Understanding online car buying fees

CoProxy Editors

Published in Buying on CopartMar 27th 20245 min read

Understanding online car buying fees can be a daunting task. Auctions and brokers have multiple fees that can feel overwhelming or confusing. Often times these fees are non-optional or even opaque as to what they’re for. Here are the explanations for Copart and broker fees that you may see when shopping with CoProxy, the lowest fees of any broker.

Non-Licensed Dealer

Certain states require a business license to bid on vehicles depending, on vehicle type, on Copart.com.

Alabama

California

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Massachusetts

Maryland

Maine

Michigan

Missouri

North Dakota

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

Nevada

New York

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Utah

Virgina

Wisconsin

West Virgina

These licensing requirements are regulated by individual state laws, not by Copart. These are strictly monitored by the government. Copart is hoping to make the path to purchase vehicles easier for public buyers by offering services that still allow bidding on vehicles. Public buyers, those without business licenses, can bid on our No License Required inventory. Alternatively, Brokers are available to help you buy vehicles you wouldn’t otherwise be allowed to bid on if you don’t have sufficient licenses.

* Source: https://www.copart.com/content/us/en/licensing/licensingoverview* Only Title Document of Public Bill of Sale Parts, Reconstructed Permit to Sell, Permit to Sell, Parts Only w/ No Title, or CO- Public -Salvage Title* Copart Anchorage South location is no longer open to the public. You must have at least a General Business license on file in order to bid.* NC Public eligible for Clean Title Documents, some restrictions may apply.

Clean Title

A clean title is simply a title that an insurer or state has never changed. It’s not another type of branded title; it simply means that the vehicle has never been deemed a total loss. With a clean title, the car does not have a lien placed on it and has slightly higher resale value.A clean title doesn’t mean that the vehicle has never been in a collision. It could still have a collision history without being deemed a total loss.A vehicle with a clean title was never too badly damaged. Conversely, a vehicle with a salvage title means an insurance company deemed that vehicle so badly damaged that it wasn’t worth fixing.Vehicles with clean and rebuilt titles are sellable, insurable, and drivable. But a vehicle with a clean title was never seriously damaged and is worth more than a vehicle with a rebuilt title, which has been significantly damaged and comes with some level of risk.

Non Clean Title

A salvaged or rebuilt title.This means the vehicle has been crashed, flooded, fire, electrical issues, or has any other issue badly enough for an appraiser or insurance company to decide the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the vehicle. This tends to bring the value down, as even after being repaired the possibility for further damage and issues beneath the surface is higher than a clean title car.

Standard vehicle

Standard vehicles are the typical cars, pick up trucks, ATV’s, other goods, jet skis, SUVs and other types that are not covered by “Heavy Vehicles”.

Heavy vehicle

Heavy Vehicles are all industrial equipment vehicles, medium duty/box trucks, heavy duty trucks, RVs and trailers, agriculture and farm equipment, construction equipment, and buses, as searchable through and referenced on the Vehicle Finder.

Secured Payment

Debit card, wire transfer, money order, cashier’s check, moneyGram, Canada corporate creditor account.Subject to approval: cash, company check, ePay, 3rd party financing, available funds, western union business solutions global pay x

Unsecured payment

Credit card
Apple pay
Google pay

Crashed Toys

Vehicles listed as CrashedToys are those that are located at CrashedToys specific yards. CrashedToys specializes in the sale of salvaged motorcycles, boats, jet skis and other power sport crafts. These vehicles can incur additional fees or different fees. (fee table link: https://www.crashedtoys.com/content/us/en/basic-member-fees)

Gate fee

A $79.00 Gate Fee is assessed to all Copart purchases. This fee covers administrative costs and the movement of the item from our storage location to the Buyer loading area.Non-optional fee

Title shipping fee

Members can get up to 10 titles mailed from a single location for $15 by US Postal Service, and up to 20 titles for $20 by FedEx. A handling fee of $20 per title will be charged for titles picked up in person.Non-optional fee

Virtual bid fee

All bids placed through terminals, Members’ computers, smartphones, tablets or other bidding devices will incur the following charges, based on the high bid amount. You only pay if you win the vehicle.Pre bids are any bids submitted before the start of the auction. Use the fee table to calculate the final amount based on the pre bid winning amount.Live bids are any bids submitted during the run of the auction. There is a separate fee table for live bids. The final amount is based on the final winning live bid amount.

How it works

Copart Fees

Environmental fee

A $10 fee is applied to each item sold, which covers the cost of precise handling and care in compliance with environmental regulations. Managing the clean up and storage of vehicles with various toxic fluids up to the time of pick up.Non-optional fee

Late fee

The vehicle amount and all applicable fees must be paid within 3 business days of purchase, including the day of sale, to avoid a fee of $50.00 per vehicle.Late fees will continue to accrue until the vehicle is picked up. Make sure you can arrange for pick up before you start bidding.

Storage fee

If you request Copart to store your vehicle either before or after an auction, there is a daily fee. This fee is based on the location of the Copart yard. Consult the location details pages or call the facility for the amount. https://www.copart.com/locations/

Vehicle re-list fee

If the lot is not paid in full within 8 calendar days (including the day of sale), the vehicle will be relisted. The Relist Fee will be 10% of the final sale price with a minimum of $600.If you have a deposit on file, the re-list fee will be taken out of your existing deposit.This is extremely important to avoid. If you win a vehicle that you decide that you do not want, communicate and negotiate with Copart. Don’t just let the time run out. You’ll be accruing late fees up to then.

3rd party finance fee

Members who purchase vehicles through Copart-affiliated third party finance companies will be charged a $69 administrative fee.This a fee applied by Copart when a buyer used a third party financier or broker to purchase a vehicle. There are many reasons why people would choose to buy a vehicle through this means. If the consumer doesn’t have the funds to purchase a vehicle or the state law for a given location requires that non-dealer licensed buyers must use a broker for buyer safety.Non-optional in some situations.

Broker fee

This one time fee covers the cost of administration and the broker’s membership fee to Copart. There are many reasons to use a broker. Join CoProxy for free today. No payments required to join, only pay when you buy a vehicle.Non-optional in some situations.

Have questions about Copart fees?