Opening a Manheim account is a two-step process: Auction Access first, then Manheim.com. Manheim's own registration page states no cost for either step, and Auction Access's public site shows no price. If you have seen a dollar figure for a "Manheim membership fee," it did not come from a Manheim page we could read.
That is the whole fee answer for account setup. The rest of this page is the process, what Manheim does and does not publish, and where the real money shows up after you are in.
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 you open a Manheim account?
Per Manheim's new dealer registration page (checked 2026-10):
- Get an Auction Access ID number. The page says "Auction Access is a dealer authentication service that confirms you are an authorized dealer." You provide the information and documentation Auction Access needs to show you are an authorized dealer, and once confirmed they issue your ID number.
- Sign up on Manheim.com. Click "Sign Up" in the top right corner, then enter your Auction Access ID number and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number or government identification.
- Set up your profile. The page points you to profile and notification settings, where you choose how you receive titles, set up autopayment and receive lane alerts.
Manheim's Simulcast help page adds a related requirement: "To participate in Simulcast sales, you must be a registered dealer with a Manheim username and password." For account help it lists Customer Care at 1-866-MANHEIM (626-4346).
What does Manheim say an account costs?
Nothing, in either direction. The registration page we read states no cost and lists no fees. Auction Access's public home page (auctionaccess.com) offers an "Enroll a new dealership" option and a customer service contact, but no pricing, eligibility list or document list on that page.
So the accurate statement is: the cost of the Auction Access step is not published where we looked. Contact Auction Access (the site lists customerservice@auctionaccess.com and (205) 414-2739) and ask three questions: what it costs per dealership, whether there is any per-user charge, and what documents they need.
We are deliberately not quoting the annual figures that some third-party pages attach to this. We could not tie them to Manheim or Auction Access, and a wrong number here costs you a decision.
Who can open a Manheim account?
Manheim's terms and conditions (the page shows a November 4, 2021 update date) say users represent they are a licensed motor vehicle dealer, that each buyer and seller is pre-registered with AuctionACCESS and/or pre-approved by Manheim, and that its sales are "wholesale auctions open only to" dealer buyers and sellers. As a buyer you also certify that you hold a retail sales tax registration certificate, license or other permit issued by your taxing authority.
If you do not hold a license yet, see how to get a car auction dealer license and our dealer license guides by state. Non-dealer options are covered in can you buy at Manheim without a dealer license.
What are the fees after the account is open?
Account setup is the small part. The fees that scale with how much you buy are the ones Manheim states per transaction:
- The buyer's fee, charged by each Manheim auction, with no national table. See Manheim buyer fees.
- A standard $50 Simulcast buyer fee per vehicle on Simulcast purchases.
- A late fee of 3% (minimum $40, maximum $400) after business day 3 of aging, per Manheim's purchase terms.
- Location storage fees, which differ by auction. See Manheim storage fees.
Autopayment, mentioned in the profile settings step, is the simplest way to avoid the late fee, since payment is due on the date of purchase.
What should a small dealer set up on day one?
Practical, and all from the pages above:
- Notification preferences. Titles, lane alerts and payment reminders are all configured in the profile, per the registration page.
- Autopayment. Payment is due on the purchase date; the late fee starts after business day 3 and buying privileges are suspended after business day 4.
- A record of your own fee schedule. Because the buyer's fee is set by each auction, keep your invoices. The worksheet in our fee calculator guide uses exactly those numbers.
What does Manheim require of a registered dealer after sign-up?
Two obligations show up in Manheim's own text and are worth knowing before the first purchase. First, the terms and conditions say you certify that the registration and representative information you gave, "whether via AuctionACCESS or otherwise," is true, correct and complete, so keep your dealership details current. Second, Manheim reserves the right to "cease doing business with you or anyone else, at any time" under its fairness and courtesy section, and its purchase terms suspend buying privileges after business day 4 of an unpaid purchase.
None of that costs money to set up, and all of it can cost you the account. For a small dealer buying monthly, the account is the asset: protect it by paying on time and keeping the registration data accurate.
How does this compare to Copart and IAAI access?
Copart and IAAI publish fee schedules that Manheim does not. Our IAAI fee calculator and Copart fee calculator produce all-in numbers from published schedules. Manheim's side cannot be computed the same way because the schedule is not public.
If you buy monthly, the decision between auctions comes down to landed cost against local resale. CarFlipIQ shows asking-price comps and days to sell for a specific car so you can check the exit before you worry about the entry fee. Start with the max bid calculator and plug in the fee lines from your own Manheim invoices.