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Copart auction questions, answered
Everything about buying salvage and clean title vehicles through Copart auctions without a dealer license: registration, bidding, fees, titles, shipping and more.
46 questions
No. That is exactly what SalvageReseller is for. Copart restricts much of its inventory to licensed dealers, but as a registered Copart broker we hold the licenses and bid on your behalf. You get access to the dealer-only inventory with a free account and no license. A few state rules apply based on where the vehicle is located, for example vehicles in Kansas or Missouri cannot be purchased; contact us to confirm what applies to the vehicle you want. Register free and start bidding today.
Registration is free and takes about a minute: enter your name, email and a valid government ID on the registration page. You must be at least 18 years old. The free membership has no purchase or bidding limits, something most other brokers charge for.
All of the above. Private individuals buy for personal use, businesses buy inventory, and international buyers purchase for export. You do not need to be a US resident, thousands of our members buy from abroad every year.
Without a dealer license, Copart limits what you can buy directly, in many states the public selection is minimal and sells at higher prices. Through a registered broker you access the full dealer inventory of more than 200,000 vehicles. We have been Copart's longest running registered broker since 2004, with transparent fees you can check on our fee calculator.
We are Copart's longest running registered broker, in business since 2004 and operated by Inloher Corp from Coconut Creek, Florida. We hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and have completed over 35,000 vehicle sales. Read real customer reviews, or call us at (954) 671-0160 and talk to a person.
Far more than salvage: clean title cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, boats, RVs and heavy equipment, over 200,000 lots at any time across more than 200 Copart locations. Many are theft recoveries, hail damage, lease returns or fleet vehicles with clean titles that run and drive.
The free membership already lets you bid and buy with no limits. Paid memberships lower your broker fee per purchase (from $299 or 10% down to $249 or 7% monthly, or $249 or 5% yearly) and include free VIN reports (2 per month on Monthly, 10 per year on Yearly). If you buy more than one vehicle, a paid plan usually pays for itself on the first purchase. Compare memberships.
The Basic membership is free. The Monthly plan is $34.99 per month and the Yearly plan is $189.99 per year. Paid plans reduce your per-purchase broker fee and include free VIN history reports.
Paid memberships renew automatically until you cancel, and you can cancel anytime from your account. Membership fees already paid are not refundable, so if you plan to stop, cancel before your renewal date.
No. Unlike most brokers, our free membership has no purchase or bidding limits. Your effective limit is set by your security deposit: you can bid up to 10 times the deposit you have on file.
The Yearly plan: the broker fee drops to $249 or 5% (the lowest tier), you get 10 free VIN reports a year, and it costs less than two months of the monthly plan. On a single $4,000 vehicle the fee savings versus the free plan roughly covers the membership.
Auction bids are binding purchases. The deposit shows Copart and us that you can follow through, and it sets your bidding power. It is not a fee, you get it back.
Your deposit is 10% of your intended maximum bid, with a $600 minimum. It sets your bidding power: you can bid up to 10 times the deposit amount.
Yes, it is 100% refundable as long as you have no outstanding payments, no unpaid vehicles and no preliminary bid you are currently winning. A leading preliminary bid is a binding offer to purchase, so the deposit has to stay on file until that lot sells. Once nothing is pending, request the refund from your account and it returns to your original payment method, processed within 3 business days, subject to clearance.
Primarily if you win a vehicle and fail to pay for it; the deposit can also be applied to unpaid fees or penalties on your account. A cancelled or unpaid purchase triggers a relist fee plus a sale cancellation fee, taken from your deposit. See the fees page for the exact amounts. Never bid more than you are ready to pay.
Every lot has two phases. During preliminary bidding you set your maximum bid in advance, and the system bids for you in increments, only as much as needed to keep you on top. On sale day the lot enters the live virtual auction, which moves fast, usually seconds per lot. Live bids of the same amount beat preliminary bids, so join the live auction when it matters.
Some sellers set a fixed price that lets you skip the auction entirely. Buy It Now is available only before the lot goes to live auction, so if the price makes sense, do not wait for auction day.
No. Every bid is a binding offer to purchase, there is no bid retraction at Copart auctions. Decide your maximum before you bid, and use our fee calculator so that number includes all fees, not just the hammer price.
During preliminary bidding you get an email notification and can raise your maximum. During the live auction you can keep bidding in real time until the lot closes.
Copart runs hundreds of auctions every week, Monday through Friday, across its US locations, each yard has fixed sale days and times. See the live auctions schedule to plan your bidding.
Set a hard maximum before the auction and never chase past it. Research what similar vehicles actually sold for, not what sellers ask. And read our buying tips, written from two decades of auction experience.
Your total includes the Copart buyer fee (tiered by price), an internet bid fee, a gate fee ($79 clean title, $95 non clean), a $145 document fee, a $50 Copart registered broker fee, mailing fees, and our broker fee (from $249 depending on membership). A $3,000 win commonly lands around $4,200 out the door. Run your exact numbers on the fee calculator.
Payment in full is due by wire transfer within three business days, counting auction day. Credit cards, PayPal and similar services are not accepted for vehicle purchases.
