For Copart UK buyers
Know your max bid before you bid.
CarMargin reads every photo on the lot, prices the repair, adds the fees and argues a verdict with a max bid. Then it answers your follow-ups, right there on the lot page.
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2016 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK 250D 2DR TIP AUTO
Run and DriveLot number: 48265746Sale: Wed 30 Sep, 10:00
Current bid
£1,950
Sale Wed 30 Sep, 10:00
2016 Mercedes-Benz SLK 250d 2dr Tip Auto
£3,965
Max bid. Walk away above this.
Current bid £1,950£2,015 headroom
- Margin at max bid
- £1,701
- Return on cost
- 25%target 25%
- All-in cost
- £6,799
The case
Low-mile diesel roadster with the damage kept to the offside front corner.
Clean-title money is £9,500 to £11,000; the Cat S haircut brings a quick private sale to about £8,500. Bonnet, wings, lights, screen and hardtop look straight, and no airbags went off. photo 6
Watch it work
It reads the lot the way you would, if you had the time.
Press Analyse on a lot page. CarMargin works through the photos, the listing and the seller's notes, weighs the risks, prices the repair, adds the fees and settles on a number. Usually in under a minute.
- Reading 12 photos
- Reading the listing and the notes
- Weighing the risks
- Pricing the repair
- Adding buyer's fees and transport
- Setting the max bid
Photos
12 of 12 read- Repair
- £2,400
- Fees, before VAT
- £314
- Transport
- £120
Top risks
- Subframe contactHigh
Cat S with a destroyed wheel; the rails and subframe are not in any photo.photo 10
- Steering geometryHigh
Expect alignment, maybe a lower arm and track rod after that wheel strike.
- Radar calibrationMedium
The forward radar sits behind the star badge; a new bumper means recalibration.photo 9
£3,965
Max bid. Walk away above this.
Margin at max bid£1,701
Max bid. Walk away above this.
What the AI does
Five jobs you used to do by hand, done on every lot.
- 01
Reads every photo
Panel by panel: what's damaged, what's straight, and what the photos don't show. No shot of the engine bay? It says so, and the verdict carries that doubt.
- 02
Prices the repair
Line items with parts and labour hours, a DIY or shop split, and the jobs people forget, like recalibrating the radar behind the badge.
- 03
Counts the fees before you bid
Buyer's fee and the online bidding fee on top of the hammer price, plus transport at your own rate per mile. Fees are shown before VAT.
- 04
Argues a verdict and a max bid
BUY, MAYBE or SKIP, the case in one line, and the highest bid that still clears your target return. Max bid. Walk away above this.
- 05
Answers your follow-ups
Ask why, ask what happens at a higher bid, ask what to check at preview day. Answers cite the photo or listing line they came from.
The panel
Everything that decides the bid, on one scroll.
It docks beside the lot page. The verdict and the max bid sit at the top; the evidence sits underneath. Scroll it.
2016 Mercedes-Benz SLK 250d 2dr Tip Auto
£3,965
Max bid. Walk away above this.
Current bid £1,950£2,015 headroom
- Margin at max bid
- £1,701
- Return on cost
- 25%target 25%
- All-in cost
- £6,799
Overview
The case
Low-mile diesel roadster with the damage kept to the offside front corner.
Clean-title money is £9,500 to £11,000; the Cat S haircut brings a quick private sale to about £8,500. Bonnet, wings, lights, screen and hardtop look straight, and no airbags went off. photo 6
The numbers at your max bid
Settings: 25% target return, 100 mi transport at £1.20/mi. Change
Top risks
All 5- Subframe contactHigh
Cat S with a destroyed wheel; the rails and subframe are not in any photo.photo 10
- Steering geometryHigh
Expect alignment, maybe a lower arm and track rod after that wheel strike.
- Radar calibrationMedium
The forward radar sits behind the star badge; a new bumper means recalibration.photo 9
Repair plan
Front corner hit with the wheel destroyed. Budget a bumper, wheel, tyre, alignment, lower arm and a subframe check, plus radar recalibration.
- Parts and labour
- £1,700-2,600
- Labour
- 15.9 hrs
- Complexity
- Hard
Bumper, wheel and tyre are fine on axle stands. Subframe, paint and radar calibration belong in a shop.
Line items
| Part | Hours | Parts |
|---|---|---|
| Front bumper coverLower valance torn, tabs brokenphoto 9 | 2.5 | £220-550 |
| Front bumper paint | 3.5 | £80-140 |
| Offside front alloyImpact damage across face and rimphoto 10 | 0.5 | £180-320 |
| Offside front tyre 225/45R17Sidewall gouged | 0.3 | £90-150 |
| Offside lower control armPrecautionary on a Cat S | 1.5 | £120-260 |
Show 5 more items
Once the bumper comes off, the radar behind the badge needs a dealer-level calibration.
Things you can't see
- Front subframe geometry under the impact
- Gearbox behaviour under load
- Injector spray and timing chain
- Folding hardtop pump and roof cycle
Photos
Outlined photos are cited in the analysis. Photos stay on the auction site; nothing is stored.
Ask the analyst
1Verdict and max bid first
Confidence as a number, not a mood, and a Why? link that has the analyst explain itself.
2Headroom against the current bid
How far the bidding is from your number, read from the lot page.
3The numbers at your max bid
Retail estimate, less your bid, repairs, buyer's fees before VAT and transport. What's left is your margin.
4Risks, high first
Each one says what it saw and where, down to the photo number.
5Repair plan and the unseen
Parts, hours and complexity, with the things the photos can't show listed on their own.
Ask the analyst
Then argue with it.
