Field notes · Cars · 24 October 2026
A seven-figure car bought on a screen is bought on its record
Hagerty counted a dozen cars sold for more than $1M online in September, against eight in a sale room. Fewer top-end cars now carry a reserve. The free VIN checks a bidder can run from home were built for cars made from 1981 on.
In brief
Hagerty published its September 2026 market report on 21 October 2026. A dozen cars sold for more than $1M in online auctions in September, against eight at live venues. At the $1M-plus level, 70% of cars offered carried a reserve, down from 84% a year earlier. Hagerty puts that down to strength at the top of the market. September auction volume was up 41% on 2025. The average sale price was up 30% year on year and the median was up 7%, so the gains sit mostly at the top. Hagerty's Market Rating, its measure of overall activity, was 58.73, down 0.01 on the month.
A bidder on a screen sees the photographs, the listing and whatever checks they run. The free ones have limits. NICB's VINCheck needs a correct 17-digit VIN and searches only the theft, salvage and flood records its member companies report. NICB says a clean result does not mean a clean history. NHTSA's VIN decoder covers model years 1981 and later. A 1960s chassis number falls outside both. Two dated readings frame the money around these sales. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75 to 4 percent on 16 September 2026. The 10-year Treasury yield was 5.00% on 23 October 2026, US Treasury data show.
What it turns on
- The screen has replaced the sale room at the top. Hagerty counted twelve $1M-plus cars sold online in September and eight in a room. Online, a bidder works from photographs and a listing unless they arrange to see the car.
- Fewer reserves put the weight on the paperwork. Seven in ten $1M-plus cars carried a reserve in September, against more than eight in ten a year before. Without one, the car goes at the last bid, and the documents are what that bid priced.
- The free checks start in 1981. NICB's VINCheck needs a 17-digit VIN and NHTSA's decoder covers model years 1981 and later. An older chassis number falls outside both, and a clean result proves only that nothing was reported.
What we do about it
- 01Record every number on the car. Chassis or VIN, engine, body and trim tags, each photographed where it is stamped, with the date.
- 02Match the numbers to the paper. Title, factory or heritage certificate, build sheet and any registry entry. A mismatch goes on the record, not in a footnote.
- 03Write down what each check covered. A VINCheck searches only what NICB's member companies report. NHTSA's decoder starts at model year 1981. An inspection is one person's view on one day. The limits belong on the record.
- 04Record each hand-off. Consignor to auction house to transporter to buyer, with dates and condition photographs at each step.
Check it yourself
Tell us what you need held, or proven. Write to hello@brich.house