Cars & Bids is an online auction marketplace for modern enthusiast cars, roughly 1980s and newer, founded by automotive reviewer Doug DeMuro and launched in 2020. Every auction starts at $0, runs seven days, and ends with the buyer paying a 5 percent fee on top of the winning bid. The site, sometimes searched as Bids and Cars or carsandbids.com, has completed more than 36,000 auctions and passed $800 million in sales as of September 2026, per its own published figures. This Cars & Bids review covers how buying and selling work, what the fees really add up to after the February 2025 increase, how it compares with Bring a Trailer, whether it is safe, and the part every winning bidder faces next: the car is usually sitting in another state. SAKAEM Logistics is an auto transport broker registered with the FMCSA under MC 16237, and auction wins are a regular part of what we move, so the last third of this review comes from our dispatch desk rather than from the auction site.
Key Takeaways
- Buyers pay 5 percent of the winning bid, with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 cap. That structure has matched Bring a Trailer since Cars & Bids raised its fee in February 2025.
- Sellers list for free and keep 100 percent of the hammer price, which is the platform’s clearest advantage over Bring a Trailer’s $99 listing fee.
- Cars & Bids is legitimate and majority-owned by The Chernin Group since 2023, but inspection risk sits entirely with the buyer, and bids are binding with no refunds.
- On SAKAEM’s delivered orders, moving a car home from another state runs from about $800 on short western lanes to $1,550 on California to Florida, before any enclosed upgrade.
What Is Cars & Bids?
Cars & Bids is a curated online auction site where private sellers and dealers list enthusiast cars, bidders compete over seven days, and the platform takes a fee from the buyer. It is not a dealer and it does not own the cars. Its niche is the modern era: performance sedans, sports cars, quirky trucks, early EVs and the 1980s and 1990s cars that collectors started chasing when classic-era prices ran away from them.
What types of cars sell on Cars & Bids
The site’s own description ranges from a Ferrari F355 to a Dodge Dakota Convertible to a Mazda Miata. Listings skew toward Porsche, BMW, Honda and Toyota enthusiast models, modern Corvettes and Mustangs, and low-mile examples of ordinary cars that became interesting. Pre-1980 cars are rare and usually go to Bring a Trailer or Hemmings instead. Cars & Bids publishes a free vehicle history report on every listing and requires sellers to disclose known flaws and modifications, and the comment section under each auction often surfaces model-specific questions, visible flaws and inconsistencies worth investigating before you bid.
Who owns Cars & Bids
Doug DeMuro founded the site and remains its public face, but he has not been the majority owner since January 2023. That month The Chernin Group, a media investor backed by Providence Equity Partners, took a majority stake for $37 million in a new company combining Cars & Bids with DeMuro’s YouTube channel, with Ro Choy appointed CEO, as reported by The Drive and Robb Report at the time. The legal entity is Cars and Bids LLC. Under that ownership, Cars & Bids reduced staff in early 2025 and raised its buyer fee in February 2025, both covered below.
How Cars & Bids Works
Cars & Bids works like a classic timed auction with three modern rules: every listing starts at $0 whether or not it has a reserve, a bid placed in the final minute resets the clock to one minute, and the platform holds the buyer’s fee on your credit card at every bid. The rest is logistics between buyer and seller after the hammer falls.
How to buy a car on Cars & Bids
Register with a valid credit card and phone number before you can bid or message a seller. Do the diligence while the auction is live: read the disclosed flaws, pull the free history report, ask questions in the comments or through Seller Q&A, and arrange a pre-purchase inspection near the car at your own cost. Cars & Bids recommends lining up financing and a shipping quote before you bid, and its auction pages show a shipping estimate by ZIP code for that reason. Each bid places a hold on your card for the buyer’s fee. Lose, and the hold releases. Win, and the card is charged, you receive the seller’s contact details, and you have one week to pay the seller in full.
How to sell a car on Cars & Bids
Submitting a car is free and starts with the VIN, a few photos and a short description, with an answer from the auction team within about a business day. Not every car is accepted. Once yours is, you supply detailed photos, service history and a cold-start video, approve the drafted listing, and the auction is scheduled. Two seller rules bite people: the car cannot be listed anywhere else while the auction runs, and you cannot accept an offer outside it. If your reserve is not met, Cars & Bids contacts you and the high bidder to try to make a deal.
