Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

Sunday well spent with the fam at Barrett-Jackson! This was my first time attending the iconic car show and I gotta say - it was pretty cool! Even a car novice like myself could appreciate the thousands of brands and models on display. There are styles for everyone, my personal favorites being the land rovers, from vintage models to the newest ones.

The space is HUGE and packed with cars as far as the eyes can see. What I wasn't expecting was all the other random stuff being sold. Clothing, furniture, art, you name it! There was a little bit of everything, so it was fun to wander around and check out the different booths. We even saw a few helicopters!

My favorite part of the day had to be the foot long corn dog. Best $15 I've ever spent.

We go to Barrett Jackson every year. They have lots of interesting vendors, food(local eats and carney style) and things to do. My favorite adventure was getting in with a professional driver and drifting in the new Toyota Supra. They also offer rides in a Corvette , Mustang GT, Dodge Challenger and new this year the Mach E. There's and off road course if you want to get jiggled about. These are all included in the price you pay for general admission.
Ford, Chevy and Dodge give away a free shirt with email sign up.
They have thousands of cars on display from some of the largest brands such as Ford, Chevy, Cadillac, Lexus, BMW Toyota as well as all of the cars up for auction. There are a few RV and boat dealers too.

First time, we enjoyed the 1900+ car auction. So much to see. We were there for hours. Watching the live car auction was fun. We also enjoyed one of the best hot dogs at "Mama'sDogs". Loved the owner and as a special bonus they had Cleveland stadium mustard.
I WOULD RECOMMEND

I would give them zero stars if I could. These guys don't care about their customers at all. We spent 250k at it's auction, had a problem and not only would Mike McCullough not help us, he told the consignors not to help us. He, and the rest of the staff are pieces of s***. If you want to go to a great auction, go to Mecum. Barrett used to care but not anymore and they lie about what they promise. And they can't afford to have the trash picked up. Tom B is probably rolling in his grave.

This is one of those after holiday events I occasionally go to. Barrett-Jackson goes on for a week in January and is held at WestWorld in Scottsdale. Despite how much of a pain the ticket, parking, and security process can be, I do enjoy watching people bid on cars and walking around the vendor area. The showcase room always has some beautiful cars to look at. There is also food and drink options if you get hungry. The number of people in attendance and ticket prices increase during the weekend when the more valuable cars go up for auction.

Barrett-Jackson is a American collector car auction company that started in 1971 and is headquartered in Scottsdale. These auctions take place in other cities like Las Vegas, Palm Beach, and Houston and are televised. It's not unusual to see celebrities attending Barrett-Jackson. Some of them even put up their own cars for auction. Barrett-Jackson is also known for their philanthropic efforts as they raise money for many charities through the sale of their vehicles.

Poor auction practices, slow to non-existent customer service. The bidder assistants should have service dogs, they can't seem to communicate with the bidders. Great for looking, just don't buy anything.

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!

After our experience with Barrett-Jackson I felt compelled to leave this review to warn others about what we feel is a business model that is set up to enable bad actors to benefit from consumers.

We attended our first (and last) Barrett-Jackson auction in October 2023 in New Orleans. We'd seen the auction on TV and thought it would be fun to attend one in person. We had a goal of purchasing a vehicle for our son if the right opportunity presented itself.

We spent time going over the auction lot information and found a few vehicles of interest. One was a 2010 Mercedes Benz GL450. We were able to view the vehicle but there were signs at the auction telling attendees that they're supposed to look but not touch any of the auction vehicles. Now we know why.

We bid for the GL450 and won with a $13,500 offer. This seemed in line with what the vehicle, with about 60K miles, would cost on the retail market. We paid an additional $2K to have the SUV shipped from New Orleans to our home in Texas. Once we took delivery, the problems started immediately.

When I got in the car I quickly found that the AC didn't work. I drove it home and found many other issues. The automatic liftgate didn't work and both turn signals blinked fast revealing that there was a problem. Turned out that both side mirror turns signals needed replacing. Once home the alarm triggered randomly and I found that the windshield washer tube had a leak. I also found several cut wire connectors in the ashtray. The car needed new tires, brakes, and wipers - but we expected this.

Because we knew the AC needed to be fixed we took it to our local Mercedes Benz dealership and discovered the magnitude of problems the vehicle had. Here is a list of those problems:
Needed a new battery
Sticking thermostat needed replacing
Collapsed transmission mount needed replacing
Crankshaft pulley was damaged and needed repair along with a new belt
AC compressor needed replaced and several cut wires associated needed to be reconnected
Several cut wires (presumably from a bad attempt at installing an aftermarket stereo) caused issues such as the fuel gauge not working and the liftgate not working.
Electrical controller module inop

We had some normal servicing done but aside from that the repair bill came out to over $8,000! And that was before the cost of new tires and brakes which we knew we'd have to replace. In addition, we were told that much of the damage seems to have been a result of the car being flooded. This probably should have been a salvage vehicle.

