FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
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You will need to register on our website, upload your ID, and add a deposit in order to participate in the auction and place bids.
You will not be able to participate in the auction without registering.
You can register with your Google or Facebook account, or your email.
After registering, you will need to fill out the “Profile” section under your account with the following information:
- First and last name
- Contact information
- Mailing address where you can receive documents, if necessary
- Upload a document proving your identity (passport or driver’s license)
A deposit allows you to bid and guarantees you will buy the vehicle when you win the auction. You will not be able to bid without making a deposit.
The minimum deposit to participate in the bidding is $600 USD. This deposit allows you to bid on vehicles, the maximum bid will not exceed $6,000 USD.
If you wish to bid on a car worth more money, the deposit must be at least 10% of the maximum bid. For example, for a bid of $8,500 USD, you will need a deposit of at least $850 USD.
You can make a deposit using a credit or debit card, as well as a bank wire.
The funds deposited by card will be credited to your account immediately.
The funds deposited via bank wire will be credited to your account within three business days as it is a SWIFT transfer.
You can return the funds deposited at any time before you place a bid. To do this, you will need to go to your profile and select the “Return the deposit” menu item. The funds will be returned to you within ten working days, starting from the day after you applied.
If you have already placed a bid, you must cancel it before selecting the “Return the deposit” item.
If you placed a bid, but you did not win, your deposit remains unchanged.
Your deposit allows for another opportunity to place bids.
If one bid did not win, you can choose another lot and bid again.
You will pay the price of the vehicle and the auction fees directly to the auction, so the deposit does not count towards the cost of the car.
You can, however, use the deposit to pay for the cost of delivering the vehicle.
You can get the deposit back after fully paying the price of the car and the auction fees by selecting the “Refund the Deposit” item.
After your bid wins, you will receive detailed payment instructions by email.
To take part in the auction and place a bid, you need to do the following:
- Register on our website
- Upload your ID document
- Make a deposit
You can place bids on any lots available on our website.
A dealer’s license is not required.
You can choose any lot and place your bid.
Once you have chosen a lot, you need to bid on our website, specifying the maximum price you are willing to pay for the vehicle. But in fact, the winning bid can be less than the one you placed.
- For instance, if you place a bid of $5,000 USD, but no one offers more than $4,000 USD, you will win the bid. The price of the vehicle will be $4,000 USD for you.
The bid is the maximum price you are willing to pay for the vehicle and within which you will be able to participate in an online auction if other bidders outbid you.
To correctly calculate your bid and not overpay at an auction, use the “Projected win bid” item on our website in the lot description - it will be the approximate selling price of the vehicle.
You can cancel your bid or change the amount you want to bid in your personal cabinet on our website.
You will not be able to cancel or change your bid after cut-off time (one hour before “Live Auction”).
You can refuse to pay for the vehicle, but in this case, you will have to pay 10% of your bid, a minimum of $600 USD (the auction imposes penalties for refusing to buy the vehicle), as well as the full cost of our company’s services.
The auction results will be available in your personal cabinet on our website, where you will be able to see the final bid on the lot or vehicle.
If your bid wins, you will receive an email with all further instructions.
According to the rules of auctions, all vehicles are sold “as-is, without warranty”. This means that when receiving a vehicle, the auction company will take a photo of it, provide a typical description of its damages (front/rear/side-impact etc.), and specify whether the vehicle starts and drives.
If possible, we recommend ordering an independent inspection of the car at the auction.
See “How to get more information about the vehicle’s condition” question.
This is the description of the vehicle’s condition as follows:
- Run and drive - the vehicle starts and drives and which may imply that the car can only go one meter forward or one meter back.
- Engine start - the car starts but does not drive.
- Won’t start - the vehicle does not start and does not drive.
Please note, if the description of the lot states, for example, that the car runs and drives, it does not guarantee that it will start and drive when you receive it. Vehicles at auction sites can stay parked for several months, and there can be a battery discharge or other reasons why the car does not drive. The description of the vehicle is made when it is put up for auction.
To get more information about the vehicle’s condition, you can order an inspection when an inspector comes to the auction site and makes a detailed photo and video report for you.
You may request such an inspection at least four days before the auction. Its cost depends on the vehicle’s location in the US and may vary from $150-250 USD.
Please get in touch with our managers to order the inspection.
You can also request an extended report from Copart, which provides this service only for vehicles presented at a Copart auction. This report costs $35 USD and includes an additional description and several videos at the shooting time.
We strongly recommend you check the vehicle’s history before buying it. This will protect yourself from buying a lemon.
At auctions, people may sell vehicles that were previously in accidents or broken cars disguised as intact.
You can check your vehicle’s history with its VIN by ordering a VIN.Doctor report on our website.
After you have won your bid, you will receive a message to the email address indicated on your profile.
This message will include detailed payment instructions and an invoice for the cost of the vehicle and the auction fees.
You can pay the invoice by wire transfer at any bank.
Payment for the vehicle must be made within three working days, including the day of the auction.
We advise you to pay the invoice as soon as possible since the auction rules state there will be a fine for late payment (2% of the winning bid for IAA auctions and $50 USD for Copart auctions).
Once you have fully paid the price of the vehicle and auction fees, pre-ordered and paid for the services to deliver the vehicle from the deposit, we pick it up from the auction site. We deliver it to the port of departure, take additional photos, load it into a container and ship it to the port of destination of your choice.
If you arrange delivery of the vehicle yourself, you can pick it up after paying the full price, auction fees, and company fees.
We provide our customers with a service to calculate shipping costs for vehicles. For calculating US local shipping use your ZIP code. For international buyers we provide ground and ocean shipping delivery. Check our delivery calculator for all fees. You can select any destination port, and the calculator will show all shipping and other fees. If lot location or type requires custom calculation of delivery contact us via email info@cars4.bid.
Suppose you choose to pay the cost of delivery services using a deposit, and the calculation shows that the delivery amount is less than the deposit amount. In such a case, you should write a request to the company email, and we will refund the difference between the deposit amount and the amount of vehicle delivery. You can also keep the deposit and use it for further bets.
Suppose you choose to pay for the vehicle delivery using a deposit, and the calculation shows that the delivery sum is bigger than the deposit sum. In that case, you will be invoiced for the difference between those sums.
At auctions, about 80% of vehicles are sold with salvage and other such documents. But there are also such documents as “Non-Repairable Title” and “Certificate of Destruction”, which are suitable for export only.
Other types include “Bill of Sale”, “Junk or Parts Only”. You usually cannot export a car with these kinds of documents, or they might need to be reissued.
Be sure to check in advance to see what types of documents are appropriate for your country’s customs or state registration.
Once you have won your bid and you have fully paid for the vehicle and the auction fees, our company will draw up all the necessary documents in your name and send them to the postal address you have provided in your personal account.
Contact us after you have purchased the vehicle for details on sending the documents to us.