You won the bid, paid the invoice, and now the car sits 1,400 miles away with a clock running on it. Shipping a car bought online is a different job from shipping one out of your own driveway. The seller has a deadline, the yard has rules, and nobody there will help you load. Carvana and CarMax move the car themselves. An auction lot, a private eBay seller or an out-of-state dealer will not. This guide covers who arranges transport on each platform, what it costs, and how to book before storage fees start.
Who arranges transport when you buy a car online?
Who arranges transport depends entirely on the platform. Online retailers such as Carvana and CarMax ship the car themselves and bill you a distance-based fee. Auctions, private sellers and most out-of-state dealers hand you a paid invoice and expect a truck to show up.
That single difference changes everything downstream: your deadline, your costs, and whether anyone is standing in the yard to load the car.
| Where you bought it | Who arranges transport | Typical transport cost | Deadline to move it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carvana | Carvana, own fleet | Free locally; commonly $190–$590 by distance, more cross-country | None — delivery is scheduled |
| CarMax | CarMax store transfer | $0 to $999+, up to about $2,000 cross-country | None |
| eBay Motors, Secure Purchase | eBay, built into checkout | Quoted at checkout | None |
| eBay Motors, private or auction lot | You | Market rate for the lane | Seller’s terms, often 7–14 days |
| Franchise or independent dealer | Usually you | Market rate for the lane | Lot policy, usually flexible |
| Copart | You, via a third-party transporter | Market rate plus yard fees | 3 business days free, including sale day |
| IAA | You, via a third-party transporter | Market rate plus yard fees | Award day plus 4 days free |
| Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids | You | Often enclosed, so 40–60% above open | Seller’s terms, usually about 14 days |
| Facebook Marketplace, private party | You | Market rate for the lane | None, but the seller wants it gone |
Run your own lane through the car shipping cost calculator before you accept any platform’s quoted fee. Sometimes the built-in price is fair. Sometimes it is double the market rate for that route.
Why shipping a car bought online runs on someone else’s clock
The deadline costs more than the carrier does. A retail purchase sits safely until delivery, but an auction purchase starts accruing storage almost immediately, and the free window is measured in days rather than weeks.
Copart gives roughly three business days of free storage, counting the day of sale, after which location-specific daily storage applies. Payment has its own clock: funds are generally due within three business days, and a late fee of about $50 per day per vehicle follows. Leave it long enough and the lot can be relisted, with a penalty of around 10% of the sale price and a $600 minimum.
IAA works on a similar but slightly longer schedule. Free storage typically runs from the award day plus four days, then commonly $50 per day, with some branches at $60. Domestic buyers usually have the award day plus two days to pay. Purchases must normally be secured within five business days, or IAA may relocate the vehicle and bill the transport.
Do the arithmetic before you shop on price. Saving $150 on a carrier that picks up four days later can cost you $200 in storage and a late fee. On an auction lot, availability beats rate almost every time.
Rates and free periods vary by yard and change without much notice, so treat every figure here as a planning number and confirm the current ones on your invoice.
How to ship a car you bought at auction, step by step
The order matters, because each step unlocks the next. Skip one and the truck arrives at a gate that will not open.
- Pay the invoice in full first. No yard releases a vehicle on a pending payment. Electronic payment clears fastest, and paying in person often adds a surcharge of about $20 per vehicle.
- Get the release document. Copart issues a unique Gate Pass PIN for each lot, shown on your Payments Due page, which you push to your carrier with the “Send to Transporter” function. IAA emails pickup instructions once payment confirms, and that email serves as the release form.
- Describe the condition honestly. There are three states that matter: it runs and drives, it rolls and steers and brakes, or it does neither. Each needs different equipment. Vehicles cannot be driven off Copart property in any case, so every lot leaves on a truck. The vehicle shipping profile tool shows what your specific car needs.
- Book the appointment. Copart requires transporters to schedule through the Copart Transportation App, and IAA transporters use the IAA Tow App. Yards load on weekdays during business hours, so a Friday win realistically means a Monday or Tuesday pickup.
- Confirm who does the loading. Copart staff normally move the vehicle to the loading area and load it, except on heavy and medium-duty lots, which are self-load. IAA loaders will not lift anything over 11,000 lb. Above those limits, your carrier supplies the equipment and carries the liability.
