How to Buy From Copart Without a Dealer’s License?
Many people put their faith in used cars and salvage cars when they prefer functionality to brand value! Despite that, not all places are suitable for individual buyers when it comes to purchasing salvage-titled cars and other vehicles. Some places have made it mandatory that you should have a dealer’s license to purchase a salvage car.
It’s here that Copart becomes a viable option. In case you did not know, Copart is one of the most trusted places on the internet and real-world to purchase cars through auctions. Basically an auto auction website, Copart has made its services available not only in the USA but also in other countries.
So, as it happens, Copart is one of the best places to purchase a salvage car. But the question here is different — how to buy from Copart without a dealer’s license? Many believe they need a dealer’s license to purchase cars from the Copart inventory. This is not true.
We have created a complete tutorial on purchasing from Copart without a dealer’s license when you need a car for personal use or something else. You will have to make certain choices to do that. In addition, you may have to pay a minimal amount during the process. But it’s going to be very less than what it would cost to leave the salvage vehicle and go for a brand-new vehicle.
Check out the steps to buy a car from Copart without having a business license?
ANYONE Can Buy a Car From Copart WITHOUT A Special License! Here’s how…
A Note Before We Begin
Copart has created different categories when it comes to Salvage vehicles. One of them is the category called No License Required. As the name says, vehicles in the category do not require any license. Anyone who has approved the account using Government ID and ensured the minimum security deposit will be able to place bids and purchase these cars in the end.
However, the problem is that you will lose a vast collection of vehicles by sticking to this particular category.
That’s why it is recommended to find another way to purchase all cars without a dealer’s license. In that process, you may need a mediator, which is easy to find via Copart itself. However, what really matters is whether you can find a more effective salvage car.
Quiz Time
How to Buy from Copart Without a Dealer’s License?
Let’s have a quick look at the steps required to do this.
Step #1 — Joining Copart
You have to create an account and join Copart to start purchasing any vehicle from the collection. It is an easy process too. You can click on the Sign-Up button from the Copart homepage or use the Copart mobile applications for an express sign-up process. Once you have provided the basic details and credential choices, you will have an account at Copart.
Step #2 — Choose the Account Type
Copart offers two types of membership plans on the platform — Basic and Premier. When you register one account at Copart, you will be added as a basic member, which can then be upgraded to Premier. If you plan to purchase a single vehicle, the Basic membership plan should be enough. On the other hand, the Premier plan offers many features that bulk buyers would find useful.
Step #3 — Submitting the Deposit
Copart has to make sure that you are an eligible buyer before you place the bid. Due to this constraint, you’re required to deposit a certain amount before you can participate in an auction. Now, this is important:
Whenever you create an account on Copart, you get a particular amount of Bidding Power. By default, it has been set at $1000, meaning you can place a maximum bid of $1000. However, when it comes to a higher-priced car, and you want to place a more significant bid, this $1000 isn’t enough, you know. To overcome this, you have two options:
- You can upgrade from Basic to Premier, which gives you multiple auction support and better buying power
- You can add a deposit to Copart, which has to be in a ratio to the bid you want to place.
So, if you don’t want to upgrade by paying a $200 registration fee and a $400 refundable fee, you have to option to add deposits.
Here, some things need to be noted. Suppose you are planning to place a bid of $5000 on a vehicle auction. Then, your Copart deposit should be $500, which is the 10% of the bid. This deposit should be kept on file so that Copart knows your buying capability.
Step #4 — Submit Dealer’s License OR Choose a Broker
Of course, you cannot submit your dealer’s license if you don’t have one. Here, Copart suggests two different options. First one, Copart will guide you through the process of getting a business license, which is not the ideal choice for everyone. The second one, which is more convenient, wants you to choose a Broker. Brokers are companies or individuals with a business license that will help you to purchase the car you want.
Depending on the broker, you may get additional services as well. For instance, you will be able to get some transportation assistance or auction assistance, both of which are commendable. That having said, you will have to check some things, such as Registration Fee, Security Deposit, etc., before you go for a broker. But, as we said, this method will surely let you purchase almost any car you want without a dealer’s license.
Note: It might be a challenging task to find a broker that has access to the vehicle that you’re looking for. So, instead of contacting a broker beforehand, you can first check out the car that you want to place a bid on. Then, as Copart prompts you to get a broker, you can choose the most suitable one.
Step #5 — Search for the Perfect Car
You probably know how to do this effectively since you have decided to go for a salvage car instead of a brand-new one. Random selection should not be your take on this since you are looking for an effective car that can give you a good driving experience as well. For one, Copart has one of the best interfaces and it is easy to search for the best car.
Some of the aspects you should consider while searching through the results are vehicle type, type and size of the damage, the legal title, options for purchasing, and the current bid status. You would also save some time if you can analyze the competition in bidding. That is, if the competition is too high, you can search for some other car instead of spending time here.
Apart from these, you will have your own personal preferences too. For instance, you can filter the vehicles from a particular year or a particular manufacturer. While this is completely personal, there are brands that beat usage and get old.
Step #6 — Joining the Auctions
It would take some time for you to reach this step, usually. However, once you reach it, it will all be a good thing. Once you have found the perfect vehicle that meets your requirements and budget aspects, you can click on the entry, and you will reach the auction page. If you want to take part in the bidding system, it gives you the option to place preliminary bids too.
Both these things can be done using the Copart app as well. The Copart app is actually recommended if you are planning to take part in the auction, which requires some more control. More importantly, when you look at an auction, you should consider the time frame it is open for. Depending on the auction type, the time may vary. You can, however, track all these from the Copart Dashboard.
Step #7 — Placing Bids
Before even the auction starts, there is an option to place a bid, which is known as the preliminary bid. All such preliminary bids would be shown before the auction starts. If no higher bids have been placed by the other participants in the pre-bid session or the live auction session, there is a chance that you will win the auction, thus getting the vehicle.
As we said earlier, if you don’t want to place the bid earlier, you can take part in the dynamic auction using the apps or the website. It’s a really smooth process, and you can have the feeling of taking part in the sale. There is also a different option named Buy It Now, which is a way if you have a lot of money to spend. Using this button, you can bypass the bidding process and buy the vehicle directly.
There are some terms and conditions for all these methods, which you can find on the Copart dashboard or the Knowledge Base website.
Step #8 — Process Payment and Purchase the Vehicle
This is the final step of purchasing a car or any vehicle from Copart without a dealer’s license. If you were on a plan to purchase an individual car, you might have tied up with the broker. So, the availability of payment systems will also depend on the broker you have tied up with. Anyway, Copart lets you pay the amount via different methods, such as wire transfer, debit/credit card, check etc.
Now that you have bought the car, it’s time to pick it up from the facility. There is a complimentary storage period, but that’s something negligible. So, it’s recommended to pick up the vehicle as soon as you can. You might end up paying some fees otherwise. The best way is to check your dashboard and the auction details to know what to do about the pick-up process.
Wrapping Up
So, these are the steps you would have to follow to purchase a car from Copart without having a dealer’s license with you. We have tried to cover almost everything you should follow, but it’s highly recommended that you take a look at the tips and FAQs that are available on the Copart website. We hope this guide will help you purchase one of the best salvage cars from Copart without spending a lot.
How Much Can You Save Buying a Salvage Car?
You Can buy a $50,000 Car for $15,000 and put another $5,000 and it will be on the road running like a new car.
For Physical Copart.com Location Click here to Visit and Find the location closest to you.
Also, Read Where you can buy insurance salvage cars?
