If you are planning to buy a car through AutoBidMaster, understanding the fee structure should come before you place a bid. The service has different charges attached to your account and purchase, and knowing what they cover can help you budget more accurately.

AutoBidMaster fees include membership and transaction charges, alongside other costs that may apply during the purchase. Some are fixed, while others depend on your membership level or the circumstances of the transaction.

This guide explains what each fee covers and when it applies.

How AutoBidMaster Works With Copart

AutoBidMaster is one of the brokers listed in Copart’s official broker directory. It gives individuals access to vehicles sold through Copart auctions without requiring a dealer’s licence and handles parts of the purchase process, including bidding, payment and documentation.

Copart remains the auction operator and sets its own auction-related charges. AutoBidMaster adds its own fees for the brokerage and services involved in completing the purchase.

So when you are calculating the total cost of a vehicle on AutoBidMaster, note that it is broken down into 3 broad components: 

• The price of the vehicle
• AutoBidMaster’s charges
• Copart and other charges connected to the auction and vehicle

The first two are straightforward. The Copart charges can vary depending on the vehicle and transaction, which is why the final amount can be noticeably higher than the winning bid.

AutoBidMaster Membership Fees

Your AutoBidMaster account starts with a choice of membership. The membership plan you select affects how much you can bid, how many vehicles you can purchase and, at higher levels, the transaction fees you pay.

Guest Membership

Guest membership is free and is intended for limited use. It allows one active preliminary bid at a time and one vehicle purchase in total, with a maximum bid of $1,200. Guest members cannot participate in live auctions.

Basic Membership

Basic membership costs $35 per year and allows one vehicle purchase through preliminary or live bidding. The maximum bid is $2,200, subject to the required security deposit.

Advanced Membership

The Advanced plan costs $189 per year and allows up to 10 vehicle purchases within the membership period. It also comes with lower transaction fees and 5 free vehicle history reports.

Premium Membership

Buyers on this plan have unlimited vehicle purchases for 12 months. The premium membership plan costs $349. It also includes 10 free vehicle history reports and lower transaction fees.

AutoBidMaster Transaction Fees

A transaction fee is charged when you purchase a vehicle through AutoBidMaster. The amount depends on your membership level.

Guest members pay $349 per vehicle, while Basic members pay $299. Advanced members pay $299 or 5% of the vehicle purchase price, whichever is higher. Premium members pay $150 or 4% of the purchase price, whichever is higher.

This is where the value of the higher membership levels becomes more apparent. Advanced and Premium have higher annual fees, but their transaction fees are lower or percentage-based.

Website Processing Fee

This covers the documentation and processing involved between AutoBidMaster, its affiliated dealers and the purchaser. In other words, it relates to the paperwork and administrative side of completing the vehicle purchase.

The fee ranges from $150 to $369.

The exact amount depends on factors including a buyer’s location and the title or ownership document attached to the vehicle. Because of this, it is not a flat fee that applies equally to every purchase.

Copart Fees

This is where the invoice can become confusing if you are seeing AutoBidMaster and Copart charges together for the first time.

The Copart Auction Fee is not an AutoBidMaster fee.

Copart determines the charges associated with running the auction and processing the vehicle through its facilities. 

The main Copart charges that may appear on the invoice include:

Copart Auction Fee: This is the primary auction-related charge and varies according to the vehicle and sale.

Gate Fee: A fee associated with the vehicle being released from the Copart facility.

Copart Broker Fee: A $50 charge associated with the broker transaction.

Environmental Fee: A $15 charge that applies when applicable.

These charges can change, and the exact amount depends on the vehicle and auction transaction. They are also why the winning bid should not be treated as the final purchase price.

To understand auction charges, read more on Copart buyer fees.

AutoBidmaster Security Deposit

The security deposit works differently from the other charges in the transaction. It is not a fee added to the purchase price. Instead, it is what gives your account the ability to bid.

You need to put down a minimum deposit of $600 before you can place bids. With Guest and Basic memberships, that deposit corresponds to maximum bids of $1,200 and $2,200, respectively.

Advanced and Premium members use the deposit to establish their Buyer Power. A $600 deposit provides $6,000 in Buyer Power, while increasing the deposit allows you to bid at a higher level.

The deposit is refundable once there are no unpaid balances, pending bids, or transactions. International deposits made outside a credit card may be returned by wire transfer, and the refund process can take up to 30 business days.

The deposit cannot be used to pay for a vehicle you have won, although AutoBidMaster may apply it toward an unpaid balance in certain circumstances.

Late Payment and Relist Fees

Winning a vehicle does not give you unlimited time to arrange payment. International buyers must have payment received by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the second business day after the auction sale date.

A late payment attracts a $50 fee for each business day the payment remains outstanding. The cost can become much higher if the purchase is not completed.

When a vehicle has to be relisted because the winning buyer does not complete the purchase, the relist charge is the greater of $600 or 10% of the vehicle purchase price, plus the applicable AutoBidMaster transaction fee. The security deposit may also be lost or applied toward outstanding amounts.

That makes payment speed more than a matter of convenience. An international buyer who depends on a slow transfer process, delayed access to USD or an unreliable third party can end up paying additional fees simply because the money did not arrive within the required window.

This is one reason more importers are using dedicated cross-border payment services to settle auction invoices. Clea allows importers to fund their accounts in their local currency, convert to USD, and send payments directly to approved auction platforms, including AutoBidMaster.

To pay AutoBidMaster on time, create your Clea account now.

Storage Fees

If the vehicle remains at a facility beyond the permitted period, storage charges can begin. Storage fees can be up to $40 per day, with the exact amount and grace period varying by facility.

The storage charge is essentially a cost charged by the auction facility. That means that, with Copart as the operator of the auction and the owner of the lot where the vehicle is stored, Copart charges the storage fee.

This is why arranging transportation promptly after the purchase can help prevent storage charges from accumulating.

Frequently Asked Questions