How the auction itself runs
Auctions run seven days. Reserve auctions carry a hidden minimum the seller set in advance, and Cars & Bids may ask for a lower one before accepting the car. No-reserve auctions sell to the high bidder regardless of price, and the site steers sellers that way because those listings draw more bids. The one-minute reset means a contested auction keeps going until nobody bids for a full minute, so the close can run well past the scheduled time.
Cars & Bids Fees in 2026
Cars & Bids charges buyers 5 percent of the winning bid, with a minimum of $250 and a maximum of $7,500, and charges sellers nothing, per its published fee terms. Those are the only mandatory platform fees. Everything else, from escrow to inspection to transport, is optional and paid to a partner.
| Fee | Who pays | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer’s fee | Buyer | 5% of winning bid, $250 minimum, $7,500 maximum | Cars & Bids, September 2026 |
| Buyer’s fee on a $10,000 win | Buyer | $500 | calculated |
| Buyer’s fee on a $30,000 win | Buyer | $1,500 | calculated |
| Buyer’s fee on a $100,000 win | Buyer | $5,000 | calculated |
| Buyer’s fee on a $150,000+ win | Buyer | $7,500 cap | calculated |
| Listing fee | Seller | $0, seller keeps 100% | Cars & Bids |
| SafePay escrow and title transfer | Either, by agreement | $198 flat, plus $99 if a loan payoff is involved | Cars & Bids SafePay page |
| Financing | Buyer | Through LightStream, rate depends on credit | Cars & Bids |
| Pre-purchase inspection | Buyer | Shop rates vary; third-party services quoted around $199 | AmeriFreight 2026 review |
| Transport | Buyer, usually | See the lane table below | SAKAEM dispatch data |
The buyer’s fee and the February 2025 increase
From launch until February 2025, Cars & Bids charged 4.5 percent with a $225 minimum and a $4,500 cap, which made it the cheaper platform for anything above a few thousand dollars. On February 25, 2025 it moved to 5 percent, $250 and $7,500, matching Bring a Trailer exactly, as Autoblog reported three days later. The change followed layoffs that cut the business development team and reduced community moderation, accounting and HR staff. The practical effect: a $100,000 win now costs $5,000 in fees instead of $4,500, and a $200,000 win costs $7,500 instead of $4,500. Below about $5,000 the difference is $25.
Seller fees
There are none. The seller pays nothing to list, nothing on sale, and receives the full hammer price directly from the buyer. Optional costs exist: a professional photo shoot booked through the site, and the SafePay fee if the seller chooses to use it. Compared with Bring a Trailer’s $99 Classic listing and higher photography tiers, this is the platform’s remaining cost advantage, and it sits on the seller’s side rather than the buyer’s.
Other costs to consider
SafePay, powered by KeySavvy, handles payment and title transfer for $198, plus $99 when the seller still has a loan on the car. LightStream financing is not tied to the vehicle, so line it up before the auction closes. Inspections are your cost and your call. Sales tax follows the state where you register the car, not the seller’s state, as covered in our guide to buying a car out of state.
Cars & Bids vs Bring a Trailer
Since February 2025 the two platforms charge buyers the same fee, so the choice comes down to what you are buying or selling and what each site does after the sale.
| Cars & Bids | Bring a Trailer | |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer’s fee | 5%, $250 minimum, $7,500 cap | 5%, $250 minimum, $7,500 cap |
| Seller listing fee | $0 | $99 Classic, higher tiers with professional photography |
| Era and focus | 1980s and newer enthusiast cars | All eras, strongest in classic and collector cars |
| Auction length | 7 days | 7 days |
| Closing rule | Final-minute bid resets to 1 minute | Late bids extend the close by 2 minutes |
| History report | Free on every listing | Seller provides |
| Escrow and title | SafePay by KeySavvy, $198 | BaT Verified Checkout |
| Volume | 36,000+ auctions since 2020 | Larger and older, auctions since 2014 |
| Best for | Modern enthusiast cars, sellers who want zero fees | Classics, rare cars, maximum bidder pool |
Sources: Cars & Bids what-is and SafePay pages, September 2026; Bring a Trailer figures per its published buyer and seller terms as summarized in Car and Driver’s online auction guide and the Autoblog February 2025 fee comparison.
The honest summary is that Cars & Bids won on price until 2025 and now has to win on audience. For a 1990s Japanese sports car or a manual BMW, its bidders are the right crowd. For a 1960s Mustang, Bring a Trailer’s larger pool of collector buyers is usually worth its listing fee, and our guide to how to sell a classic car compares both against Hemmings, Mecum, Barrett-Jackson and consignment.