It is fairly simple to ascertain that Barrett-Jackson doesn't even do a cursory inspection of the vehicles they sell for consignors. A simple look in the engine compartment, a flip of the AC switch, or a look in the ashtray containing cut wire ends would have revealed that this vehicle had many costly maintenance issues. But rather than do this the company falls back on an iron clad "as-is" selling policy so they can just get their 10% reseller fee. Of course, this legal tactic (which should be illegal) indemnifies them and places all of the risk on the buyer - requiring them to act with zero integrity. It is suggested that bidders interested in a vehicle contact the consignor to find out information on any vehicle of interest before bidding. However, consignors for vehicles on the lower end of the price range do not show up to the auctions. They realize answering questions would only reduce the amount they could receive for their lot.

It's quite clear that the Barrett-Jackson business model places bidders/buyers at a severe disadvantage. Because bidders aren't allowed to touch the vehicles, they can only look inside (if the windows are down, which is not always the case). They cannot get under the hood, inspect the condition of the interior, or test to see which features operate correctly. They have no way of knowing what problems might be hidden. And because of Barrett-Jackson's sold "as-is" policy there is no method for recourse if a vehicle is misrepresented. Consignors who know this can take advantage and sell problematic cars for higher prices than they could at a proper dealership because Barrett-Jackson obviously does not require vehicles to meet any standard other than being able to make it to the auction block.

Our Barrett-Jackson experience was beyond disappointing. The company, reflecting its horrible ethical stance, didn't even respond to my BBB complaint. I'm sure they receive these often. All I can do now is post my experience on as many review sites as possible -- and it seems I'm not the only victim. I will never attend this, or any other auction like it and I will warn everyone I know, every chance I get, to avoid them as well.

If you want to watch or attend to see cool cars, great. But if you're thinking about buying a car at one of these auctions I HIGHLY DISCOURAGE IT. Avoid making a purchase at all costs because this is essentially a legal way to scam people.

I had a 2000 Corvette auctioned off at Barrett Jackson in June 2023. Now CityWide towing is harassing me because they want $2300.00 for the car at their place. They state the title is in my name. I contacted Barrett Jackson and was told that is my issue. I will have to email Citywide and the DMV. I can be sued. The car obviously was wrecked and abandoned. It isn't worth anything. It should not be my problem. How do I get Barrett Jackson to correct this? Maybe that is why they continue to lose business. They do not change titles of cars.

Sellers Beware!! My parents purchased a 1957 Chevrolet Belair Hardtop (turquoise) in October of 1957 days before their wedding and it's in our family's possession to this day! It was always my Dad's wish to sell it at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale and be there to see it sold. Sadly, he passed in 2021 at age 91. My 88 year old mother, my 2 brothers and I decided to see my Dad's dream come true so my brother in Phoenix contacted Barrett-Jackson. After reviewing hundreds of pictures of the '57, B-J accepted the car. We were advised to ship the car quickly from South Dakota due to weather concerns. We did so to my brother in Phoenix to be housed in his garage til the sale. We were given a sell date of Monday, January 22, 2024. B-J was doing "something new and exciting" on Monday to bring more buyer interest and we were told that our car would be perfect. I purchased airline tickets for my brother and Mom from South Dakota and me from Pennsylvania because we all wanted to be there for my Dad to see his pride and joy sold. HERE IT COMES...Then, when we asked our B-J rep approximately what time the car was slotted to be sold on the 22nd, we were informed that "maybe we could ship the car to Las Vegas to be possibly sold there at that auction." Are you kidding me!!!! When we advised the rep that, no, that was not happening....keep in mind that the car had been accepted for sale in Scottsdale, we were told to get it shipped there from South Dakota and we had a sell date of January 22, 2024, we were ignored...no phone calls or emails answered. So, unfortunately, we had no choice but to pull the car from the auction. Sadly, we could not fulfill our Dad's dream after all. So, please beware when selling a car through Barrett Jackson! This is how they treat people....

I purchased a ticket to attend the Barret Jackson event in Scottsdale, AZ. Upon arriving to the event, the gate was closed and I was unable to attend. I have attended the event in previous years and had no issues getting into the event for the last few hours. The website does not provide a specific time to close doors.

The Barret Jackson rep explained she could not assist and provided me with the number to AXS.

I spoke with a rep at AXS, she explained she would put in a ticket and have the situation looked in to for further review. I called a few days later to follow up.

My ticket was denied because the rep said that all sales were final. I asked to speak with leadership, the rep stated they are a call center and do not have leadership. She was also very rude and dismissive when it came to the customer experience.

Biggest issues: The situation is fluid as there is no stated closing time for the event on the website. I purchased a ticket for an event I could not attend to no fault of my own. The lack of discovery or attempt to find a resolution is concerning and I will make sure my money is spent with another ticket vendor outside of AXS. I will leave several more reviews as my situation was not resolved.