The Vehicle – Search, Status, Title Status & Information
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How do I search for a car available at auction?
We try to make searching for a vehicle as easy as possible. You can choose to search either by Body Type (if you are not sure what specific make and model you are interested in) or by Make and Model if you know what you want.
If you are searching by Body Type, simply choose the body style you are interested in, the years you want to filter your selection and your zip code so that you can find cars close to you. Hint – sometimes to find the best deal, you should have a large search radius because some makes and models sell for cheaper in certain parts of the country. Even though you may pay a bit more in shipping, the savings could be significant.
If you are searching by Make and Model, just pick the make and model, the year range and the geographic location and you will see all the relevant results. Then it’s just a matter of the finding the price that fits within your budget.
When you see the search results, you can filter the results so that you narrow your search even more. We usually have over 100,000 cars on our site so to get specific results for what you are looking for will greatly help your car search.
Finally, you are able to use the search bar to type in your search as well. This function is available on the search results page. Our search bar is intuitive and gives you the ability to search by year, make, model, location, VIN, title status, etc….
In all, we try to make it as easy as possible for you to find the car that you want!
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Can I inspect vehicles prior to auction?
You can inspect the vehicle prior to the live auction, making an offer or exercising the buy now option. The inspection would be at the location where the auction is being held and is done by a third-party inspection company at a cost. You will need to contact one of our Auction Specialist for more details and how to schedule the inspection by calling us at 1-800-680-8010 or emailing us at [email protected].
You could also hire a third-party car inspector to inspect the car on your behalf. The vehicle inspection company will charge a fee for this service. These inspection companies must have the right to enter the auction location to inspect the vehicle.
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Where do I find the more information about the car that I am interested in?
Each car listing page will have a wealth of information about the car.
On the car listing page, you will find pictures of the car, the current bid for the vehicle, the buy now price (if applicable), the finance from price as well as the loan calculator, the title status, vehicle status, damage, mileage and its location. We also give you a list of known specs for the car on that page along with additional tools to help you decide if this car is right for you, such as information about market pricing for the vehicle and cost of ownership.
Some of the items in the banner under the pictures provide you with additional important information. Each of the title, status, damage and mileage information have tooltips (i.e. ⓘ) which you can hover your mouse over and a pop-up will give you more information about that section (for the damage section, you need to click the tooltip for more information). For example, if you hover your mouse over the tooltip in the Status section you will get more information what that particular Status means.
Please note all of this information comes from the Auction Clearing House so we cannot guaranty its accuracy.
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How do I know the Status of a vehicle?
The status of the vehicle will be found in the car listing page under the pictures of the car in the section called “Status”. If you hover your mouse over the tooltip (i.e. ⓘ) beside the word “Status” you will get more information about the status of the car.
Please note all of this information comes from the Auction Clearing House so we cannot guaranty its accuracy.
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What does Engine/Vehicle Starts mean?
When the vehicle was checked-in to the Auction Clearing House’s lot, the engine/vehicle (a) started (either with or without a jump) and (b) was able to run at idle. There is no warranty, guaranty or representation that (a) the vehicle can be driven on the roads or highways within any state in the US or is roadworthy, (b) that the vehicle will start (either with or without a jump), (c) be able to run at idle and/or (d) move forward or backward when picked up from the Auction Clearing House or thereafter.
Since all of the information provided on our site is from the auction clearing house, it is your sole responsibility to determine, confirm, research and/or inspect the vehicle prior to bidding on and/or buying the car. This vehicle is being sold “as-is, where-is” with all faults. Auto Auction Mall has not verified this information in any way.
Also, keep in mind, and this is important, if the auction clearing house stated that the vehicle starts that means the vehicle started when the vehicle arrived at the auction facility and was only tested on that day (i.e. it was not tested again). Between that time and when the vehicle is delivered to you, it could stop working for various reasons. The auction clearing house does not provide any guaranty or warranty on this and neither can we.
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What does Run and Drive mean?
When the vehicle was checked-in to the Auction Clearing House’s lot, the vehicle (a) started (either with or without a jump), (b) could be put into gear and (c) was capable of moving forward under its own power. There is no warranty, guaranty or representation that (a) the vehicle can be driven on the roads or highways within any state in the US or is roadworthy, (b) that the vehicle will start (with or without a jump), drive and/or move forward or backward under its own power when picked up from the Auction Clearing House or thereafter.
Since all of the information provided on our site is from the auction clearing house, it is your sole responsibility to determine, confirm, research and/or inspect the vehicle prior to bidding on and/or buying the car. This vehicle is being sold “as-is, where-is” with all faults. Auto Auction Mall has not verified this information in any way.
Also, keep in mind, and this is important, if the auction clearing house stated that the vehicle runs and drives that means the vehicle started and moved when the vehicle arrived at the auction facility and was only tested on that day (i.e. it was not tested again). Between that time and when the vehicle is delivered to you, it could stop working for various reasons. The auction clearing house does not provide any guaranty or warranty on this and neither can we.
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How do I know the Title status of a vehicle?
The title status of the vehicle will be found in the car listing page under the pictures of the car in the section called “Title”. If you hover your mouse over the tooltip (i.e. ⓘ) beside the word “Title” you will get more information about the title.
Please note all of this information comes from the Auction Clearing House so we cannot guaranty its accuracy.
