My Experience Buying through Copart.com

PG5

Well-Known Member
Moderator edit June 2023
When purchasing through Copart, if you require a broker, we recommend caution when choosing ABetterBid.com. Their shipping department is so slow that you will be charged storage fees while you wait for them to get someone to pick up your car. Instead. Go to AutoBidMaster.com.


This is my experience of purchasing through Copart. Hopefully, it helps someone out.

Within many states, you can buy through Copart without a broker. You can check out your state's requirements here: https://www.copart.com/content/US/EN/landing-page/no-license-required?intcmp=lp_nolicense_licensingsidebar

Getting Setup is Easy
I live in Texas, so I didn’t need to use a broker. Signing up as a basic member is free. You will need to upload a photocopy of your driver’s license before you can bid.

There are two kinds of Memberships
Basic Member (Free) - You’re only allowed to bid on one auction at a time and up to $1,000. To bid over $1,000 you’ll need to make a deposit to increase your buying power. I did find that If I bid on a car and lost the auction I still couldn’t bid on another car that same day.​
Premier Member ($$$) - It’ll cost you a one time fee of $200 and a supposedly refundable $400 deposit. It basically lifts your bidding restrictions, but you still pay the same buyer fees as a basic member. I didn’t feel this was necessary and think it would end up costing your extra in the end.​

Most Vehicles will list a Highlight
This is a letter designation next to its year.​
E - Basically means it's not verified as running (Note: my G5 was listed as E but started right up after I reconnected the starter wire)​
S - It starts and idles​
R - Runs & Drives, can be put into gear and moves forward​

There are a few Auction Types
Minimum Bid – Basically means there is a reserve price. If the reserve isn’t met, the seller can still accept your bid.​
On Approval – Seller Gets to choose if he likes your winning bid. The seller can send you a counter offer which you can accept or decline. If you decline, the seller can still accept your original winning bid.​
Pure Sale – Whatever it goes for, it goes for​

There are basically two ways to bid
Pre-Bidding - You enter your maximum bid and the computer will bid on your behalf up to that amount.​
Bidding at Auction - You wait till the car goes to the live auction. You wait for the car to go across the block. You click the little bid button up to the amount you feel comfortable and pray Mexico doesn’t outbid you.​

Once you win the auction you’ll be paying a few fees
You'll need to pay for your car within 3 days and pick it up in 5 days (including the day of the auction). There is more information about that here: https://www.copart.com/Content/US/EN/Support/How-to-Buy/Pay-and-Pick-Up
Sale Price - The Winning Bid​
Buyer Fee - These fees are based on the chart located here: https://www.copart.com/memberFees/. You’ll basically be paying the fee on either column C or D depending on the payment method.​
Internet Bid Fee - I’m not sure why, but they charge it.​
Gate Fee - If you’re going to pick up the car they charge for that too. It’s $59. But they bring you the car on a forklift which is kind of cool. That horrified my friend. I opted to have my car delivered, and they didn’t charge me this fee.​
Delivery - Each auction has an estimated delivery fee in the lower left-hand corner. You can pickup your car.​
Sales Tax - They charge sales tax on the: Sale Price, Buyer Fee, Internet Bid Fee, Gate Fee & Delivery. It was 8.25% in Texas. I read that out of state buyers may be charged sales tax as well.​

So for example here is the breakdown of my winning bid:
Winning Bid $200.00​
Member Fee $135.00​
Sales Tax $43.64​
Gate Fee $0.00​
Internet Fee $29.00​
Shipping $165.00​
Total $572.64​
 
Last edited by a moderator:

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
I wish I would have read this before I got into it. Now that I have won an auction, I know better now about everything. I was not charged sales tax on anything. I paid using my wife credit card (actually I have one on the same account) but I didn't enter my name, I used her name. BIG MISTAKE! They block my sale and tacked on $1000. It took an entire afternoon with my wife, her passport, driver's license and a lot of convincing to get them to approve the sale and remove the $1000.
 

PG5

Well-Known Member
Great write-up, thanks
Thanks!

I wish I would have read this before I got into it. Now that I have won an auction, I know better now about everything. I was not charged sales tax on anything. I paid using my wife credit card (actually I have one on the same account) but I didn't enter my name, I used her name. BIG MISTAKE! They block my sale and tacked on $1000. It took an entire afternoon with my wife, her passport, driver's license and a lot of convincing to get them to approve the sale and remove the $1000.
Yeah, I read your post. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I guess each Copart location is a little different. Every part of my Copart experience was a positive one. Even the delivery driver was nice and helped me push the car into my garage. He did seem a little confused as to why I was so excited about a 9yr old wrecked Pontiac. I guess he felt sorry for me.
 

k.rollin

Goblin Guru
Your experience very nearly mirrors mine, right down to the total purchase price and the breakdown thereof, within $50.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Within many states, you can buy through Copart without a broker.

So for example here is the breakdown of my winning bid:
Winning Bid $200.00
Member Fee $135.00
Sales Tax $43.64
Gate Fee $0.00
Internet Fee $29.00
Shipping $165.00
Total $572.64​
Geeeezus I over spent. Oh well.

Mine was marked "runs and drives", and it did but not until after the battery was replaced.
 

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Geeeezus I over spent. Oh well.

Mine was marked "runs and drives", and it did but not until after the battery was replaced.
I probably paid more than anyone being desperate to get a SS/SC. Ugh! But I did find that it had 40 series tires on it saving me $1000. Mine "runs and drive" with a dead battery also. Oh, and it came with the lug nut tool!!
 