The chat knows the lot it sits on: the photos, the listing, the numbers. Ask it anything you would ask a mate who knows cars.
| Figure | At £4,800 | At max bid £3,965 |
|---|---|---|
| Margin | £866 | £1,701 |
| Return on cost | 11.3% | 25.0% |
| All-in cost | £7,634 | £6,799 |
That is £835 over the max bid, and it leaves no room for the Cat S surprises: subframe contact, alignment and the radar recalibration behind the badge. I would walk at that number. photo 9
Underneath
- Front subframe and chassis rail behind the offside wheel
- Lower arm and track rod for bends
Running
- Cold start: listen for injector knock and chain rattle
- Hardtop opens and closes a full cycle
Paperwork
- V5 status (the listing says not available)
- MOT history on gov.uk: repeat suspension advisories
Walk away if the subframe is kinked or the roof will not finish a cycle.
Ask the analyst
Hide conversation1What if I bid more?
Type a number. It reruns margin and return at that bid and sets it beside your max bid.
2Why this verdict?
The factors that drove it, and the single biggest uncertainty.
3Preview-day checklist
What to check at the yard on this car, and when to walk away. Copy it or print it.
4Chat is free
Follow-ups and what-if bids never use your monthly analyses.
Under the verdict
The detail behind the number.
Risks by severity
High, medium and low, sorted so the deal-breakers come first. Every risk names its evidence.
Damage read from the photos
Airbags, frame contact, flood lines and paint mismatch, flagged per panel, with gaps in the photo set called out.
Listing intelligence
Cat S and Cat N decoded with the resale haircut, Run and Drive translated, and the keys, V5 and seller notes read and ranked.
Known faults for the model
A curated list of known faults on common UK makes, checked against the lot, so a tired injector set is priced in before you bid.
What-if bids and preview day
Try any bid against the max bid, then take a checklist for this car to the yard.
Notes, watchlist and history
Private notes on any lot, a watchlist, and every analysis you have run, kept on your dashboard.
Worked examples
Three lots, three verdicts.
Sample analyses as CarMargin shows them. Fees follow the current buyer fee table, before VAT.
1,248 results
2016 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK 250D 2DR TIP AUTO
Lot 48265746 · 47,548 mi
Current bid
£1,950
BUY £3,9652013 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 2.2 SD4 DYNAMIC 5DR AUTO
Lot 51403496 · 117,749 mi
Current bid
£1,750
MAYBE £4,1552017 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTD 2.0 TDI 5DR
Lot 47719032 · 64,210 mi
Current bid
£3,400
SKIP2019 FORD FIESTA 1.0 ECOBOOST ST-LINE 5DR
Lot 49102287 · 38,902 mi
Current bid
£2,100
Analyse2016 Mercedes-Benz SLK 250d
Cat S · 47,548 mi · current bid £1,950
Max bid£3,965
Damage stays on one corner and the money clears 25% with £2,400 set aside for repairs.
2013 Range Rover Evoque SD4
Cat N · 117,749 mi · current bid £1,750
Max bid£4,155
The margin is there, but the red dash warning could turn a panel job into a gearbox job.
2017 Volkswagen Golf GTD
Cat S · 64,210 mi · current bid £3,400
Max bid£2,686
Airbags, pretensioners and the dash take the repair past £4,000; the bidding is already past the number.
Who it's for
For people who buy salvage to make money on it.
Part-time flipper
A few cars a year from the kitchen table. You want the number before the auction does, and the nerve to walk away above it. Starter covers 100 analyses a month.
Full-time trader
Dozens of lots a week. Verdicts on the list page, the case in one line, and 300 analyses a month on Pro.
Small dealer
More than one buyer, more volume, stock that has to turn. Custom plans are set up with you, by a person.
Pricing
Two plans, one week free
Start on either plan with a 7-day free trial. Card required, cancel any time before day 8.
Starter
£19a month
100 analyses a month
For the part-time flipper looking at a few lots a week.
£0 today. 7 days free, then £19 a month.
- 100 analyses a month
- Verdict and max bid on every analysis
- Photo read, repair plan and fee breakdown
- Chat and what-if bids, free
Pro
Most chosen£29a month
300 analyses a month
For the full-time trader who checks lots every day.
£0 today. 7 days free, then £29 a month.
- 300 analyses a month
- Everything in Starter
- Room for daily list-page work
- Chat and what-if bids, free
Custom
Contact us
Volume agreed with you
Dealers, teams and anyone above 300 analyses a month.
Priced to your volume.
- Volume agreed with you
- Everything in Pro
- Set up by a person, not a form
- Trial
- 7-day free trial on the plan you pick. Card required. Cancel any time before day 8 and you pay nothing.
- Hard cap
- Hard cap, no overage. When you reach your monthly analyses, analysing pauses until the month renews. You are never charged extra.
- Chat
- Chat is free. Follow-up questions and what-if bids never use your analyses.
- What counts as an analysis
- One analysis is one full read of a lot: photos, listing, repair plan, fees, verdict and max bid.
Buyers
What buyers say
Sample quotes, not real customers. Preview only.
I used to set a max bid from gut and a spreadsheet. Now I open the lot, read the verdict and see the fees I always forgot. I walked away from two cars last month and was right both times.
The photo read caught a rear panel I had scrolled past twice. It does not replace preview day. It tells me what to look at when I get there.
Twelve lots before breakfast. The list badges cut it to four I actually open. The max bid is a number I can defend to myself.
I ask the chat what happens to the margin if it needs a new wing, and the answer comes back with the fees redone. That is the part I did not expect to use.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
How does the free trial work?
What counts as an analysis?
Is the chat really free?
What happens when I reach my monthly analyses?
Does CarMargin bid for me?
Is the verdict ever wrong?
What happens to my data and the photos?
Which sites does it work on?
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Know the number before the auction does.
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