by ZachC

 Once again this week’s column started out with a small group going through the auctions to find a few good buggies to bring to you. With somewhere around 2,500 buggies listed at any given time the task is overwhelming. This isn’t because we try to find the best of the best, that would take even longer. It’s because we have to wade through so many to find anything decent that hasn’t been reviewed before. As one of my helpers asked, “Why do some of these people even bother to list this stuff?” Interesting question and I wish I knew the answer. We have buggies that have been listed for years and don’t sell. We have buggies that look like someone barfed on the template and submitted it. We have buggies that look like they were done by filling the template with one color. We have buggies that show how much pride a person has in their work because they used someone else’s textures.  

There’s one buggy that’s been priced at 100,000t that’s been listed regularly for over 3 years! The last one sold over a year ago. The difference this time is that he listed 2 instead of the one he’s been listing.  You can put this one along with all the other buggies being listed by “designers” who no longer bother to log in. There are roughly TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED buggies listed including resales! It’s no wonder no one can find a decent buggy in auctions. Don’t get me wrong, scattered among them are a few jewels but few have the patience to dig then out. That’s what we’ve been trying to do with this column, but it’s getting frustrating. Some “designers” are creating reputations by listing this stuff, and it isn’t good. If someone can please tell me why “designers” list buggies that have never sold, or buggies that are so old they look their age, over and over and over, could you get back to me? I’ll be happy to print those reasons and maybe my team will understand too. 

This week we simply got worn down by the overwhelming number of sad and/or really old buggies, so it was suggested we try something new. What we’re going to do is present three currently listed new buggies and two classics.  

To start the new buggies, BigD26 came out with one this past week. The DMC Kalibra-2008 is beautifully done. It shines, the seats are great, and the dash is original and looks good. The buggy is a deep blue color with excellent detail. This one is priced at only 13,850t and I can’t help but believe this may be one of the best buggy bargains available in auctions today.

 

Next is the Basic Black by DE37TIMECH. This is his first buggy and it’s extremely well done. I do know that Garth (DE37TIMECH) has some previous PhotoShop experience and it shows. The Basic Black is priced at 14,850t making it only slightly more expensive that the Kalibra-2008. In other words another great bargain! Garth is just getting started and if this buggy is any indication he may become the next top buggy designer. If that happens this could be a buggy that will go up in value, provided it isn’t listed over and over for years… and knowing Garth I doubt that will be the case. 

Next we have the X5X Goldrush by BikerX5X. This is a gold colored buggy with an interesting use of beveling and gradients. Biker has only done a few buggies, but he’s got talent and I hope to see more from him in the future. This buggy is also a great bargain. It’s priced at 14,500t and worth every penny.  

This week we’ve brought you three inexpensive new buggies that could easily get overlooked in the morass of the auctions. Now we’re going to show you a couple of classics.  

What makes a buggy a classic? Ask different collectors and you’ll get very similar answers. First it helps if it’s been around for awhile; older buggies tend to be worth more. Next it should be by someone who’s known and who has a good reputation, as in keeps their word, and no texture theft. It also helps if the buggy was limited and/or is no longer available in auctions. Finally it should be an attractive design. So when someone offers you a one of a kind buggy, remember, there’s a difference between a buggy that’s rare and collectable, and a buggy that’s so bad no one bought any making the designer’s the only copy in world.

There are exceptions to each of these “rules”. A few buggies become “instant collectables”, and there are some old buggies that are so bad they may be valuable if you’re into ugly buggy contests. There are also a few by designers you may not have heard of that are collectable, for example, the Bandit Limited Edition by Valentine_Wolfe from February 2004. This Bandit is also an example of an instant collectable. I haven’t seen one in auction for a very long time. It went up in value the minute it sold out. Finally there are those buggies that bring back memories for old time members. I call them nostalgic collectables and they frequently defy all the other rules. I won’t be commenting on prices for any of these buggies. The price is determined by the market.

 

This week I found 2 original Bel Air Buggies by Spyderbytez in the auctions. These are well done, good looking buggies by the premiere buggy designer dating back to late 2003 and early 2004. These buggies meet all the criteria for being a collectable with the plus that they’re also a nostalgic collectable! The Bel Air was a limited buggy and expensive even when it was new. Interestingly I found two of them in auction which is unusual for this buggy. They’re listed for 349,000t and 300,069t respectively.  

The second classic is the QGear GT Hornet by Alixandrea. This buggy dates back t around April of 2004. Alixandrea did some amazing buggies and to me all of her work is collectable. I own several QGear Buggies including the Hornet, and wouldn’t mind adding a few more. This Hornet is listed for 216,699t.  

Even if the prices put you off, check them out. If you’re a new designer you can try and figure out what makes a buggy good. If you’re a collector on a budget you can look them over and drool and dream of maybe someday finding one at a bargain price! It happens.  

My thanks to Onus, Crazy124, Orphal, Burnout_King, and ForSheetzNGigglz for their input in this week’s column.