“Is it Real?” (Pt. 2)

<p>Alex, Tyler and Beck welcome first-timer Christian, the head of our Customer Service team and one of the people at BaT who is most observant of the human personality (even if he can't ever remember the customer service number, which is 415-787-0961 for anyone looking). Christian gives a quick description of the Customer Service landscape before the crew get down to a couple vintage Questions of the Week, covering phantom old car sounds; a seized Alfa V6; the automotive form of ignorance=bliss; a sudden nosedive in a '90s Honda; why they tell you to check your torque settings after 500 miles; stuck-open throttles; cars that left big impressions; and what model year they'd choose to get stuck with forever.</p><p>The group then moves on to the somewhat more intense subject of where modern internet freakout culture and confirmation bias collide with conspicuous wealth and discomfort with change, most commonly exemplified by something along the lines of "There's no way that [insert an auction result you don't like or understand here] is real!" Our wise and experienced staffers, who are closer to the realities of the car auction market than anyone, offer up the reasons that yes—it is real.</p><p><strong>Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:</strong></p><p>20:43  <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/editorial/question-of-the-week/?q=qotw" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Question of the Week</a> archive</p><p>34:05  <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2004-honda-element-19/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">758-Mile 2004 Honda Element EX 4WD</a> Sold for USD $42,750 on 3/06/2025</p><p>39:49  <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-acura-nsx-zanardi-edition-5/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">One-Owner, 23k-Mile 1999 Acura NSX Zanardi Edition #22</a> Sold for USD $628,000 on 9/23/2026</p><p>40:11  @<a href="https://bringatrailer.com/member/speedman9000/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">speedman9000</a> Member since February 2024</p><p>44:23  <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1952-jaguar-xk120-20/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster</a> Sold for USD $64,507 on 9/18/2026</p><p>45:32  <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-ford-gt-heritage-edition-48/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">8-Mile, One-Owner 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition</a> Sold for USD $2,101,000 on 8/04/2026</p><p>47:56 <a href="https://brin