---
title: "Cars & Bids Review: Fees, Bidding Rules and the Fine Print"
description: "Cars & Bids’ own terms, read: a 5% buyer’s fee ($250 to $7,500) held on your card, binding bids, pay the seller within a week, a shipping broker, arbitration."
url: "https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/cars-and-bids-review/"
type: "article"
published: "2026-10-16"
modified: "2026-10-16"
site: "Baron Auto"
disclaimer: "This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership."
---

# Cars & Bids Review: Fees, Bidding Rules and the Fine Print

> Cars & Bids’ own terms, read: a 5% buyer’s fee ($250 to $7,500) held on your card, binding bids, pay the seller within a week, a shipping broker, arbitration.

*Used Car Buying · 20 min read · 4,590 words*

## The short version

- Cars & Bids is a marketplace, not a dealer. Its Terms of Use say the sale contract is formed directly between the seller and the winning bidder, and that Cars & Bids does not inspect the cars or verify what sellers tell it.
- Buyers pay a 5% buyer’s fee with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum. A hold for it goes on your credit card when you bid and is charged, non-refundably, when the auction closes: $1,000 on a $20,000 car, by our arithmetic.
- Bids are binding, there is no proxy bidding, and any bid in the final minute resets the clock to one minute. Reserve prices are hidden.
- You pay the seller directly within a week of the close, or through SafePay, run by KeySavvy: $198 in total, plus $99 if the seller has a loan, for US buyers and sellers only.
- A winner who does not pay forfeits the buyer’s fee and, per the FAQ, is banned for good; the Terms also allow a claim for damages.
- Disputes go through 60 days of talks, mediation and binding arbitration in San Diego unless you opt out in writing within 30 days of first accepting the Terms.

Cars & Bids is an online auction site for enthusiast cars, mostly from the 1980s on, and its costs are in its own fine print: a 5% buyer’s fee between $250 and $7,500, held on your card when you bid, with the car paid to the seller within a week. On 16 October 2026 we read its Terms of Use (effective 14 August 2026), its FAQ, its “What’s Cars & Bids?” page and its SafePay, Shipping, Shipping Terms, Support, Financing, Photos and Privacy pages, plus The Chernin Group’s portfolio page and FMCSA’s record for the company that ships its cars. We did not register, bid or ask for a quote, and this site has no relationship with Cars & Bids or anyone named here. Its Terms bar reproducing site content and allow links only to the top page, [carsandbids.com](https://carsandbids.com/), so we name its documents rather than link them and quote short passages only.

**Figure: What happens at each step of a Cars & Bids auction, by its own terms**

A two-column table of eight situations from Cars & Bids' Terms of Use and FAQ, read 16 October 2026: registering takes a card and phone number and each bid holds the buyer's fee; a $10,000 first bid holds $500 and a $2,000 bid $250; a bid in the final minute resets the clock to one minute; a $20,000 win costs a $1,000 non-refundable fee, with the $20,000 paid to the seller within a week; at $250,000 the fee stops at $7,500, 3%; an unmet reserve means no sale unless a post-auction deal is agreed; a winner who does not pay forfeits the fee and is banned; disputes go through 60 days of talks, mediation and arbitration unless you opt out within 30 days.

Cars & Bids' Terms of Use (effective 14 August 2026), FAQ and What's Cars & Bids? page, read 16 October 2026. Fee and hold amounts are our arithmetic on the printed 5%, $250 minimum and $7,500 maximum.

## What Cars & Bids is, who started it and who owns it

Cars & Bids explains itself through a trend: enthusiasts turning to “cars from the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond.” The description Google shows for the site says auctions of enthusiast vehicles “from the 1980s to the 2020s.” No document sets a hard model-year cut-off; what gets listed is a judgement call.

The same page names the founder: automotive reviewer Doug DeMuro, who “and a team created Cars & Bids,” and who it says periodically reviews cars offered there. The Chernin Group, an investment firm, lists Cars & Bids on its portfolio page with DeMuro and Blake Machado as co-founders and Ro Choy as chief executive, without the “exited” label it gives former holdings.

How much TCG owns is not something we can state. Its page prints no stake, amount or date, and Cars & Bids’ documents name no parent. Press coverage of TCG’s 2023 investment sits on two news sites whose robots.txt files bar our crawler, so we have not used it. California’s register could not be searched within our rules, and the SEC’s full-text search shows no filing by the company. Your contract is with Cars and Bids, LLC, which gives a San Diego mailing address, and bidders must be at least 18.

