Quick Guide: How to Buy a Car on SalvageBid
Sign Up
Create your free account now and upload a government-issued photo ID
Only members can place bids, and you need to get a membership to participate in the auctions. Guest membership is free and allows you to bid. Premium and VIP memberships require a yearly fee and offer additional benefits including access to live auctions and lower transaction fees.
Find a Vehicle
Use our advanced search to find the car you are looking for. Filter by make, model, location, and title type to make your search swift and efficient.
Save favorite listings to your watchlist or save your search for quick access later. Each listing includes multiple high-quality images showing different angles of the vehicle, including the interior, exterior, and any visible damage. We recommend thoroughly researching vehicles before bidding.
Use ClearVIN reports for detailed vehicle history, personal inspections where you can examine the vehicle yourself, and professional inspections conducted by qualified experts.
Set Your Buyer Power
The deposit equals to 10% of the maximum amount you can bid on that vehicle or multiple vehicles combined. To bid higher than your current limit, you'll need to add more deposit funds to increase your bidding capacity.
A refundable deposit at SalvageBid is a security payment required before you can participate in the auctions. This deposit shows your commitment to purchase and ensures you have sufficient funds to complete any winning bids.
Bid and Pay Securely
There are four different types of auctions on SalvageBid to choose from when bidding:
Preliminary Bidding: Set your maximum bid before the live auction begins. The system automatically increases your bid in increments to keep you competitive until your limit is reached.
Live Auctions: Bid in real-time against other buyers during scheduled auction events.
Buy It Now:Skip the auction process entirely with vehicles that have fixed prices for immediate purchase.
Timed Auctions: Vehicles are offered for sale over a specified time period, allowing bidding before scheduled live auctions. The highest bidder when time expires wins the vehicle. Pay securely via Wire Transfer, Zelle, or MoneyGram by 5 PM PST next business day to finalize your purchase.
Our platform handles both payment and paperwork completely online, making the entire process convenient and easy.
Ship, Receive & Drive
After purchasing a vehicle, arrange vehicle transport from any auction yard to your location with just a few clicks. The auction yard only provides limited free storage, so schedule your transport quickly to avoid additional storage fees. You can book insured transport vehicles anywhere in the US and internationally.
Once you've signed the ownership documents and made full payment for your vehicle, we'll mail the paperwork via FedEx and send you a confirmation email with the tracking number so you can monitor delivery.
