Wholesale vs. Retail: Only $3k Apart!?

October 11, 2022

Two identical cars sell days apart, one wholesale, one retail, separated by only $3,000.

The 2022 Boxster 25 Years pictured above sold on Bring a Trailer for $119,000. One day later, an identical 2022 Boxster 25 Years sold at a wholesale dealer-only auction for $116,000, which begs the question: did a dealer just pay retail for a car or did a seller steal a car for wholesale?

In the last year since the debut of the 25th Anniversary car, only 2 of the 7 cars offered via online retail auction have found new homes. The most expensive of which was an early car selling for $121,000 and our Bring a Trailer car being the only other to sell.

For a limited edition car, 1 of only 1,250, quite a few can be found sitting on dealership lots with recent price drops of $2-6,000. Add to that the number of no-sales at online auctions, and the signs are all pointing in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately, like the previous special edition Boxsters of prior years, the 25th Anniversary cars aren’t the instant collectibles many hoped they would be. I’d certainly call this poorly bought by the wholesale dealer as he just paid retail for a car to sit on his lot as the market turns south on these special cars.