- Handle the title separately. The title does not ride in the car by default. Copart mails it for about $15 by USPS or $20 by FedEx, or releases it at the yard for a per-title handling fee, and a Limited Power of Attorney is required to mail it or send it with the transporter.
- Inspect at delivery, not afterwards. Photograph the car before it loads and again the moment it arrives. Use the car shipping checklist and its printable inspection form, and note anything new on the bill of lading before the driver leaves.
What changes from platform to platform
Every marketplace sets its own rules for release, payment and loading. These are the five situations that cover almost every online purchase.
Carvana and CarMax: transport is included and priced by distance
Both retailers move the car on their own network, so you are buying transport whether you want to or not. Carvana delivers free within a local market and charges a distance-based fee otherwise, commonly in the $190–$590 range and higher cross-country. CarMax transfers run anywhere from $0 to $999 and beyond, reaching roughly $2,000 coast to coast.
Two details catch people out. First, the fee is normally non-refundable once transport has begun, so returning the car under Carvana’s 7-day window does not return the shipping money. Second, Carvana runs a fleet of roughly 2,000 trucks on regional routing, which means your car moves on their schedule rather than on demand.
You generally cannot substitute your own carrier for a hub-to-door delivery. What you can do is compare: if the quoted fee is far above the going rate for that lane, picking the car up yourself from a nearby hub or vending machine may be cheaper than paying for delivery.
eBay Motors: two completely different situations
eBay has sold vehicles since 2000 and passed two million cars by 2006, so the platform covers everything from classics and collector cars to commercial trucks, trailers and RVs. What matters for transport is which kind of listing you bought.
eBay’s Secure Purchase flow, powered by its Carmel Dealer Services subsidiary, bundles title, financing, registration and delivery into the checkout, with protection of up to $100,000 on eligible purchases. In that case there is nothing to arrange.
Everything else — private sellers, auction-format lots and small independent dealers — behaves like any private-party purchase. Payment, the pickup window and loading are between you and the seller. Ask two questions before you bid: will the seller release the car to a carrier without you present, and is somebody there on a weekday to hand over the keys.
Copart and IAA: salvage rules, not retail rules
Salvage yards run on procedure, and a carrier who has never worked one will lose you a day. Buyers need an account before bidding, and public buyers can only bid on specific inventory and in states that permit it. Invoices carry yard-specific line items, including a gate fee that commonly falls between $79 and $95 and an environmental fee of roughly $10–$15.
On the yard itself, drivers need a high-visibility vest, the vehicle cannot be driven out, and pickup is by appointment through the relevant app. A large share of lots do not run, which is why the winch question matters so much. Filter for companies that handle inoperable vehicles rather than assuming a standard carrier can take one.
Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids and enthusiast auctions
Enthusiast auctions sell the cars most likely to need special handling: low, valuable, modified, or parked for several years. Enclosed transport with a hydraulic liftgate is the default rather than the upgrade, and it runs roughly 40–60% above open transport. Browse enclosed transport companies and confirm the carrier’s cargo policy actually covers what you paid.
The upside is the seller. Enthusiast sellers are usually individuals who care about the car, so they will start it, photograph the loading and hold it a few extra days. Payment is normally by wire, and the carrier books once funds confirm.
Out-of-state dealers and private sellers
This group has the loosest deadline and the most awkward logistics. Dealer lots close on Sundays, the salesperson who sold you the car takes two days off, and private sellers work daytime jobs. Therefore, pin down a named contact, a phone number and a two-day pickup window before you book anything.
For a dealer purchase, ask whether the car will be prepped and fuelled. Carriers prefer a quarter tank or less, and a dealer who fills the tank as a courtesy has added weight nobody is paying for.
Where the car sits matters more than what you paid for it
Pickup location sets the price far more than the purchase price does. Carriers run fixed lanes, so a yard twenty minutes from an interstate in a high-volume state is cheap to serve, while a rural lot two hours off the corridor costs a driver half a day.
Auction and dealer volume concentrates in a handful of states, which is also where the trucks are. Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Illinois between them hold most of the country’s carrier capacity. Metro yards near Miami, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix get daily coverage.
Established lanes are both cheaper and faster, because a truck is already heading that way. California to Texas, Texas to Florida, New York to Florida and Florida to California all move constantly. The full set of popular routes shows current ranges lane by lane.