Its size claims are its own and undated: more than 36,000 auctions completed, over $800 million in cars sold, a sell-through rate above 80% and more than 1.1 million registered members on its SafePay and Shipping pages, against “40,000+ auctions” in the FAQ. Neither says how it counts.

We found no regulator action. A search for Cars and Bids with “lawsuit,” “attorney general” and “court” showed no regulator or court record on its first page. That is not proof of a clean record: court dockets could not be searched, and the Better Business Bureau blocked our requests.

## What it accepts and how a listing is put together

Cars & Bids says it is “focused on cool cars, trucks, and SUVs for the modern enthusiast” and does not list every car it is offered. It lists only vehicles located in the US and Canada, none in Puerto Rico, and every bid is in US dollars.

A seller submits the make, model, year, VIN, some photos and a few details, and Cars & Bids aims to answer within a business day. An accepted seller then supplies detailed photos and the car’s history. A seller who wants a reserve suggests one, and Cars & Bids may ask for a lower, “market-aligned” figure before listing the car.

Cars & Bids writes the listing and the seller approves it. Under the Terms, approving means confirming it is accurate and complete and adopting it “as your own statement concerning the Seller Car.” Listing content comes solely from what the seller supplies or confirms, and any “editorial characterization” in it is expressly not a representation or certification by Cars & Bids.

Sellers also promise not to omit or misrepresent any material fact, not to use AI-edited images that misrepresent the car, to list it only on Cars & Bids while the auction runs, not to withdraw it, and to sell to the winner and deliver “good and marketable title.” A seller with a loan must cover any shortfall if the winning bid is below the balance, and anyone who tries to deal outside the auction is banned.

Photography is the main paid extra: a Basic Photo Shoot at $199 or a Full-Service Photo Shoot at $329. The Photos page claims professionally photographed listings get 30% more views, without saying how that was measured. Closed auctions stay online “perpetually,” per the FAQ.

## The history report, the inspection report and your own checks

Cars & Bids says “every vehicle should come with a vehicle history report,” so it provides one free. Its FAQ tells bidders to review the known flaws, that report, “the vehicle inspection report (if applicable),” recent maintenance, comments and photos, and to put questions to the seller in the comments or privately.

None of that is an inspection by Cars & Bids. The Terms say it “does not inspect Seller Cars” or independently verify what sellers supply, and the FAQ says “the information provided comes from the seller.” Bidders must verify condition and flaws, and confirm they can register the car where they live.

The inspection is yours to arrange and pay for: in person, at a shop near the seller, or through a mobile inspector, which the FAQ illustrates with Lemon Squad (see our [Lemon Squad review](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/lemon-squad-review/)). Our guides cover [inspecting a car you cannot see](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/used-car-pre-purchase-inspection/#remote) and [mobile inspections out of state](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/mobile-pre-purchase-inspection/#out-of-state). Do it before you bid, because a winning bid cannot be taken back.

### Check the car’s history yourself before bidding

The Privacy Policy says a listing shares the VIN with the public, so you can run your own checks:

1. **Decode the VIN** and match it to the listed year, engine and trim: [VIN lookup](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/vin-lookup/).
2. **Check title brands** such as salvage, rebuilt or flood: [title check by VIN](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/title-check-by-vin/) and [what an NMVTIS report shows](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/nmvtis-report/).
3. **Compare odometer readings:** [odometer check by VIN](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/odometer-check-by-vin/).
4. **Look for crashes and water damage:** [accident check](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/vin-accident-check/) and [flood damage check](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/flood-damage-check-by-vin/).
5. **Find earlier sales and photos,** salvage auctions included: [auction history by VIN](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/auction-history-by-vin/#salvage-auctions) and [VIN checks with photos](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/vin-check-with-photos/).
6. **Check open recalls:** [how to check for open recalls](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-a-car-for-open-recalls/).
7. **Ask about liens:** [how to check for a lien](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-for-a-lien-on-a-car/).

Our [guide to checking a used car’s history](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-a-used-cars-history/) explains what each source can and cannot show. For cars with aftermarket parts, see [what a history report misses on a modified car](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-modified-used-car/#history); for high-end models, [the running costs to expect](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-used-luxury-car/#the-real-cost).

## Registering, the card hold and how bidding works

Registration is free; bidding needs a verified email address, a valid credit card and a phone number. There is no deposit. Instead, each bid puts a hold on your card. The Terms set it “in an amount equal to the Buyer’s Fee”; the FAQ puts it at 5% of your initial bid, with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum. By our arithmetic, a $10,000 opening bid holds $500 and a $2,000 bid holds $250.

