Getting a car off the block and onto a truck.
Auction pickup fails for administrative reasons far more often than logistical ones. The truck can be twenty minutes away and still leave empty because a payment has not cleared or a release was issued to a different name. Here is the sequence that works, with each auction's own rules.
How do I get a car picked up from an auction?
The buyer must pay in full and the auction must release the vehicle before a carrier can collect it. The carrier then needs that release: a Vehicle Release at Manheim, a Gate PIN and appointment at Copart, a Tow App check-in at IAA. Free storage is often short, so book transport the day you win.
Five fields, and the truck can be booked.
| Auction and location | Not just 'Manheim' — which site, by its real town. Manheim Charlotte is in Concord NC, America's Auto Auction Greenville is in Greer SC, and IAA Greenville is in Simpsonville SC. Manheim Greer is a service center, not an auction |
|---|---|
| Sale date | Determines when release happens and when storage starts |
| Buyer number | Your buyer ID at that auction. At IAA the driver confirms it in the Tow App |
| Lot or stock number | One per vehicle, plus the VIN if you have it |
| The release | Issued once payment clears. Without it the truck does not get through the gate, no matter who it is. The table below shows what each auction uses |
From the auctions' own published rules.
| Auction | What the carrier uses | Pickup window |
|---|---|---|
| Manheim | A Vehicle Release (the old gate pass, renamed in 2020) plus the driver's photo ID at the gate | Removed by the sixth day after the vehicle is eligible; storage of up to $25 a day after that |
| Copart | You choose Send to Transporter; the carrier gets a Gate PIN and books a pickup appointment in the Copart Transportation App | Up to three free days, including sale day |
| IAA | The carrier registers at an IAA branch, then schedules and checks in on the IAA Tow App with the stock number and your buyer ID | Yard hours only; a cancellation fee applies if a unit is not picked up within 30 days of payment |
| ADESA (Carvana) | The auction's release; off-site vehicles need an auction-issued gate pass | Within seven calendar days |
| America's Auto Auction | Set per location. Greenville (in Greer) releases Monday to Friday, 8 to 5 | Set per location |
Not the same job at all.
| Wholesale auction (Manheim, America's Auto Auction, ADESA) | Salvage auction (Copart, IAA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle condition | Generally running and driveable | Often non-running, wrecked, missing parts |
| Equipment needed | Standard car hauler | Winch, sometimes a forklift or rollback |
| Loading | Driven onto the trailer | Winched, and the yard's loader may be required |
| Load-out hours | Posted per site | Strict, and enforced |
| Storage clock | Varies; about six days at Manheim, seven at ADESA | Shorter; Copart allows up to three free days |
| Paperwork | Vehicle Release or gate pass | Gate PIN or Tow App check-in |
The practical consequence: tell the carrier which kind of auction it is, and for a salvage unit answer the three questions that decide the equipment — does it roll, does it steer, does it brake. A truck that arrives to find a vehicle on three wheels leaves without it.
Salvage yards also have their own yard rules. Copart vehicles cannot be driven off the lot, tools (code readers included) are banned in the yard, and vests and closed-toe shoes are required. IAA requires vests in loading zones, and its loading policy says plainly that loader operators can say no.
The most expensive thing on this page.
Auctions charge storage after a short free period following the sale, and salvage yards are usually the strictest about it. That clock starts whether or not you have arranged transport, and it is entirely capable of eating the margin on a wholesale buy. The moment you win a unit, the transport call is the next call — before the paperwork, before the reconditioning plan.
Volume, on the sale calendar.
- Accounts at the gateWe hold accounts with Manheim, America's Auto Auction, Copart, IAA and ADESA (Carvana), and take OPENLANE marketplace units. See Auction transport.
- Bulk loads off one saleSeven to nine units on a high-mount rig from a single sale, delivered together, which is far cheaper per unit than the same units moved one at a time.
- Multi-auction runsManheim Charlotte in Concord and Manheim Statesville can go on the same trip, so units at both ride one truck.
- Short Upstate turnsCopart Spartanburg is about five miles from our yard, America's Auto Auction Greenville (in Greer) about thirteen, and IAA Greenville (in Simpsonville) about twenty.
- Non-runnersWinches are on some of our trucks, so salvage units are routine as long as they roll, steer and brake and you tell us at booking.
- Export buysUnits bought for export go to the exporter's loading warehouse or consolidation yard, never into a port terminal. Presenting the title and filing export paperwork with CBP is the exporter's or forwarder's job at the port; ours ends when the unit is signed for at the warehouse. See Export vehicles.
Book the truck before the paperwork clears, not after. We will hold a slot against a sale date and collect as soon as the release is issued. Waiting until the release is in your hand means competing for capacity with everyone else who did the same thing, in the same week, after the same sale.
Straight answers
How long do I have to pick up a car from an auction?
It depends on the auction. Copart allows up to three free days including sale day. Manheim expects removal by the sixth day after the vehicle is eligible. ADESA asks for pickup within seven calendar days. America's Auto Auction sets its rules per location. Check the terms on the day you win.
Can a carrier pick up before I have paid?
No. The auction releases the vehicle only after payment has cleared, and Manheim may hold a vehicle up to 72 hours for funds to clear. No carrier can get a unit out ahead of that, and any that claims it can is describing something you do not want to be part of.
Do you pick up from Copart and IAA?
Yes, we hold accounts with both. At Copart, use Send to Transporter with our email and we book the appointment; at IAA, give us the stock number and your buyer ID. Tell us whether the vehicle rolls, steers and brakes — that decides whether a winch truck is needed, and it is the answer that most often turns out to be wrong.
Is Manheim Greer an auction?
No. Manheim describes its Greer site as a service center that complements its auction locations, and it lists no sale days. The nearest Manheim auctions to the Upstate are Manheim Charlotte in Concord NC and Manheim Statesville.
Is it cheaper to ship several auction cars at once?
Substantially. A full high-mount load from a single sale costs a fraction per unit of the same units moved one at a time, because you are paying for one trip instead of several. If you buy in volume, buy transport in volume.
Read next
Auction transport
Auction pickups from Manheim, America's Auto Auction, Copart, IAA and ADESA on our own car haulers. Release handled, photos at the gate, delivered to your lot or your exporter's warehouse.
Read onManheim
Manheim pickups at Charlotte (Concord), Statesville, Darlington and Atlanta by a Spartanburg car hauler: Vehicle Release and photo ID at the gate, photos on every unit.
Read onCopart
Copart pickups on our own trucks. Copart Spartanburg is five miles from our yard. Gate PIN and appointment handled, non-runners on a winch truck, delivered to your shop or exporter.
Read onInoperable vehicles
Non-running, wrecked and salvage vehicle transport from Spartanburg SC on winch-equipped car haulers, and the three questions to answer before booking.
Read onStill want a person to answer it?
We would rather talk you out of the wrong service than sell you one. Tell us what you are moving.