There are three layers on top of any Copart UK hammer price: the buyer fee, the internet bid fee if you bid online, and VAT on those fees. After the auction come the costs that are not Copart’s but are still yours: transport, storage and paperwork. Miss any of them and a winning bid becomes a break-even one.
The figures below are an estimate, not an invoice. They come from the fee table CarMargin uses, they leave out VAT on the fees, and Copart changes its schedule from time to time. Check the current UK schedule before you bid.
1. The buyer fee is a staircase, not a percentage
The buyer fee steps up as the hammer price rises, so the percentage it represents falls the more the car costs. The internet bid fee is a flat £79 on top when you bid online.
| Hammer | Fees | Total before VAT on fees | Fees as % of hammer |
|---|---|---|---|
| £400 | £124 | £524 | 31.0% |
| £600 | £144 | £744 | 24.0% |
| £1,000 | £174 | £1,174 | 17.4% |
| £1,500 | £209 | £1,709 | 13.9% |
| £2,000 | £254 | £2,254 | 12.7% |
| £3,000 | £314 | £3,314 | 10.5% |
| £5,000 | £404 | £5,404 | 8.1% |
| £7,000 | £504 | £7,504 | 7.2% |
| £10,000 | £879 | £10,879 | 8.8% |
Read down the last column. Below roughly £600 the fees take a quarter or more. Once the hammer is over £3,000 they settle at around a tenth or less.
2. VAT on the fees
Copart charges VAT on its fees. The table above leaves it out, so for a £2,000 hammer, where the fees are £254, add £50.80 at 20% and the total is £2,304.80.
The other VAT trap is on the hammer itself. Some lots, typically commercial vehicles or lots from VAT-registered sellers, carry a flag saying VAT is added to the final price. Miss it and a £2,000 hammer becomes £2,400 before fees. Read the listing for that flag every time.
3. Other Copart charges
Depending on the lot and how you bid, Copart can add other charges such as a gate fee for collection, an environmental fee or a documentation charge. They are modest one by one but they do not scale with the lot, so on a cheap car they matter. CarMargin’s table does not include them, so check your invoice on your first few wins and adjust your target margin if you find them consistently.
4. After the auction
- Storage. Collect within the free storage window or Copart charges per day. Not included in the figures here.
- Transport. Yard to your address is commonly £1 to £2 a mile. A £400 recovery on a £1,500 lot eats the margin. Get a quote before you bid.
- DVLA paperwork. Re-registration on a Cat S, or a replacement V5 if it is missing.
Worked example: from resale value to a max bid
A Cat N car you expect to sell for £4,500 once repaired, after allowing for the Cat N haircut. The repair plan comes to £900. It is 40 miles home at £1.50 a mile. You want a 25% return on everything you spend.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Expected resale | £4,500 |
| Most you can spend in total (£4,500 divided by 1.25) | £3,600 |
| Less repair | £900 |
| Less transport (40 miles at £1.50) | £60 |
| Left for hammer plus fees | £2,640 |
| Less buyer fee and internet bid fee at that hammer | £254 |
| Max bid | £2,386 |
Total outlay at £2,386 is £3,600, profit £900, exactly 25% on what you spent. Bid £2,387 or more and the return drops below target.
Add VAT on the fees (£50.80) and the max bid falls to £2,335. Fees are the input most likely to move, so treat any max bid as a ceiling to stay under, not a number to hit.
Rules that hold
- Cheap lots are fee-heavy. Below about £600, fees can be a quarter of your spend or more.
- Check the VAT flag on every listing before the fee maths.
- Price transport before you bid, not on the day you win.
- Storage accrues daily. If you cannot collect in the free window, add it.
- The resale haircut is real. A marked V5 shrinks the buyer pool. See the bands in the Cat S vs Cat N guide.