How it works
From registration to driving home your win — three simple steps. Watch the short clips and follow along.
Create your account & verify identity
Go to the registration page and scroll down to the account section. If you're registering for a dealership or company, check the “Business Account” box. Enter your full name, phone number, and email address. Then type your city, select your country, and create a secure password — repeat it in the confirmation field. Next, move to the Identity Verification section: upload a clear photo of the front of your driver's license, then the back. Make sure both images are sharp, fully visible, and not blurry. When both files show as “Ready”, review your information once more and click the blue “Continue” button.
Review & sign the Membership Agreement
On the Membership Agreement page, carefully review all the member information already filled into the form — your legal name, address, phone number, and email. If anything is incorrect, go back and update your details before continuing. Scroll through the agreement sections: inspection standards, payment policy, delivery services, warranty program, return policy, and ownership & legal. Read the conditions and requirements before signing. At the acknowledgment section, check the box confirming you've read and agreed to all terms. Then use your finger or mouse to sign inside the signature area, just as you would sign a normal document. Once your signature is complete, click “Sign & Submit Application” at the bottom of the page.
Find a vehicle, bid, and win
Once your registration is completed and your account is approved, you can browse the auction inventory directly from the main page. Click “Inventory” in the top navigation — this section contains the full vehicle catalogue with all available lots. Search by model, make, VIN, or keyword using the search bar, or browse the listing below. Use the filters on the left — category, vehicle status, model year, mileage, price range, and transmission — to narrow things down. Click any vehicle to open its full lot page, where you can review all photos, detailed specifications, the current bid, lot status, and extra information. If the vehicle is live, click “Bid Now” to enter the live bidding section. Before placing a bid, review the current price and remaining time, then enter your amount and submit. After the auction ends, if you're the winning bidder, wait for the vendor's final sale confirmation and invoice. Once the sale is confirmed, one of our representatives will personally call you and guide you through the next steps — payment instructions, documentation, pickup scheduling, transportation, and delivery.
Ready to start?
Buyer Questions, Answered
Plain answers for buyers — zero jargon. Tap any question to open it.
Repo vehicles are cars, trucks, and SUVs that banks or lenders reclaim after the previous owner falls behind on payments. Rather than sitting on a dealership lot, they're sold through auction. On IBM Auto Trade, Inc, every repo lot arrives with a 22-point inspection, a free CARFAX, full photos, and a dedicated US agent before it ever goes live.
Shoppers frequently pay 20–40% less than comparable retail listings, because lenders care about recovering the loan balance — not padding a retail margin. You still get the inspection data, the vehicle history, and agent support; you simply get it at auction prices. It's a sensible route to an inspected used vehicle without the dealer overhead.
IBM Auto Trade, Inc is open to verified individual buyers and licensed dealers who clear our sign-up requirements:
- US residents with a valid US mailing address for title and delivery
- At least 18, with a government-issued photo ID (driver's license, state ID, or passport)
- A verified account — email, phone, and ID all reviewed before live bidding
- The means to pay in full on a win — wire transfer or approved payment within 48 hours
Overseas buyers, unverified accounts, and suspended bidders can't place live bids. Dealers may register with a dealer license on file for volume buying.
We ask for a clear photo of your government-issued ID at sign-up so the platform stays limited to verified buyers only. Because repossessed vehicles are sold for banks and lenders, they need confidence that the winning bidder is a real, identifiable person or licensed business.
Your ID photo helps us:
- Confirm your legal name lines up with your account and payment method
- Block fraudulent bids, straw buyers, and shared accounts
- Shield genuine buyers from bad-faith bidders who never plan to pay
- Satisfy lender and compliance rules for high-value vehicle sales
ID images are encrypted, checked by our verification team (usually within a few hours), and never made public. Browsing and CARFAX requests need no ID — only live bidding does.
A verified buyer has cleared email confirmation, phone verification, and ID review. Only verified accounts can bid or use Buy Now during live rounds. The reason is simple: repo auctions deal in lender-owned assets worth thousands, and verification cuts down on no-shows, missed payments, and disputes. Once you're verified, the badge appears on your dashboard and you can bid the instant a round opens.
- Browse live rounds — dozens of vehicles close together every 5 minutes.
- Register free to start bidding (just a few minutes).
- Look over the photos and 22-point inspection, and request your free CARFAX.
- Bid live inside the round window (12:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET) — every lot in a round shares one countdown.
