepted by the auction company.

Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]

[TimG]

Verne, it sounds as if you were in the same boat. They suggested I apply for a loan with the company they use, but I did not want to set up financing since I had the funds to pay in full. That would have been an option to cover the cost. But that would probably add hundreds to the cost of my purchase.
I drew the line at that.

[Charley Lillard]

What car was it ?

[TimG]

#467, my old green Benchmark/Bow Tie '67 427 Corvette.