No, never. All vehicle payments must be made to Inloher Corp, paying at a Copart facility violates the purchase terms, carries a $200 penalty and can close your account. We pay Copart on your behalf, that is how the broker relationship works.
After 3 business days a $50 late fee applies, and storage charges start accruing at the yard. If payment never arrives within 7 calendar days, the sale is cancelled, the vehicle is relisted, and the relist fee ($600 or 10%) plus a cancellation fee ($300 to $1,000 depending on price) are deducted from your deposit.
Florida law requires sales tax on vehicles sold by Florida dealers. If you are a resident of another state, you are charged your home state rate, capped at Florida's 7%, and many states credit that tax when you register. The full state table is on our fees page.
Yes. Specialty lenders finance salvage and clean title auction purchases, and unsecured personal loans work for any title type. The key is getting prequalified before you bid, payment is due within three business days counting auction day. See your real options on our financing page.
It means Copart verified the vehicle started and moved under its own power at the yard, at one moment in time. It is not a mechanical inspection and not a guarantee it will drive when you pick it up. Treat it as a starting point and verify further with a VIN report or an inspection.
Clean means never branded a total loss. Salvage means an insurer declared it a total loss, it cannot be driven until repaired, inspected and re-titled. Rebuilt means it already passed that inspection and can be registered. Non-repairable can never return to the road, parts and scrap only. Match the title to your goal before bidding, our buying tips break down each type.
Yes, two ways. Visit the yard in person, entering a Copart yard requires a Copart Basic membership. Or order a professional pre-purchase inspection from an independent service such as CarInspector and never leave home.
Run a VIN history report: accidents, title brands, odometer readings, theft records and past sale listings, drawn from NMVTIS backed data. Paid members get reports included (10 per year on Yearly, 2 per month on Monthly). For salvage vehicles it is the cheapest insurance in the process.
Yes, thousands. Theft recoveries with minimal damage, hail damage vehicles, repossessions, lease returns and fleet cars all come through Copart with clean titles, often at 40 to 60 percent below retail. Filter by title type and condition in our search.
Approach them with caution. Water damage corrodes modern electronics and problems can appear months later, repairs often exceed the vehicle value. The damage type is listed on every lot, and a VIN report reveals flood brands from other states.
Vehicles must leave the Copart yard within 3 days of purchase, including the sale day, after that, daily storage fees start (from $5 rising to $40 per day). Book transport as soon as you win, the full storage schedule is on our fees page.
You can pick up the vehicle yourself with the release authorization, or hire a transporter. Get an instant quote on our transportation page, national door-to-door and international shipping. Note: transporters are independent companies, we do not manage the transportation itself.
After your payment clears, we send you a Vehicle Release Authorization by email. That document, plus a valid photo ID, is what lets you or your transporter pick the vehicle up from the Copart yard. Share the release code with your transporter to confirm the pickup window.
No. All auction vehicles are sold as is, where is, with no returns or warranties. Important: pickup is the last chance to review the vehicle, once it leaves the Copart yard, Copart will not accept claims, and any transport damage is a matter between you and your transporter. Inspect at the yard before it ships.
After full payment, Copart mails the vehicle documents to us and we forward them to you by USPS Express Mail. The mailing fee is $55 in the United States and $70 to Canada. Title processing is estimated at about 30 days, and we do our best to send them out as soon as possible.
Yes. You do not need to be a US resident or hold any US license, international members buy and export vehicles every day. Register free with your passport or national ID and bid like any other member.
By international wire transfer to our Bank of America account, within the same three business day window. Bank to bank transfers can take 1 to 3 days, so send payment immediately after winning. Arrange your funds before bidding, the deadline applies worldwide.
Get an instant international shipping quote on our transportation page: container and RoRo service to ports worldwide, with inland trucking from the Copart yard to the departure port. Export documentation is handled as part of the shipping process.
Si, hablamos espanol. Call us at (954) 671-0160 and our bilingual team will walk you through registration, bidding, payment and export, and this entire site is available in Spanish.
Three steps: pay in full by wire within three business days counting auction day, receive your Vehicle Release Authorization by email, then pick up or ship the vehicle within 3 days of the sale to avoid storage. The title follows by mail after payment. Full walkthrough on our How to Buy page.
Rules vary by state, but the pattern is: repair the vehicle, keep receipts and photos, pass your state's salvage inspection, and the DMV issues a rebuilt title you can register and insure. Some states restrict which salvage vehicles qualify, check your state rules before you bid, not after.
Bids are binding, so cancellation has real costs: a $300 to $1,000 cancellation fee depending on the price, plus the relist fee ($600 or 10%) if the vehicle returns to auction, deducted from your deposit. If something unexpected happens, call us immediately at (954) 671-0160, the sooner we know, the more options exist.
It depends where the issue appeared. Condition issues visible at the yard must be raised before the vehicle leaves, auction vehicles are sold as is. Transport damage is a claim with your transporter, note it on the delivery report before signing. For anything about payment, documents or titles, call us at (954) 671-0160.
Still have questions?
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