- Win → pay in full → vehicle released → shipping → title follows.
Your lot specialist stays beside you from the first question right through to delivery.
A fresh round opens every 5 minutes, and all the lots inside it share one countdown — Monday–Thursday 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET.
- Minimum increment: $100 over the current high bid
- Proxy bidding: Set your maximum and the system bids for you in $100 steps up to it
- Round timer: When the clock hits zero, the highest verified bidder takes the lot
- Extensions: A bid in the final 30 seconds can briefly extend the lot for counter-bids
- One account per person: Shared or duplicate accounts aren't allowed
You need to be signed in and verified for a bid to count. Guests can watch the live action but can't bid.
Buy Now closes the auction on the spot at the listed price — no waiting on the round timer. It shows up on most lots whenever the seller/lender has set a fixed price above the current bid.
Bidding lets you compete through the live round, and you might win under the Buy Now price if things stay quiet. Buy Now locks in the vehicle at the stated price the second you confirm — handy when you'd rather not gamble on losing the lot.
Either way, you'll need a verified account and full payment within 48 hours of winning or buying.
If another verified buyer tops your bid before the round ends, you'll watch the price update live. You're free to raise your bid any time before the timer runs out — being outbid costs you nothing. If the round closes and you're not on top, you owe nothing. Watchlisted lots stay on your dashboard so you can follow similar vehicles in later rounds.
Yes. A bid is a binding offer to purchase. Win at the close of the round and you enter a legal purchase agreement, with the full amount due within 48 hours.
Not paying can lead to:
- Loss of any deposit or buyer fees
- Account suspension and the loss of verified status
- Relisting fees billed to your account
- A permanent ban from future auctions
Only bid on vehicles you're genuinely ready to buy. Run the shipping calculator and read the inspection first.
The winning bid (or Buy Now price) is the vehicle's purchase price. Some lots carry a documented buyer fee — usually $299–$499 covering processing, title coordination, and platform services. Where a fee applies, it's shown on the lot page before you bid, never tacked on afterward. Registering, browsing, and requesting CARFAX are all free, and shipping is quoted separately through the calculator.
Yes. Payment in full is required before the vehicle is released for shipping or pickup, and before the lender starts the title release. Browsing, bidding, and CARFAX requests are free — you only pay if you win.
Repossessed vehicles are sold for banks and credit unions that hold a security interest in them. Repo auctions normally require full payment before release because:
- The lender has to recover the outstanding balance before ownership transfers.
- The title can't be released until the lien is cleared — a partial payment leaves the vehicle legally encumbered.
- Settling in full protects you: funds are verified, the sale is logged, and your agent starts a clean title transfer.
Once payment clears, your agent books delivery (usually 5–8 business days) and tracks your title within the 10–30 business day window shown on each lot.
Shipping only starts after full payment clears. From there, nationwide open-carrier delivery usually runs 5–8 business days, with enclosed transport adding 1–2 more. Distance, vehicle size, and your ZIP all affect cost and timing — run the shipping calculator on any lot page for an estimate before you bid.
Repossessed vehicles are sold by lenders who must clear the existing lien before handing over ownership. The physical title isn't at the auction on day one — it's processed after full payment clears. Most buyers have their title within 10–30 business days of paying. Your agent follows the status and lets you know when it ships. The “Title Absent 10–30 days” note on a listing simply reflects this normal repo timeline — it's not a sign of anything wrong with the vehicle.
On any vehicle page, tap Request Free CARFAX Report beneath the photos. Add your name and email and the report arrives within minutes. Registered users can also save reports to their dashboard. Every lot includes CARFAX at no extra charge.
Yes — registration is free. An account lets you place live bids, build watchlists, follow shipments, and reach your agent. You can browse every vehicle as a guest; you only need an account once you're ready to bid or buy. Before your first bid is accepted, you'll complete identity verification — including a government-issued photo ID — so only verified buyers join live auctions.
Yes — verified buyers can bid on multiple lots within the same round. Each lot is its own auction with a separate timer and price. Win more than one and you must pay for each in full within 48 hours. Your agent can line up multiple shipments. We'd suggest setting a budget per lot — winning several at once is fine, but it adds up your total payment obligation.
You'll get an email confirmation and an invoice for the full sale amount. Pay in full inside the stated window (typically 48 hours). After the funds clear, your agent releases the vehicle for shipping or pickup and arranges delivery to your address. The lender starts the title paperwork, which follows within the 10–30 business day window.
