In our fee model, IAAI costs less in fees than Copart at a $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 winning bid: $20, $330 and $130 less. That is for a Standard (non-licensed) buyer bidding online, and it is an estimate, not an invoice. Put your own bid through the Copart fee calculator and the IAAI fee calculator to get your number.
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Fee breakdown
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A fee calculator tells you what the car will cost. It does not tell you whether it will sell. CarFlipIQ tracks retail asking prices and days-on-market across all 50 states — so you know whether a winning bid actually moves at your target resale price in your local market.
Estimates only. Copart updates its fee schedule periodically and certain locations / vehicle types apply surcharges. Always verify final fees against the Copart member fee schedule before bidding.
Calculator assumptions: Standard (non-Premier) buyer bidding online, default $95 gate, $15 environmental and $20 title fees, no storage. Estimates only. Also available as the standalone Copart fee calculator.
LocalIQ™ market snapshot
What top flip candidates are asking right now
| Model | Listings | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|
| GMC Sierra 1500 | 632 | $29,972 |
| Honda Civic | 5,396 | $15,000 |
| Honda Accord | 4,176 | $15,999 |
| Ford F-150 | 3,134 | $24,000 |
| Toyota Corolla | 3,040 | $14,500 |
| Nissan Sentra | 3,004 | $9,880 |
| Toyota Camry | 2,510 | $17,082 |
| Hyundai Elantra | 2,396 | $9,499 |
LocalIQ™ asking-price median · 24,288 listings · updated every 6 hours. National, last 8 model years; asking price is your resale ceiling.
How do Copart and IAAI fees compare at $1k, $5k and $10k?
Every figure below comes from the code behind our two calculators, run at each bid. Nothing is typed by hand.
| Winning bid | Copart fees | IAAI fees | Difference (Copart minus IAAI) | Copart all-in | IAAI all-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $389 | $369 | $20 | $1,389 | $1,369 |
| $5,000 | $1,059 | $729 | $330 | $6,059 | $5,729 |
| $10,000 | $1,159 | $1,029 | $130 | $11,159 | $11,029 |
The gap is not a fixed percentage. It is small at $1,000, widest at $5,000 and narrower again at $10,000.
What does each fee line look like?
| Line | Copart $1,000 | IAAI $1,000 | Copart $5,000 | IAAI $5,000 | Copart $10,000 | IAAI $10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer fee | $180 | $150 | $750 | $480 | $750 | $750 |
| Internet bid fee | $79 | $79 | $179 | $109 | $279 | $139 |
| Gate (Copart) / service (IAAI) | $95 | $105 | $95 | $105 | $95 | $105 |
| Environmental | $15 | $15 | $15 | $15 | $15 | $15 |
| Title | $20 | $20 | $20 | $20 | $20 | $20 |
Two things drive the result. At $5,000 the buyer fee is $270 lower on the IAAI side. At $10,000 both buyer fees are 7.5% of the bid, so the whole difference is the internet bid fee ($279 against $139), partly offset by IAAI's $10 higher service fee.
What assumptions does the comparison use?
Same assumptions on both sides, so the comparison is like for like:
- Standard buyer (no dealer license), not a Premier or licensed-dealer schedule.
- Online bid, so the internet bid fee applies.
- Default flat fees in our code: $95 gate for Copart, $105 service fee for IAAI, $15 environmental and $20 title on both.
- Zero storage days.
- No transport, sales tax or repairs.
Copart's own member guide names the buyer fee, internet bid fee and gate fee as parts of the payment (New Member Guide, Spanish-language PDF, revised 12/14, checked October 2026). The dollar tiers are our calculators' schedules, and both auctions update theirs, so the invoice decides.
Why do the buyer fees differ?
The two schedules use different tier breakpoints. Both switch to 7.5% of the bid from $10,000, but below that each auction steps its flat fee at different bids, which is why the gap moves around. For the full tier lists see Copart fees explained and IAAI fees explained.
Does the cheaper fee mean the cheaper car?
No. Fees are one slice of the cost. The same car can sell for a different price at each auction because the bidders differ, and the yard you pick changes your transport bill. A $330 fee gap can disappear against a longer tow. Our IAAI vs Copart comparison covers inventory, access and condition reports, and the real cost of buying from Copart shows what sits outside the fee stack.
Storage is the other swing factor. Pickup deadlines and daily rates differ by yard, so read Copart storage fees and pickup and IAAI storage fees and pickup deadline before you bid, and use the Copart storage and gate fee calculator if a car may sit.
How do you compare a specific lot?
- Find the same make, model and year range at both auctions near you.
- Run each expected winning bid through its own fee calculator.
- Add transport from each yard.
- Put the totals against your resale estimate in the max bid calculator.
The lot with the higher margin after all four steps wins, whichever auction it is on. Fees are fixed by the bid, but your ceiling is yours: set it before the sale and do not move it on the day.
