Auto LifeStyle vs. Copart
At the auction, the price you bid is never the price you pay.
Copart adds a buyer fee, an internet bid fee, a gate fee, an environmental fee and a documentation fee on top of your winning bid, and charges you storage if you are slow to collect. Buy the same kind of car from us and the math is short: the listed price, a $175 document fee, and tax. No dealer license, no broker, and no bidding against strangers for a car you already decided you wanted.
The fee stack is the whole difference
Auction fees are not a rounding error. They scale with the bid, they arrive after you have already won, and they are the reason a car that looked like a bargain on the screen stops looking like one at checkout.
Buying at Copart
Your bid, and then all of this on top of it:
- Buyer fee, scaled up with your bid amount
- Internet bid fee
- Virtual bid / live bid fee
- Gate fee to get the car off the lot
- Environmental fee
- Documentation / title processing fee
- Storage and late payment fees if you are slow to pick up
- Broker commission, if the lot requires a licensed buyer
Buying from Auto LifeStyle
Three line items, and you know all three before you commit:
- The listed price on the vehicle
- A $175.00 document fee, same for every buyer
- Sales tax where it applies
A $500 deposit or 10% of the price, whichever is greater, holds the vehicle for five days while you wire the balance. Full terms are on our FAQ page.
Their total is built out of many fees you learn about late, and ours is not.
Side by side
| Copart | Auto LifeStyle | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay above the price | A stack of separate fees that can add hundreds to thousands | $175 document fee, plus tax where it applies |
| Who is allowed to buy | Plenty of lots are closed to the public unless you hold a license or pay a broker to bid for you | We sell direct to the public, no license and no middleman |
| How the price is set | You bid against strangers and can lose the car in the last seconds | One listed price, firm, and it does not move because someone else showed up |
| Where the car is right now | Consigned and waiting on a future sale date | Already bought, already on our lot, available today |
| Seeing the car before you commit | Photos and a bid deadline | Come inspect it yourself, or send your own mechanic |
| Who you are buying from | An auction platform handling someone else's consignment | A licensed and bonded Utah dealer, number 413A, since 2003 |
| Title paperwork | Your problem to chase and process | We prepare it and FedEx it to the address on your contract |
| Getting the car home | Find your own transport | Domestic and international shipper contacts and rate estimates |
More reasons to skip the auction
No dealer license, no broker
A large share of what rolls across the Copart block is closed to the general public, so you either hold a license or you hire a broker to bid on your behalf and hand them a cut of the car. We are the dealer, you buy straight from us, and nobody stands in the middle taking a percentage.
The price is the price
Our prices are firm, so there is no bidding war, no getting sniped in the final seconds, and no chasing the same car across three sale dates because somebody outbid you twice. We already went to the auction, already took that risk, and already have the car on the lot, which is why we can quote you one number today.
Inspect it before you spend a dollar
You are welcome to walk our lot and look at the car with your own eyes, or hire a mechanic or inspector to do it for you, during normal business hours. No bid clock, no guessing from a photo set. Confirm the vehicle's location with us first, then come see it.
A real dealer, licensed and bonded
Auto LifeStyle is a bonded Utah dealership, dealer number 413A, buying and selling damaged and clean title vehicles since 2003. You are dealing directly with the people who own the car, not an auction intermediary and not a broker taking a cut of your purchase.
We handle the title paperwork
We process the documents and send your title by FedEx to the address on your contract, which requires an adult signature on delivery. California buyers receive an acquisition bill of sale, and our FAQ walks through exactly how to register it.
Shipping we actually know how to arrange
We move hundreds of vehicles a month. Our relationships with domestic and international carriers mean we can point you at shippers and realistic rate estimates instead of leaving you to cold-call transport brokers.
What we will not pretend
These are salvage and rebuilt title vehicles. Every car is sold as is, with no warranty of any kind on the motor, the transmission, or anything else, and we do not provide repair estimates or insurance damage reports. That is true at Copart and it is true here. The difference is that here you can put your hands on the car first, you know your total before you pay, and nobody can outbid you for it.
Inspecting the vehicle, or having it inspected, is your responsibility. We encourage it. Read the frequently asked questions and the terms and conditions before you place a deposit.
Stop bidding. Start buying.
Our inventory updates daily, and if the car you want is not in it, one of our buyers will go find it for you.