Season matters too. Southbound capacity tightens from October through December as snowbirds move, and northbound tightens again from March through May. An auction win during those windows may sit an extra two or three days before a truck is free. For a broader view of timing, see how long it takes to ship a car.
Checking the company before you hand over a release PIN
A Gate Pass PIN is a release authorization, not a booking reference. Once it reaches a company, somebody can collect a car you have already paid for. That makes verification a step to complete before you send it, not afterwards.
Start with the licence. Every legitimate carrier and broker holds an active USDOT number, and brokers additionally hold an MC number with a $75,000 surety bond. The company lookup tool checks a USDOT or MC number against FMCSA records and flags inactive authority, missing insurance and other red flags in one search.
Then decide what kind of company you want. A broker posts your car to a load board and finds a truck, which is normal and often faster on an odd lane. A carrier owns the truck and moves the car itself. For a time-critical auction pickup, some buyers prefer to deal with carriers running their own trucks, because there is nobody in between when a schedule slips. Filtering for a satisfactory FMCSA safety rating narrows the list further.
Every listing in the directory is verified against FMCSA records, and the verification method explains exactly which fields are checked and how often. You can also browse the full map of companies by state to find one already working near your yard.
Next step: price your exact lane before the storage clock starts. Estimate the cost from the yard to your driveway →
Common mistakes that cost real money
- Booking transport before funds clear. The carrier arrives, the gate stays shut, and you pay a dry-run fee.
- Saying “it ran when parked.” Carriers price on equipment, not optimism. A wrong condition report means the truck leaves empty.
- Assuming the title is in the car. It is mailed separately in almost every auction purchase, and a Limited Power of Attorney is usually required.
- Sending a Gate Pass PIN to an unverified company. Check the USDOT number first; the PIN is a release, not a quote request.
- Taking the cheapest quote on a three-day clock. A low rate that nobody accepts on the load board is not a booking.
- Not asking who loads. Heavy and medium-duty lots are self-load, and yard loaders have weight limits.
- Treating a retail delivery fee as refundable. Carvana and CarMax shipping charges generally survive a return.
- Leaving belongings in the car. Personal items are not covered by cargo insurance, and the rules are stricter than most buyers expect. See what you can pack when shipping a car.
- Waiting to report damage. Note it on the bill of lading at delivery; the damage claim assistant covers deadlines and evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ship a car I bought at Copart?
Yes, and you have to: vehicles cannot be driven off Copart property for legal and safety reasons, so every lot leaves on a truck. Pay the invoice, then send your carrier the Gate Pass PIN using the “Send to Transporter” function. The carrier schedules an appointment in the Copart Transportation App and checks in on arrival. Yard staff normally load the vehicle, except on heavy and medium-duty lots, which are self-load.
How long do I have to pick up a car from an auction?
Copart typically allows about three business days of free storage including the day of sale, after which daily storage applies at location-specific rates. IAA typically allows the award day plus four days, then commonly $50 per day, with some branches charging $60. Both also set separate payment deadlines that run faster than the storage clock. Confirm the current figures for your specific yard, because they vary by location and change.
Does Carvana let you use your own car shipping company?
Not for a standard home delivery, which Carvana fulfils on its own fleet and bills as a distance-based fee. The practical alternative is to collect the car yourself from a local hub or vending machine, which usually avoids the delivery charge. Compare that fee against the market rate for the same lane before deciding. Note that shipping charges are normally non-refundable once transport has started, even within the 7-day return window.
Do I need a dealer licence to buy and ship a car from an auction?
It depends on the auction, the state and the individual lot. Both Copart and IAA register public buyers as well as licensed businesses, but public buyers can only bid on inventory marked as open to them and only where state rules allow. Each vehicle listing shows who is eligible to bid on it. Transport itself does not require a licence on your side, but the company moving the car must hold active FMCSA authority.
Who is responsible if the car is damaged between the auction and my house?
Once the vehicle is loaded, the carrier’s cargo insurance covers it, and the bill of lading is the document that proves condition at pickup and delivery. Auctions generally disclaim responsibility for damage caused by third-party transporters, and loading liability often sits with the transporter rather than the yard. So photograph the car at both ends and note any new damage on the bill of lading before the driver leaves. The damage claim assistant covers the deadlines and evidence you need.