Ways to Buy

Vehicles sold on Copart’s platform are sold in online, real-time auctions. People who want to buy a vehicle enter bids until the highest bid is submitted. However, there are other ways to buy.

Ways to Bid

When the vehicle you want comes up on the live auction block, it’s time to start placing bids. Each auction has its own minimum bid increment based on the value of the vehicle. Keep bidding until the price gets too high for your taste, or you place the winning bid.

Copart’s VB3 (Virtual Bidding 3) technology offers several ways to bid and win to meet the needs of different Members and Sellers.

Max Bids

Max Bids let you set your top offer for a vehicle and step away. Our system will incrementally bid just enough to keep you in the top spot so you get the best deal. This is a great resource for those new to online auctions or who have other things to do that keep them from participating in live auctions. It even lets some power bidders participate in more auctions than they can handle all at once.

Live Bids

Virtual auctions on Copart happen in real time with an exciting game-like atmosphere as Members compete in friendly head-to-head bidding. You can start with the base bid and slowly climb your way up. You can also place a Monster Bid and move the bidding ahead to your preferred price to pay. Once the auction time runs out and no one has bid higher than you, you win the vehicle.

Buy It Now

Rather than win the vehicle at auction, this option allows you to buy it immediately at a price set by the Seller. If you don’t like the price, you can send them your best offer, and the two of you can haggle to a price you can agree on. This option is only available on certain vehicles.

Make An Offer

You can see if the Seller for a vehicle with the Buy It Now feature will accept a lower price by using the Make An Offer tool. Just enter your preferred offer, and the Seller can accept it, reject it, or make a counter-offer of their own. These negotiations can go back and forth multiple times. 

Counter Bids

When a vehicle is listed with a Minimum Bid or “On Approval,” the Seller may contact you to negotiate a final sales price. You can exchange offers and counter offers until you arrive at a price you can both accept

Minimum Bid

This means the Seller has set a minimum bid they are willing to accept to sell the vehicle. If that price isn’t reached, the Seller has the right to decline the highest offer made. Similar to minimum bids, Bid on Approval means the Seller has the right to consider whether or not to accept the highest bid as the price to sell the vehicle to the top bidder.