Losing bidders’ holds are cancelled at the close, though the FAQ warns a bank may take up to 7 business days to show it. The winner’s hold is charged as the buyer’s fee straight after the auction. The account holder answers for all activity on the account, “including bids made on vehicles,” whoever typed them.

There is no proxy bidding. When you are outbid, “you will need to manually input your next bid,” and the price jumps straight to whatever you enter. The minimum step depends on the current price.

**Cars & Bids bid increments as printed in its FAQ (read 16 October 2026)**

| Current bid | Minimum increase |
| --- | --- |
| Opening bid | At least $100 |
| Up to $14,999 | $100 |
| $15,000 to $49,999 | $250 |
| $50,000 to $199,999 | $500 |
| $200,000 and above | $1,000 |

Auctions are scheduled for seven days, but any bid in the final minute resets the clock to one minute, which the FAQ says simulates “a traditional auction, where bidding continues until bidders stop.” An auction closes only after a full minute passes with no new bid, so a last-second bid cannot win it outright.

### Reserve, no reserve, and an unmet reserve

Sellers choose a hidden reserve or no reserve. A no-reserve car sells to the high bidder at any price, and the seller cannot refuse. Bidders are asked not to ask sellers about reserves and learn one was met only if the car sells at the close. Sellers may lower a reserve during the auction but cannot add one once a no-reserve auction starts.

If bidding stops short of the reserve, there is no sale at the close, but there may be a deal. The FAQ says Cars & Bids will work with the high bidder and the seller and that “only the high bidder is eligible.” The Terms say it may present the car to “one or more other Bidders” in a “Post-Auction Sale” that neither side must accept. Accept one, and you owe the buyer’s fee on that price and are bound as if you had won. Sellers are asked to keep the car off other sites for 7 days meanwhile, and Cars & Bids may, “at its sole discretion,” pay a seller the difference between the highest bid and the reserve.

## The buyer’s fee and what sellers pay, as printed

Three Cars & Bids pages, the FAQ, “What’s Cars & Bids?” and Support, print the same buyer’s fee: 5% of the winning bid, minimum $250, maximum $7,500, paid to Cars & Bids on top of the price you pay the seller. The Terms call it a “connection fee” and make it non-refundable. We saw no promotion on any page we read. By our arithmetic the minimum applies below $5,000, and the fee stops rising at $150,000.

**The Cars & Bids buyer’s fee at sample winning bids (our arithmetic on the printed 5%, $250 minimum and $7,500 maximum, read 16 October 2026)**

| Winning bid | Buyer’s fee | Fee as a share of the bid | Bid plus fee |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $3,000 | $250 (minimum) | 8.3% | $3,250 |
| $5,000 | $250 | 5% | $5,250 |
| $12,000 | $600 | 5% | $12,600 |
| $20,000 | $1,000 | 5% | $21,000 |
| $35,000 | $1,750 | 5% | $36,750 |
| $60,000 | $3,000 | 5% | $63,000 |
| $150,000 | $7,500 | 5% | $157,500 |
| $250,000 | $7,500 (maximum) | 3% | $257,500 |

Bid plus fee is not your total. The winner owes “all applicable government fees and taxes,” transport is the buyer’s cost, and SafePay has its own fee. A $20,000 car bought through SafePay, with the buyer paying all $198, comes to $21,198 before tax, registration and shipping, by our arithmetic. See our guides to [the out-the-door price](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/out-the-door-price/) and [tax on a car bought in another state](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-car-out-of-state/#tax).

For sellers, the documents point two ways. The FAQ says listing is “completely free” and sellers receive 100% of the final sale price. The Terms of Use say a seller “will pay Cars & Bids a Listing fee consistent with the fee structure shown upon submission.” The submission pages sit under a path Cars & Bids’ robots.txt closes to crawlers, so we could not see whether a fee appears there. Ask before you submit.

**What a Cars & Bids seller may pay, from its FAQ, Terms of Use and Photos page (read 16 October 2026)**

| Item | As printed | Where |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Listing | Free; seller keeps 100% of the sale price | FAQ; What’s Cars & Bids? |
| Listing fee | “consistent with the fee structure shown upon submission” | Terms of Use |
| Basic Photo Shoot | $199 | Photos page |
| Full-Service Photo Shoot | $329 | Photos page |
| SafePay | $198 in total, plus $99 for a loan payoff; split with the buyer or paid by one side | FAQ; SafePay page |
| Cancellation by the seller | The buyer’s fee at the reserve, or at fair market value if there is no reserve; $2,000 on a $40,000 reserve by our arithmetic | Terms of Use |

The cancellation fee applies when a sale fails through the seller’s fault. It is not charged when a buyer walks away unless Cars & Bids decides the seller contributed, for example by misrepresenting the car or failing to deliver good title. Sellers must also send payment details, including a current IRS Form W-9, within ninety days of the close, or waive any payment Cars & Bids owes them.

