KR200 on ebay

[Bob Purton]

Nice little car but when you take a closer look there is a list as long as you arm of unoriginal parts and incorrect detailing. Wrong mirrors, wrong hubcaps, wrong rear side lights, lots of missing interior trim parts, steering bar colour wrong, inside nosecone colour wrong, odd rubber trim around dashboard to mention but a few. Nothing that couldnt be put right though. Call me picky but it is advertised as "original car" Surely that should mean original spec. It looks set to make a big price regardless! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130193211000&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

[Dan Rodd]

original to me means unrestored.very few original cars about now.

[Stuart Cyphus]

Still "nice" though, in a 1980s sort of way....   

[Dan Rodd]

first thing i thought when i saw it was 2cv dolly!
i do actually like it,the only thing that i would have to change originality wise would be to paint the handlebars cream.

[Jim Janecek]

well, it does say "restored" all over the place in the listing.

I think by "Original car" they mean "not a kit car or custom job"

[Bob Purton]

Well I did say "call me picky"! I did chat with the owner yesterday and he was under the impression that you couldn't get the parts i.e. wing mirrors, hub caps ect, I directed him to the Owners club and told him they were all available but I think he is just a dealer moving it on, perhaps we will see it under new ownership in the summer with all the correct bits on. These high prices for schmitts appear to be not just a blip but sustainable!

[Dan Rodd]

i hope then that opinions within certain circles in the micro scene will change regarding poor people like me who like Reliants,Bond 875's,Fiat 126's and 2cvs etc.This is fast becoming a rich mans pursuit,and if the all go into collections and dealers,will dissapear from rallies of the future.

[Bob Purton]

Come on now Dan, you own a lot more vehicles than most on this forum, my guess is that your loaded!

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

These high prices for schmitts appear to be not just a blip but sustainable!

A high reserve (not yet met unsuprisingly) is not the same thing as a high selling price and I'd always be very wary of reading anything positive into auction where the bidders' identities need to be protected. This is a nice car, it would be nice to know how much it would sell for on the open market but this particular auction is a fudge.

[Dan Rodd]

Come on now Dan, you own a lot more vehicles than most on this forum, my guess is that your loaded!

Im unemployed,live with my mum,have no garage,and have never spent more than £1500 on almost anything.
Everything i have has been got through buing and selling from mopeds working my way up to what i have now,none of which is worth more than £2500.even if i sold everything i had i couldnt afford a complete schmitt.

[Bob Purton]

You know I'm pulling your leg Dan! How do you think I got mine ? I bought a wreck for a grand and spent the next five years rebuilding it as and when I had the money. About them all disappearing never to be seen again at shows, I dont think that is the case, there are more appearing at the rallys every year, not less ! For example at the bath rally last year there were more schmitts in attendance than any other microcar. Because the parts supply is so good now cars that couldnt be restored before are now being resurrected, the reason they are so expensive is because they cost a fortune to restore.
RUSTY CHROME> are you saying that the three last year sold on ebay for £15,000 £13,500, and £11,000 respectively didnt sell? I was under the impression that they did , do you know otherwise for sure? I know what you mean about auction manipulation though, I have been an antiques dealer for the past thirty years and have spent half of that time hanging around auction rooms so I know all the tricks. My only problem with higher values is that the insurance will go up.

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

RUSTY CHROME> are you saying that the three last year sold on ebay for £15,000 £13,500, and £11,000 respectively didnt sell? I was under the impression that they did , do you know otherwise for sure? I know what you mean about auction manipulation though, I have been an antiques dealer for the past thirty years and have spent half of that time hanging around auction rooms so I know all the tricks. My only problem with higher values is that the insurance will go up.

I've absolutely no idea if those other scmitts sold, only that an auction on ebay is a very public advertisement and therefore not always a straightforward exchange of goods for cash. As with almost anything collectable, values are often subject to artificial manipulation for a wide variety of reasons. Ebay auctions where the user ID are kept private are particularly dubious and often little more than straightforward price-fixing between friends without any real intention of making a sale. In many ways Ebay's greatest strength - that it is relatively easy to find rare and unusual items - is also its greatest weakness.

[P50]

[

A high reserve (not yet met unsuprisingly) is not the same thing as a high selling price and I'd always be very wary of reading anything positive into auction where the bidders' identities need to be protected. This is a nice car, it would be nice to know how much it would sell for on the open market but this particular auction is a fudge.

As soon as an item goes over £100 then it becomes a quasi private auction.  The difference being in that the winner (over reserve) is posted.   I suspect this was brought about by Ebay so you as a 3rd party who happens to have teh same thing as listed can offer it to the 2nd bidder.

Thus Evilbay loses its listing fees etc... 

Vee villl have full control by any means!    Must confess lots of rare bits that may have been slung in a skip do crop up. But I personally think Ebay is a nightmare. 

[Bob Purton]

Well, the red and white schmitt is up to £10,000 and the reserve is met, the virtual auctioneer may have been taking bids off the chandelier but it looks like another sale! One thing about ebay auctions is that the potential buyers cant ring it! Ringing it means to conspire with each other to restrict the bidding so that the lot does not reach its true value, the conspirators attend the knock out in a shady back room of a pub after the sale where it is in effect auction again amounst them, one person gets the item and the others in the ring get an equal share of the difference between the first auction price and the second higher knock out price. Its not as good as it sound though because you get a room full of leeches who have no intension of buying anything but are in it for a share of the loot at the knock out. All highly illegal but goes on every day undetected by the fraud squad and the auction rooms. Do I get involved? No fear, it would be more than my "Jobsworth"!! In ebay auctions the advantage is to the unscrupulous sell who gets all his mates to run the price up to the reserve and hopes that a genuine bidder comes in right at the end with the winning bid.

[P50]

Well it achieved £13650.  Prob needs a few quid spending on it to get it 'correct'.

Sign of the times...