1990 Olds Cutlass Supreme (8,000 miles)

No Reserve: 8k-Mile 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Coupe for sale on BaT Auctions - ending July 21 (Lot #79,300) | Bring a Trailer

 

Friend in high school had one of these. I'll just say if he can get $6k for it, he should take it and run. At 8k miles, it's practically a museum piece of 1990s car nostalgia.

 

Current bid is $6,200 with less than 7 hours left! Woohoo! Honestly, given the mileage and the current market for 90s cars, I would have assumed this would have gone for more than that. Even with a 2.3L engine. Who knows. Maybe there will be a last minute flurry and it'll get up over $8,000? It makes you wonder how cars like this wound up only being driven 8.3k though. However, with low mileage modern cars like this, I always wonder about the condition of the fuel system and the injectors with old fuel that sat in them for who knows how many years.

 

It kind of surprises me the way BaT runs these auctions. In addition to showing who placed a bid and when, the running commentary has people posting anything they want about the car for sale. In this case, there are a number of posts denigrating both the car and GM in general. If I'm the seller, and I'm paying BaT some money, I don't particularly think I want these kinds of comments about the car I'm trying to sell. I'm surprised they don't just limit the postings to the bids.

Examples:

"This vehicle might represent the nadir of GM’s design and build quality from this forgettable and misguided era."

"This is such a time capsule! Not to denigrate this example, but the GM10 (later called W body) cars were truly the death of GM by that bean counting ninny Roger Smith."

"Yes this body Cutlass was better overall than the previous rwd ones, but noise, vibration, and harshness it wasn’t as good. From best selling car in the world to an also ran. GM has never recovered from this mistake."


Sheesh, guys. Shut up and go away.

 

they do have an option to flag comment as non-constructive.

 

Does that make the comment go away? If not, what's the point? I don't need to be told when a comment is non-constructive. I can figure it out for myself.

This not a chat room. The guy is trying to sell a car, not debate the merits of Oldsmobile styling or GM business decisions.

 

yes, it goes away, and from when I'm watching bids it seems BAT is pretty quick in making it go away.

 

I'm surprised the seller hasn't flagged the negatives. I sure would.

 

As a long time BaT follower and sometimes seller, I have been told by management that there is an algorithm for flagged comments. A seller can flag comments, but additional flags are required to remove the comment. No explanation on the details, however profane or inappropriate comments are removed immediately. Since Hearst Publishing purchased BaT, there has been a huge growth in audience as well as offerings. Many of the new users have been criticized by “old timers” for lack of decorum.

 

Sold for $6,650 on 7/21/22

 

I guess the bottom line for me is, if I had a car to sell, I wouldn't put it on BaT. Why should I if any idiot can come along and call my car a piece of trash (or a "mistake," like in this auction), and it takes moving heaven and earth to get the comment removed? Why does BaT allow comments at all? They don't add anything to the sale experience. There are other auction sites, like ebay and Hemmings, that are just as well known if not more so, and they stick to the auction itself. Maybe BaT thinks it's being more informal and encouraging conversation among the guys, but the concept is backfiring.

 

I think we all know what "profane" means, but the definition of "inappropriate" is in the eye of the beholder. To my mind, all three of the comments I quoted earlier in this thread would fall under the category of "inappropriate" and should have been removed immediately by the site moderator. The seller should not have to ask for them to be removed.

 

Some better wheels and the nicer Olds rally steering wheel and this would be a great car. Certainly I'd prefer the previous G-Body to this, but that doesn't make it a bad car. The W-Body might not have been overly exciting, but they sold a ton of them and they seemed to hold up pretty well from what I have seen.

 

I have sold through multiple forums from Facebook Groups to auctions. Each has its place based on the car itself. Some cars are not appropriate for Hemmings or BaT. They both used to do a better job of screening their offering, but the almighty dollar brings in more marginal offerings. My experience is that BaT will bring top dollar for the right car, with Hemmings a close second. Both charge the bidders fee against your credit card so you know the sale will go through. eBay is another story. I “sold”’ a very nice Mustang GT three times on eBay and each time the buyer flaked out. Same car with RNM on BaT, got what it was worth on Hemmings, so sometimes you never know.