## After the auction: paying the seller, the title and SafePay

At the close, Cars & Bids gives buyer and seller each other’s contact details and steps back. The buyer pays the seller directly: “Buyers are expected to pay for the vehicle in-full within a week of the auction closing.” The Terms print no deadline but bind the seller to complete the sale “promptly.” If you are financing, Cars & Bids says to get approval before you bid, and notes that some lenders set year and mileage limits.

For direct payment, Cars & Bids recommends wire transfers, cashier’s checks or USDC, a stablecoin it promotes with Coinbase, and tells sellers to release the car and title only with full payment in hand. It recommends a [bill of sale](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/bill-of-sale-for-a-car/) and warns that some states take several weeks to reissue a title after a loan payoff, and some require the seller’s signature to be notarized. See [paying a private seller safely](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-car-from-a-private-seller/#payment) and [lien payoffs](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-for-a-lien-on-a-car/#payoff).

SafePay is the optional middle route. KeySavvy acts as a dealer between the two sides, collecting the buyer’s money and the seller’s title, paying off any loan, reassigning the title and paying the seller once the car is picked up; the SafePay page calls it “a licensed Minnesota car dealer.” As printed:

- **Price:** $198 in total, plus $99 if the seller has a loan, split evenly or paid by one side, with no cancellation fee.
- **Who can use it:** only sales where buyer and seller are both in the United States, and not every sale is offered it.
- **Payment:** usually verified at once, but up to one business day; above $50,000 the buyer must wire the money.
- **Title:** a seller without the title in hand signs a [power of attorney](https://baronauto1.com/guides/power-of-attorney-car-title/) so KeySavvy can sign once the lender releases it. KeySavvy can also issue [temporary permits](https://baronauto1.com/guides/temporary-tag/).
- **Tax:** still due to your DMV; Minnesota residents pay through KeySavvy, which says it will warn you if a dealer-handled sale would cost more tax than a private one.
- **Condition:** no warranty from Cars & Bids or KeySavvy, and the bill of sale says the car is sold “as is.”

For loans, Cars & Bids points bidders to LightStream and says “We may be compensated through links on this site.” LightStream’s FAQ, read on 6 October 2026, places no restrictions on the vehicle’s year, make, model or mileage; see our [LightStream review](https://baronauto1.com/financing/lightstream-auto-loan/) and [private-party auto loans](https://baronauto1.com/financing/private-party-auto-loan/).

## Shipping: who actually moves the car

Getting the car home is the buyer’s job and cost, and Cars & Bids suggests pricing it before you bid; buyers abroad handle import and export themselves. The Shipping page gives an instant quote once you enter a ZIP code, valid for 14 days, and winners choose open or fully enclosed transport and book it from their winner’s page. Modified or unusual cars and moves outside the contiguous 48 states get no instant quote, though the FAQ says they can still be shipped. See [the paperwork for a car bought in another state](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-car-out-of-state/#paperwork).

“Cars & Bids Shipping” is not Cars & Bids. Its Shipping Terms say the service “is fulfilled in its entirety by Preowned Auto Logistics Inc” (PAL), that your contract is with PAL, and that Cars and Bids, LLC is not a party and disclaims liability for PAL’s services. PAL’s terms, pasted in full on that page, call it a Massachusetts transportation broker, USDOT 1056402 and MC-442478, that “never takes custody or possession of” your car. FMCSA’s SAFER record, as of 14 October 2026, shows that USDOT number active for a Peabody, Massachusetts company authorized as both a carrier and a broker of property, with 1 power unit and 1 driver. See [broker versus carrier](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/car-shipping-companies/#broker-or-carrier) and [how to look one up](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/car-shipping-companies/#look-it-up).

**Figure: Annotated photograph**

Three numbered callouts over the photograph mark the windshield, a front wheel and the road ahead, each with one fact from Cars & Bids’ Terms of Use, FAQ and shipping terms.

Cars & Bids’ Terms of Use, FAQ and shipping terms, read on 16 October 2026: Each listing has a free history report, but the facts in it come from the seller (callout 1); Cars & Bids inspects nothing: book a pre-purchase inspection, at your cost (callout 2); Shipping is booked through PAL, a broker: note new damage on the bill of lading (callout 3). The photograph is illustrative.

