87 X1/9 on BaT

I placed a bid at $3300. Debating whether to bid higher than $4500. Shipping for me would be around $600. Not sure if marital bliss would remain calm and cool if I decided to drop 5 grand on a car while Mutant is still in progress. I am gonna guess this one will end up above 7k.
 
I have not looked at the comments for this car, I know from past cruising of ads on BAT that the comments can be mostly stupid. I get really tired of the " I had one in high school or college....yada yada yada". In my mind any comments on BAT should be on point to the car being featured. Noting things not stock or proper for that particular car is fine but generic comments are a total waste of time. It seems a lot of commenters really just want to tell the audience what at cool car guy they used to be or problems they had for THEIR car.

BAT was a lot more fun when it was just a forum for interesting cars for sale. Now it's a major auction site and not so much fun.
 
Just had to look... Pretty typical of trying to sell an exxe. No one should be surprised by the comments on BAT or what this exxe might sell for. Current bid of $4500 is quite good for any exxe.

Great selling year for the X1/9 in 2018. BaT has been a good avenue for attention and stirring up a frenzy..
Far more positive than negative from what I've seen.

I'd imagine the reserve on the current auction is considerably more than the current bid.

Bonus eBay "rung the bell" sale

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Anyone who lists a car on BAT should expect the line of questioning and getting snippy with the commenters doesn't help. The questions regarding rust are fair considering the seller didn't originally post any photos of the more rust-prone areas. When specifically asked about these areas he simply replied that these cars do not rust at all so he shouldn't even be bothered. If I was a bidder, that would have scared me off right away.
 
Evaluating any moto for rust using Fotos alone is unrealistic. While surface rust could be seen as bubbles under paint and such, how can rust inside the main load bearing structures be properly ascertained for rust?

This brings up the question of what the moto "looks" like -vs- the structural integrity and overall condition areas deep inside the moto that is never easy to assesses by looks alone. Better would be to jack up one corner of the exxe then check for flexure of the body-chassis by how well the doors open-close.

Really depends on what the buyer-owner-driver values, a moto that looks great, a moto that does not look so great but structurally excellent or a moto that is both.


Bernice
 
Having sold a vehicle on BAT, I can tell you that the peanut gallery (i.e. the commenters) are a tough crowd. They demand lots and lots of photos and even videos showing every possible angle of function of the vehicle. If a seller refuses to post photos (regardless of how valuable these photos are) and instead says "trust me", the seller is asking for an even tougher crowd.

The funny thing is, of course, that most of the people demanding these things never even bid. But it's par for the course on BAT. Sellers just need to expect and accept it.

Every seller has an assigned auction manager whose job it is to coach the seller on these things. The coach did not do a good enough job prepping this seller for the peanut gallery.
 
Every seller has an assigned auction manager whose job it is to coach the seller on these things. The coach did not do a good enough job prepping this seller for the peanut gallery.

Sometimes you just are who you are. That seller has sold off a Mondial and a 81 Spider so has a history with BaT.
Calling some in the peanut gallery a**holes and getting your post flagged/removed not really conducive to a big pay day in the end but sure is entertaining..:D
 
Sometimes you just are who you are. That seller has sold off a Mondial and a 81 Spider so has a history with BaT.
Calling some in the peanut gallery a**holes and getting your post flagged/removed not really conducive to a big pay day in the end but sure is entertaining..:D

Wow, missed that.
 
I like the car. Looks like a great buy, and the issues in question seem reversible. If rust not an issue, I hope someone here snaps it up. Cheers.
 
I didn't see any red flags in any of the pix. The bumpers are not my cup of tea, I prefer the stock units over this guy's cut down ones. This "should" go for around $7-8K unless the Seller's reserve is above that.
 
Definitely a fine looking example and I'm rather partial to that color, after all :D. Won't be at all surprised to see it top $10k.
 
I like the car. Looks like a great buy, and the issues in question seem reversible. If rust not an issue, I hope someone here snaps it up. Cheers.
The owner of this car removed the elephant ears and bumper covers and plugged their mounting holes. That's not an insignificant mod. If you wanted to go back to stock you would have to get out the drill and get busy.
IMHO this car would be a great candidate for either a bumperless look, or a euro/'74 bumper conversion.
I can understand how the seller could become annyoyed, too many folks posting questions before thinking. But geezer, he's trying to sell the car, he ought to think about that before he responds. GLWTA
 
Bids are up to $7k now. One hour left. I do not have a pony in this race, I am just interested to see where the finish line is. (And whether a reserve gets met).
 
This is very typical of BAT. For a week the seller is on edge because the tire kickers are talking crap about the car, then as the auction comes to an end the folks that are truly interested in the car start bidding.
I went through this last year with a spider. The last 20 minutes was crazy... and quite fun. In my case the car ended up selling for more than I had expected.
 
Pretty good Frenzy at the end,19 bids in the last few minutes

went for t$11,000 pretty respectable price in my book.
 
Seems like strong money for the car. I make that statement under the assumption that whomever bought it was in the market for a mostly OEM if not original car---after all if they were looking for a car that would be the basis for a project, they could get that for somewhat less.

Assuming my assumption is correct, buyer may be in for a surprise if they didn't catch these issues:
1. Dash cracked in two places
2. Seats reupholstered in OEM pattern but not trying to mimic OEM materials or colors
3. Poorly redyed door cards and driver's door card practically falling off
4. Driver's door courtesy lamp lens cracked
5. Unknown condition of carpet under ill-fitting floor mats
6. A/C conditioning function unknown--don't even know if all components are still there
7. Missing HVAC temp slider knob
8. Well out-of-date Sumi HTR200 tires on original wheels
9. Curious mix of FI hoses, some of which looked to be original or incorrect spec
10. Several missing undercar shields (FI pump shield and starter motor shield); no pics of accessory drive belt shields
11. Missing timing covers
12. Missing OEM air cleaner assy
13. Missing OEM exhaust heat shielding
14. Admittedly it is hard to be sure from the supplied pix, but from some of the side angles it sure looks like a "butterface" Earl Scheib/Maaco type of paint job
15. The modded bumpers are what they are and a matter of personal preference for sure, but judging from what the fronts look like, not a lot "craftsmanship" was invested.
16. Missing battery cover
17. Windshield glass not original, unrecognized replacement brand
 
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