Is Cars & Bids Legit?
Cars & Bids is legitimate. It has run continuously since 2020, holds a public majority owner, discloses its fees on every auction page, and offers a licensed escrow service for the transaction. The risk is not the platform. The risk is that you are buying a used car from a stranger, sight unseen, with binding bids and no returns.
What the platform does protect: the seller’s disclosures are public and moderated, a free history report is attached, and SafePay verifies ownership and holds funds until the title moves. KeySavvy operates as a licensed dealer, which is what lets it handle lien payoffs. Bids are final, so a hold on your card at every bid is the mechanism that keeps bidders serious.
What it does not protect: condition. The complaints we found cluster around a few recurring issues. Trustpilot shows a 4.3 out of 5 from 456 reviews as of September 2026, with 74 percent at five stars and 20 percent at one star. The praise is for a smooth process and responsive staff. The one-star reviews cluster around strict photo requirements for sellers, difficulty reaching support after the auction, and cars that did not match the listing. The two r/carsandbids threads that rank on Google for the site’s own name are about the same thing: a buyer who skipped the inspection, or a seller dispute after the hammer. Read the comments under an auction, order the inspection, and use SafePay on anything with a loan attached. Those three steps address most of the risks that appear in buyer and seller complaints.
Cars & Bids Review: Pros and Cons
Cars & Bids is a well-run marketplace with a specific audience, and it is not the right venue for every car or every buyer.
Pros of Cars & Bids
- Zero seller fees and 100 percent of the hammer price.
- Free vehicle history report and mandatory flaw disclosure on every listing.
- A knowledgeable comment section that surfaces problems before you bid.
- Fast listing turnaround, usually days rather than the weeks a physical auction takes.
- SafePay closes the payment-and-title gap that makes private remote sales risky.
- An 80 percent sell-through rate, per the site, so serious listings usually find a buyer.
Cons of Cars & Bids
- The buyer’s fee no longer undercuts Bring a Trailer, so buyers pay the same either way.
- Inspection is entirely on the buyer, at the buyer’s cost, in the seller’s city.
- Bids are binding and there are no returns. A misread listing is your problem.
- The card hold on every bid can tie up several thousand dollars across multiple auctions.
- The 2025 layoffs included reductions in moderation and support roles, and some recent reviews separately report difficulty reaching support after an auction.
- Curation cuts both ways: ordinary used cars and most pre-1980 classics are not accepted.
What Happens After You Win a Cars & Bids Auction
Winning is the halfway point. In the week after the auction closes, the buyer’s fee hits your card, you and the seller exchange contact details, you pay the seller in full within seven days, the title changes hands, and the car has to get from the seller’s driveway to yours. The best car auction sites share this shape, but Cars & Bids adds one wrinkle: the site sells its own white-label shipping from the winner’s page, quoted by ZIP code while the auction is live.
A Cars & Bids Shipping quote is a fair starting point. It is not the only one. Its transport partner is not named on the shipping page, the price is fixed to the ZIP-to-ZIP estimate, and enclosed versus open is the only choice offered. An independent quote before you bid tells you whether that number is high, and on enthusiast cars the enclosed decision deserves more than a checkbox. Below are median customer prices on eight lanes from SAKAEM’s delivered orders between September 2025 and September 2026, open transport, standard sedan or SUV.
| Lane | Orders in sample | Median price | Middle 50 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona to California | 15 | $800 | $650 to $950 |
| California to Washington | 14 | $1,050 | $950 to $1,350 |
| Texas to California | 30 | $1,100 | $900 to $1,370 |
| New York to Florida | 18 | $1,100 | $1,025 to $1,200 |
| North Carolina to Texas | 17 | $1,200 | $1,100 to $1,400 |
| Florida to New York | 14 | $1,375 | $1,000 to $1,500 |
| California to Texas | 42 | $1,400 | $1,250 to $1,600 |
| California to Florida | 31 | $1,550 | $1,300 to $2,150 |
Source: SAKAEM Logistics dispatch data, delivered orders created September 2025 through September 2026, prices as paid by the customer including our fee. Enclosed transport runs higher and is worth considering for high-value, collector, exceptionally low-clearance or weather-sensitive cars, while open transport remains suitable for most standard vehicles; our enclosed car shipping page covers where the line usually falls. Run your own lane through the car shipping cost calculator before the auction closes, not after.