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What are the different Title statuses of the cars?
Not all cars listed on our site have the same title status. There are various title statuses that cars could have. Some of the main ones (which you may have heard of before) are Clean, Clear, Salvage and Rebuilt.
Each State DMV may have different rules regarding what types of cars fall into the title category above, so we highly recommend that you check with DMV of the State that is issuing the title and the DMV of the State where you want to register the car for more accurate information.
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What is Clean Title and do you have Clean Title cars on Auto Auction Mall?
Clean title is issued to a vehicle that has not been in an accident or, if it has been in accident, it has not been deemed a total loss by the insurance company. Remember, a Clean title vehicle does not mean that it has never been in an accident, just that the accident was not severe enough to count as a total loss. You need to check the vehicle history report to determine whether the vehicle was in an accident.
Auto Auction Mall does have some clean titled cars on its site. In fact, in some of our listings when you hover over the tooltip (i.e. ⓘ) beside the Title you will see that the Auction Clearing House states that the title for that vehicle is commonly referred to as Clean or Clear title with no brands.
Please note that clean titles are not guaranteed and may become salvage under new ownership transfer as per National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) regulations. To find out more, feel free to visit the NMVTIS site at https://www.vehiclehistory.gov.
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What is the difference between Clear Title and Clean Title?
Good question. Clean title is explained in the FAQ pages above. Clear title (in auction terms) means that the vehicle has a history of damage that has been repaired. It could also have had a previous salvage title or brand and the car was rebuilt and has passed the particular State’s inspection process to be deemed roadworthy.
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A note about Rebuilt cars
Some cars on our site will have a Rebuilt certificate of title or a clear title with a salvage brand stating that the car was rebuilt. This means that the car, which previously had a certificate of salvage, has been reconstructed or repaired and restored to operation. Cars with a rebuilt certificate of title may be registered in the state that issued such certificate and in most other states, but you will have to check with your local DMV. A reconstructed vehicle with a rebuilt title can be driven on highways. However, the guidelines for getting a Rebuilt certificate of title will vary from state to state.
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What is Salvage Title?
Generally, Salvage title denotes that the vehicle has been damaged and/or deemed a total loss by an insurance company that paid a claim on it. Effectively, if the car was damaged to the point that the insurance company deemed the car to be a total loss, the car will then have a salvage title.
The amount of damage that is required for a car to be deemed a total loss varies from State to State. Some States mandate that a total loss should equal 50% of the car value, others can go as high as 95% – 100% of the car value, while other States allow the insurer to decide its threshold for a total loss. Because of this, there is a risk that a car which is considered clear or clean in one state could be considered salvage in another state when brought over for registration in that other state. For example, if the car in a State where the salvage threshold is damage in the amount of 95% of the car value is brought to a State where the threshold is 50% that car would be clean or clear title in the first State but considered salvage in the other state.
In addition, regulations in some states require a salvage title to be issued for stolen or vandalized vehicles.
We highly recommend that you look up the rules and regulations of the State where the title is registered and the State where you wish to register the car to determine the rules and criteria they use in connection with salvage title and determination.
We discuss Salvage vehicles and title in more detail under this “Understanding Salvage Titles” FAQ page below.
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Can a car with Salvage Title be issued a clear certificate of title?
It is possible for a car which previously had a salvage title to be issued a certificate of title (clear title) with a salvage brand stating that it was rebuilt. This would happen in the case where extensive repairs were done by the owner of the salvage title vehicle and the State inspected the car and deemed it to be roadworthy. In this case, the car becomes “driveable” again and there is a good chance that insurance companies will look favorably on these types of cars from an insurance perspective.
We highly recommend that you look up the rules and regulations of the particular State where you wish to register the car and also speak to insurers in that State to ensure that you won’t have any registration or insurance issues.
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What information do you have about the damage on the vehicle?
Our customer service mission is to provide you with as much information about the car as we can. The damage information on our site is the information we receive from the auction clearing house. In addition, we provide you with pictures of the car (which we also get from the auction clearing house).
In both cases (the damage information and the pictures of the car), we cannot and do not independently verify any of the information or the pictures. That is why all of the cars sold on our site are sold “as-is, where-is, with all faults”.
You can see the damage information in the section called “Damage” found under the pictures of the car. Just click the tooltip (i.e. ⓘ) in the “Damage” section and you will see a pop-up with the damage information and, in some cases (if the auction house has provided this), information regarding whether airbags have been deployed.
This information will help you make a more informed decision!
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Is there anything that I can do if the vehicle I purchased has more damage than shown in the pictures?
Unfortunately, no. Since we do not independently verify the information about the car provided by the auction clearing house and do not see nor take possession of the vehicle before it is delivered to you, we cannot offer any forms of warranties, guarantees or representation as to the vehicle or its condition. This includes if your car has more damage than what the description or pictures on our site depicted.
Please understand that the photos shown on our site do not generally include pictures of the undercarriage or latent defects. These are the only photos that the auction clearing house has provided of the vehicle and we cannot get any additional photos, nor do we inspect the car. Because of this we do not know if there is additional damage on the car not shown in the photographs or included in the damage report or if there have been previous repairs or not.
As mentioned in the FAQ page above, all cars sold on our site are sold “as-is, where-is, with all faults”.
