Vehicle auctions

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Vehicle auctions range from dealer-only wholesale sales to salvage yards and collector events. These guides show where specific vehicles turn up, how to check them, and what the real cost is after fees and shipping.

Guides by vehicle

Main auction sources

• Copart: Largest US salvage and clean-title online auction; many lots need a dealer license or a registered broker.
• IAA (IAAI): Insurance and fleet vehicles, salvage and clean titles; check each lot's buyer eligibility.
• AutoBidMaster: Registered Copart broker that lets the public bid on many lots without a dealer license (broker fees apply).
• eBay Motors: Private and dealer listings, auction or Buy It Now; strong for clean-title muscle cars and work trucks.
• Cars & Bids: Enthusiast auctions for modern (1980s and newer) cars; Hellcats, Demons and Scat Packs appear often.
• Bring a Trailer: Curated enthusiast auctions with long comment threads; good for low-mile and collector-grade cars.
• Mecum Auctions: Live collector-car auctions with online bidding; frequent modern Mopar performance cars.
• Barrett-Jackson: Live collector-car auctions; special-edition Demons and Hellcats show up here.
• ACV Auctions: Dealer-only wholesale auctions with inspection reports; you need a dealer license.
• Manheim: Dealer-only wholesale auctions, including fleet and lease returns; dealer license required.
• GovDeals: Government and utility fleet trucks, box trucks and vans, often with maintenance history.
• Public Surplus: City, county, school and university surplus, including fleet pickups and box trucks.
• GSA Auctions: Federal surplus vehicles, including fleet pickups and cargo trucks.
• IronPlanet: Online equipment and truck auctions, including heavy-duty pickups and box trucks.
• Purple Wave: No-reserve online auctions of trucks, equipment and municipal fleet vehicles.
• HiBid: Aggregates local auction houses; search for trucks near you.
• CarGurus: Retail listings with deal ratings; use it to compare auction bids against dealer prices.

Buyer fees: budget before you bid

Your winning bid is not your price. Expect some mix of a buyer fee (often tiered by sale price), an internet or virtual-bid fee, a gate or loading fee, a document or title fee, broker fees if you use one, storage fees if you pick up late, plus sales tax, registration and transport. Fees change, so read the current schedule before every bid: Copart member fees · IAA buyer fees. Government sites like GovDeals add a buyer's premium that varies by seller and is shown on each listing.

Title types: salvage vs. clean

• Clean: no recorded total loss. Easiest to register, insure, finance and resell.
• Salvage / certificate of destruction: an insurer declared it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven or registered until repaired and inspected; a certificate of destruction usually means parts only.
• Rebuilt / reconstructed: a salvage vehicle that passed a state inspection. Drivable, but resale value and insurance options are lower.
• Bill of sale only / non-repairable: be very careful; registration may be difficult or impossible in your state.

Rules differ by state. Check your DMV before bidding on anything that is not clean-title. In South Carolina, start with the SCDMV.

New to car auctions? Read how to buy cars at public and salvage auctions, or find auctions by location.