Enter your hammer price and buyer details to see the Copart UK buyer fee, online bid fee, lot retrieval, VAT and the total you would pay. All amounts are in pounds sterling (£).
Fee data checked: November 2026 · Independent tool, not affiliated with CopartCost breakdown
Maximum bid for your budget
How Copart UK fees work
The hammer price is only part of what you pay at a Copart UK auction. Every vehicle you win comes with a buyer fee based on the sale price, a bidding fee if you bid online, and a fixed lot retrieval fee. Copart UK quotes these fees excluding VAT, so a VAT-registered business can usually reclaim it, while a private buyer pays it in full.
On top of these, you may pay storage if you collect the vehicle late, a late payment fee if the invoice is not settled in time, and a card surcharge for some payment methods. The calculator above adds all of these together so you can set a bidding limit before the auction starts.
Fee A and Fee B
Copart UK has two buyer fee levels. Fee B is the standard rate for most members. Fee A is a lower rate for high-volume buyers who have bought 12 or more vehicles in the previous or current calendar year. The difference is £40 on most bands below £10,000, and one percentage point on vehicles above that.
Copart UK buyer fee table
The buyer fee is a fixed amount up to £9,999.99, then a percentage of the hammer price. The band for your current hammer price is highlighted.
| Sale price | Fee A | Fee B |
|---|
All fees exclude VAT. Some published copies of this table show the price bands with a € sign. Copart UK sells in pounds, so this calculator reads the bands as £.
Copart UK online bid fees
If you bid over the internet, Copart adds a bidding fee based on the sale price. Live bids placed during the auction cost more than preliminary bids placed beforehand. Bidding on a kiosk at a Copart yard carries no bid fee.
| Sale price | Online live bid | Preliminary bid | Kiosk |
|---|
Other Copart UK fees
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Lot retrieval | £40 per vehicle | Every vehicle, to move it from storage to the loading area |
| Late payment | £50 | Unpaid after 3 business days, including the invoice day |
| Relist | 10% of the high bid or £300, whichever is higher | Unpaid after 6 calendar days. The vehicle goes back into auction and you lose it |
| Storage | Daily charge, rising the longer it stays | After 4 free days for online buys, or 3 for kiosk and Buy It Now |
Storage is charged for weekends and bank holidays too, unless they fall within the first three days after the sale. Collect quickly or book transport before you bid to keep this at zero.
BreakerBid4U, Copart’s former service for buyers without a trade licence, has closed. Its separate convenience fees no longer apply.
Paying Copart UK
Payment must reach Copart within 3 business days of the invoice to avoid the late fee. These methods carry no surcharge:
- Bank transfer, Faster Payments, CHAPS or international bank transfer (IBAN)
- UK personal debit and credit cards
- Cash paid into Copart’s bank account
UK business cards, international cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay carry a card issuer charge. Copart UK does not accept American Express or prepaid cards. Choose your method in the calculator to include the surcharge.
UK salvage categories
Most Copart UK lots are insurance write-offs. The category affects what you can legally do with the vehicle, so check it before you bid.
Worked example
A private buyer on Fee B wins a Cat N hatchback with an online live bid of £2,500 and pays by bank transfer:
| Hammer price | £2,500.00 |
| Buyer fee (Fee B, £2,500–£2,999.99) | £319.00 |
| Online live bid fee (£2,000–£3,999.99) | £79.00 |
| Lot retrieval | £40.00 |
| VAT at 20% on £438 of fees | £87.60 |
| Total | £3,025.60 |
Fees add about 21% to the hammer price here. On cheaper vehicles the share is much higher, because most of the fees are fixed amounts.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official Copart calculator?
No. This is an independent estimate built from Copart UK’s published fee tables. Your invoice from Copart is the final figure.
Do I pay VAT on the car itself?
Only when the lot is listed as “plus VAT”, which is common for commercial vehicles and some newer cars. VAT is always added to Copart’s own fees.
Can I bid at Copart UK without a trade licence?
Many lots are open to the public, but some, including all Category B vehicles, are restricted to registered businesses. The lot page shows who can bid.
How fast do I need to collect the vehicle?
Online buyers get 4 free storage days and kiosk or Buy It Now buyers get 3. After that, daily storage applies, including weekends and bank holidays.
What happens if I don’t pay?
After 3 business days a £50 late fee is added. After 6 calendar days the vehicle is relisted and you are charged a relist fee of 10% of your bid or £300, whichever is higher.
How does the maximum bid tool work?
It finds the highest hammer price whose total, with every fee and setting you chose, stays within your budget.