Actually, I think it's a really good idea. What if you place a maximum bid that's above the reserve price but no one else matches it? Under the "old" system, if the auction was below the reserve price and the minimum bid the proxy system puts in is below the reserve price and no one else bids, you lose the auction, even though you indicated that you were willing to pay an amount above the reserve price. The seller may make an offer, but they may also assume that you didn't want to pay anywhere near the reserve price and thus won't try.

Given that with most vehicle sales, the seller wants to get a minimum price for it, I think this new setup makes it more likely that that will happen.

Just my $.02