From the dispatch side, a Cars & Bids pickup is a private-seller pickup, which is different from clearing a Copart yard on the Copart fees storage clock. There is no gate, no storage clock and no non-runner surprise at the fence. What there is instead is a person with a job, a driveway and a title, and the order goes smoothly when three things are settled before the truck is assigned: the seller has been paid and has confirmed the car is released, the seller or someone they name can meet the driver with a working phone during the pickup window, and the title has either moved through SafePay or is going to the buyer by tracked courier once payment lands. Cars & Bids tells sellers not to release the car until they hold full payment, and that rule is the one that decides pickup timing. Book transport once payment is confirmed and give dispatch the seller’s availability, and based on SAKAEM’s dispatch experience a one-to-three business day pickup window is realistic on many standard lanes. Our auction car shipping page covers the yard-based auctions, which run on a different clock.
If you found the car through an aggregator rather than on the site, our AutoTempest review covers what that search does and does not show you.
The Bottom Line
Cars & Bids is the right auction for a modern enthusiast car and a fair one for the buyer who does the work. Sellers pay no listing or success fee, keep 100 percent of the hammer price, and reach a crowd that understands what they are selling. Buyers pay the same 5 percent they would pay at Bring a Trailer, carry the inspection risk themselves, and get a clean escrow path in return. The cost that catches people is not the fee. It is the car being 1,500 miles away, which on our lanes means $800 to $1,550 on an open carrier and more for enclosed. Since 2017 SAKAEM Logistics has brokered transport for auction wins like these, vetting every carrier’s FMCSA authority and insurance before dispatch, and our customers have left 580+ Google reviews averaging 4.6 stars. Before you place the bid that wins, get a car shipping quote and put the real delivered cost next to the hammer price.
Cars & Bids FAQ
What is Cars & Bids?
Cars & Bids is an online auction marketplace for modern enthusiast cars from the 1980s onward, founded by Doug DeMuro and launched in 2020. Sellers list for free, auctions run seven days from a $0 start, and buyers pay a 5 percent fee on the winning bid.
How does Cars & Bids work?
Sellers submit a car, the auction team reviews and lists it, and bidders compete for seven days. A bid in the final minute resets the clock to one minute. The high bidder wins if the reserve is met or the auction has no reserve, pays the buyer’s fee to Cars & Bids by card, and pays the seller directly within a week.
Is Cars & Bids legit?
Yes. It has operated since 2020, is majority-owned by The Chernin Group, publishes its fees, and offers SafePay escrow through KeySavvy. Trustpilot rates it 4.3 out of 5 from 456 reviews as of September 2026. The risk is in the car, not the platform, so inspect before you bid.
What are the Cars & Bids fees?
Buyers pay 5 percent of the winning bid, with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum. Sellers pay nothing. SafePay escrow is an optional $198, plus $99 if a loan payoff is involved.
Who owns Cars & Bids?
The Chernin Group has held a majority stake since January 2023, when it invested $37 million in a company combining Cars & Bids with Doug DeMuro’s YouTube channel. DeMuro remains the founder and public face, and Ro Choy was named CEO.
Can anyone sell a car on Cars & Bids?
Anyone can submit a car for free, but Cars & Bids curates its listings and accepts enthusiast vehicles, generally 1980s and newer. Ordinary used cars and most pre-1980 classics are declined, and the site answers submissions within about a business day.
What happens if you win a Cars & Bids auction?
Your card is charged the buyer’s fee, you receive the seller’s contact details, and you are expected to pay the seller in full within a week. You can complete payment and title transfer through SafePay or directly, then arrange pickup or transport.
Can you return a car bought on Cars & Bids?
No. Bids are binding and Cars & Bids states there are no refunds. Your protection is diligence before bidding: the disclosures, the free history report, the comments, and a pre-purchase inspection at your cost.
Does Cars & Bids offer financing?
Yes, through a partnership with LightStream. Loans are not tied to a specific vehicle and can fund the same day for buyers with good to excellent credit, so approval should be arranged before the auction closes.
Does Cars & Bids ship cars?
Cars & Bids Shipping offers an instant quote by ZIP code on each auction page and booking from the winner’s page, in open or enclosed transport, through an unnamed transport partner. Buyers are free to use any licensed broker or carrier instead.
Can you ship a car you win at auction to your home?
Yes, and most winning bidders do, since the car is usually in another state. Book transport once the seller confirms payment and release, choose enclosed for high-value or low-clearance cars, and expect $800 to $1,550 on an open carrier for the lanes in the table above, based on SAKAEM’s 2025 to 2026 delivered orders.