Vtx

New Member
Gentlement,
when you register a vehicle bought on copart, what is the basis for sales tax?
For example, you win an auction with the price of $20,000 but retail price of this vehicle is $50,000. Which of those numbers dmv considers for sales tax?
Thanks.
 

ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Gentlement,
when you register a vehicle bought on copart, what is the basis for sales tax?
For example, you win an auction with the price of $20,000 but retail price of this vehicle is $50,000. Which of those numbers dmv considers for sales tax?
Thanks.
In Missouri, they charge sales tax on the actual price paid for the vehicle if you register it. I did not register the vehicle since I am not going to put plates on it and drive the donor. So no sales tax paid. I did convert the out of state title signed over to me to a JUNK title for $2.50. Again not taxes paid. I will not pay property tax on it either since it's going to scrap next week.
 

Vtx

New Member
In Missouri, they charge sales tax on the actual price paid for the vehicle if you register it. I did not register the vehicle since I am not going to put plates on it and drive the donor. So no sales tax paid. I did convert the out of state title signed over to me to a JUNK title for $2.50. Again not taxes paid. I will not pay property tax on it either since it's going to scrap next week.
Thank you. I also think they should charge sales tax on actual price but I have no idea how it is.
I plan to buy either repairable or with clean title (not for scrap).

Anyone from Texas can share experience?
 

haasfogle

New Member
Last month I bid on a Copart car (Texas). They charged (not a pending charge, they have the money) my credit card about $1000 even though I was not the high bidder. I have made two more bids on the same car and Copart charged my card additional fees each time even though I only succeeded in bidding up the car and was never the high bidder at any point. Now, many weeks later they have been sitting on over $1200 of my money. I am no financial wizard but something about this seems like a scandalous way to make a little extra $$...
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Last month I bid on a Copart car (Texas). They charged (not a pending charge, they have the money) my credit card about $1000 even though I was not the high bidder. I have made two more bids on the same car and Copart charged my card additional fees each time even though I only succeeded in bidding up the car and was never the high bidder at any point. Now, many weeks later they have been sitting on over $1200 of my money. I am no financial wizard but something about this seems like a scandalous way to make a little extra $$...
You are required to have a 10% down payment in the account in order to bid. If you look in your account profile it will tell you how much is in that reserve account. I never had a single fee to bid. You can request a refund of the down payment whenever
 

k.rollin

Goblin Guru
It was my experience that you can bid up to $1,000 without a deposit, but that anything over that required a 10% deposit. As I never bid more than $400 on a donor and my winning bid was only $175, I didn't have to deal with any of that. The deposit is completely refundable, or you can leave it and have a $12k bid ceiling until you get your donor (and perhaps another project).
 

MPDano

New Member
That's a great breakdown in fees bro. Today will be my first time bidding with them as a new business owner. Will post my experience as I go thru the process.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
Is it just me or did they completely change how copart works? Not only can I not bid on Texas salvage title (previously individuals could), you have to have a larger deposit and an annual paid account?? Has anyone purchased anything from them recently?
 

snirtman

Well-Known Member
Here in Michigan (not sure if the policies are nationwide) you can view vehicles for free as a "guest", you can pay $59/yr for a basic membership that allows you to bid up to $1200 on a vehicle with no deposit. Above $1200 requires a deposit of 10% of the max bid ($10k bid requires 1K deposit). Or you can pay $200 per year for Premium membership with no buying limits.

Lots of cars sell as "dealer only" and that varies by state. In Michigan about half the vehicles are available to non-dealers, but in Illinois and Indiana only about 10% of the vehicles are available.

My first buying experiece at Copart was the worst. It took them almost 100 days to send me the title to the car I bought. Subsequent cars have been better (<30 days). But the worst part about Copart are the fees. A $2000 bid will cost you $3000 after taxes and fees. Bid accordingly.
 

k.rollin

Goblin Guru
Is it just me or did they completely change how copart works? Not only can I not bid on Texas salvage title (previously individuals could), you have to have a larger deposit and an annual paid account?? Has anyone purchased anything from them recently?
Yeah, the basic membership level (enables bidding) is now a paid account. I don't remember if the required deposit has increased though. The not being able to bid on salvage titles thing will vary by state, so that change may be driven by a change in your local laws (I always filtered my searches by "No License Required" because that was my limitation for private party bidding in WA).
 

Sluggonaut

Goblin Guru
Lots of cars sell as "dealer only" and that varies by state. In Michigan about half the vehicles are available to non-dealers, but in Illinois and Indiana only about 10% of the vehicles are available.
In Illinois, if you aren't a licensed rebuilder you cannot bid on anything with a salvaged title. I went through this process late last year when looking for a donor and even a friend who has a dealer license couldn't bid because he wasn't a licensed rebuilder.

In states like Illinois, you have to register with an approved broker. So you really pay their membership fee if applicable and they all have similar deposit schedules (i.e. $400 up to a certain amount and then 10%). They also have all sorts of fees on top of what Copart or IAAI charges. I used A Better Bid and they told me I couldn't pick up the car myself and had to arrange shipping through them. I'm not sure that's legal but they fed me a line about the title being in their name so they had to pick it up.

I ended up getting my donor locally and I was able to get my deposit back from them fairly easily.

So depending on your state, you may be dealing with the broker and not the auction directly. Searches on the broker pages have results from whatever auction companies they are affiliated with, so you still have access to Copart, IAAI, etc., but it's through a 3rd party.
 

Scott #321

Well-Known Member
I had no issues with my last purchase using salvage bid other than the fees. $625 bid turned into a $1500 purchase but same thing with salvage title as my nephew was not able to purchase it for me through his dealer license. I picked up the car the day after the auction and title was sent to me by the end of the week.
 
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