r/Copartonline

I impulsed purchased a Kia soul. Won it for $800 but the buyer had a minimum so I ended up paying him his asking 1650 + the bullshit fees. Then I also paid for shipping (250$) which wasn’t too bad considering I lived 70 miles away. But turns out the car doesn’t start. I just hope it’s something minor. I am too broke to put a lot of money into it. I am planning on towing it to a shop later and see what they say. I wish I had just purchased a running vehicle instead of a dead car.

I’ve been looking into buying a car through US auto auctions like Copart or IAAI, mainly because prices look way lower compared to local listings

But the more I read, the more confusing it gets. Some people say it’s the best way to save money if you’re willing to deal with repairs, others say it’s a gamble and you end up paying more after shipping, fees and fixing everything

Also not sure how people even access these auctions without a dealer license. I’ve seen people mention using brokers or platforms like cars4.bid that basically bid for you, but I can’t tell how legit or transparent that actually is

So for those who’ve actually done it

was it worth it in the end?

did you really save money or just more headaches?

The car is a 2015 Mazda 3 hatchback with 98k miles. The auction listing said front-end damage, runs and drives. The photos showed a smashed bumper, cracked grille, one bent headlight, and the hood had a small crease. No airbags deployed.

I set my max bid at $3,000 and ended up winning it at $2,400. Then came the fees. Buyer's premium was around $300. Broker fees another $200. Gate fee, document fee. Total after all that was $3,200 out the door. So my $2,400 car actually cost me $3,200.

I rented a trailer from U-Haul for 60 and drove two hours to pick it up myself because shipping quotes were around $400 and I'm cheap. The car looked exactly like the photos. Threw a jump pack on it and it fired right up. Drove it onto the trailer under it's own power.

Parts cost me about $900. New bumper cover, one headlight assembly, grille, hood from a junkyard, plus some clips and paint supplies. My dad and I spent two weekends working on it. Another $200 went toward an alignment and a used tire because one had a slow leak.

So all in, I'm roughly $4,300 for a clean-looking Mazda 3 with a salvage title and 98k miles. A similar clean-title car would have run me 7-8k easy in my area. The salvage title means resale value is garbage, but I'm keeping it as my daily. Insurance was fine, liability only since I don't really care about cosmetic damage anymore. Biggest headache honestly was paperwork. Took almost three weeks to get the title. Had to call a few times, but eventually it showed up.

Just wanted to share because everyone only posts horror stories. Sometimes it actually works out. Just don't be dumb and buy something with frame damage or flood history. That's a completely different kind of pain.

Anyone else here actually had a salvage auction win? Would love to hear some happy stories.

Over 10 years of experience

Over $5m in sales per annum

Licensed dealer

Exporter catering mostly to overseas customers

Copart seller experience

Rebuilding experience for domestic market

Access to B2B platforms for transportation without intermediaries at market price

Access to part vendors with significant discounts

MBA

Had a $350 bid Prius ($970 total with fees) shipped to a friend until I can handle transport. Key is still strapped to the wheel but the 12V is dead after someone locked the locks I guess before it was picked up.

What are we doing?

Why does Copart allow vehicles with these crazy high reserves to be ran over and over again. I’ve seen so many vehicles with reserves over what a used one would cost otd get re ran 5+ times. It seems like a waste of space for Copart to let these insurance companies vehicles sit on there lots for months and get re ran over and over just taking up space.

I believe the companies should be punished for behavior like this, there needs to be a high relist fee like they have to pay 10% of their reserve price or more if they relist it over 2-3 times.

This isn’t Copart exclusive I’ve seen it on some other big name insurance auctions I just find it ridiculous

Im looking to ship a vehicle from colorado to massachusetts and i keep seeing through copart that the shipping will be $1300 flat and everywhere else its for about 500 more or so and im having trouble choosing a broker but dont know what my best option really is

Does it go off to a salvage/ scrap yard for whatever the Ins Co. will take or does it get relisted?

why am I competing with bidders from iraq ?

Any discount codes for Copart please?

I won the live auction at $800 but the seller counters with over $2k+ I don’t think it’s worth this especially after the bullshit fees. So what happens if I don’t accept his counter offer?

Can I use broker and do all the purchasing through them and still use copart for the vehicle transportation as they are the cheapest ($747.50). Or, is there a better way to keep fees as low as possible?

I have put together what I believe to be the correct final total less broker fees from copart. ($302.50 + broker fees) ABM broker fee is $299 + $35 membership.

I do have quotes from roadrunner transportation. ($1072.00) and through ABM (est $975.00)

Any suggestions as Copart fees "appear' to be cheaper. (ABM fees show as $859) Vs say $300~500 if I did it right for Copart.