PAL’s terms hold the details the marketing pages leave out:

- **Dates are estimates.** PAL “cannot and does not guarantee delivery dates or times”; carriers are generally dispatched within 48 hours of the order confirmation.
- **Cancelling costs money after dispatch:** in writing by email only, with a $100 minimum fee once a carrier is dispatched, possibly much more from rural or uncommon pickup points.
- **The price can change** if the order details are wrong, and unpaid invoices accrue 1.5% a month.
- **The car must run** and carry no more than a quarter tank of fuel.
- **Damage claims go to the carrier.** PAL “is not and will not be liable for any cargo loss and damage claims,” must hear of a claim within 24 hours of delivery, and needs at least two repair estimates. Small scratches, scuffs and dents are excluded.
- **A clean signature ends it.** Signing the bill of lading at delivery without noting damage, whatever the light or weather, confirms the car arrived in satisfactory condition.
- **Disputes** with PAL go to binding JAMS arbitration under Massachusetts law.

The Cars & Bids pages read more warmly: a “fully-insured and modern fleet,” “the price you see is the price you pay,” and, if new damage is found, “we will open a claim and work with you.” PAL’s terms are the contract, so be there at delivery, photograph the car, and note every new mark on the bill of lading before signing. Our guide covers [shipping damage claims](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/car-shipping-companies/#damage).

## When a winner does not pay

A winning bid is a contract to buy. The FAQ calls non-payment “very uncommon” and says a winner who does not follow through “forfeits their 5% buyer’s fee” and is permanently banned. The fee is charged at the close, so this is money already taken: $250 on a $3,000 car or $1,000 on a $20,000 car, by our arithmetic.

The Terms allow more: termination of the account and a claim for damages, including reputational harm and “damages equal to the lost Buyer’s Fee.” Fees charged to a non-paying bidder are neither refunded nor credited against a later sale. The seller’s obligation to that bidder “is discharged”; Cars & Bids says it will try the next-highest bidders, may relist the car free, and charges the seller nothing unless the seller contributed to the failure.

**A bid cannot be taken back.** Cars & Bids’ FAQ says bids “are binding and cannot be retracted.” Bid only after the inspection, your own history checks, a loan approval if you need one, a shipping quote and a plan to get the full price to the seller within a week. Walking away costs at least the $250 minimum fee and your account.

## The Terms of Use: as is, a $100 cap and arbitration

The Terms of Use, effective 14 August 2026, call Cars & Bids “a marketplace only,” with the sale contract formed between the seller and the winning bidder. It does not supervise their transaction, its site comes “as-is” and “as available,” and amended terms take effect as soon as they are posted.

Its total liability is capped at the greater of $100 or what you paid or owe it in the 12 months before the claim. In a dispute with another user you release Cars & Bids, which is “under no obligation to become involved,” and a bidder cannot enforce the Terms against a seller directly. Any claim must begin within one year.

Disputes with Cars & Bids run in sequence: written notice and 60 days of negotiation, then JAMS mediation in San Diego, then, if mediation has not settled it within 90 days, binding arbitration before a single JAMS arbitrator in San Diego, under the Federal Arbitration Act and California law. Each side bears its own costs and lawyers’ fees, though Cars & Bids pays fees where the law requires it. Class actions and jury trials are waived, and if 10 or more similar demands come from the same lawyers, some may go first as bellwether cases while the rest wait.

You can opt out by written notice “within thirty (30) days of your first acceptance of these Terms.” If you want to keep the right to go to court, send it when you register. Separately, the Privacy Policy, also effective 14 August 2026, says bid amounts and bidder identification are shared with the public, and lists driver’s license photos among the identifiers it may collect.

## Where Cars & Bids’ own documents disagree

Where these differ, the Terms of Use and PAL’s terms are the contracts; the rest is description.

**Points where Cars & Bids’ documents differ (all read 16 October 2026)**

| Topic | One document says | Another says |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Listing fee for sellers | FAQ: listing is “completely free” | Terms of Use: a Listing fee “consistent with the fee structure shown upon submission” |
| Deals after an unmet reserve | FAQ: “Only the high bidder is eligible” | Terms of Use: the car may go to “one or more other Bidders” |
| How many auctions | FAQ: “40,000+ auctions” | SafePay and Shipping pages: 36K+ auctions completed |
| Size of the card hold | FAQ: 5% of “your bid amount”; elsewhere 5% of your initial bid, $250 to $7,500 | Terms of Use: equal to the buyer’s fee; whether it grows with later bids is not said |
| Shipping damage | Shipping page: “fully-insured”; FAQ: “we will open a claim” | PAL’s terms: PAL is not liable; claim against the carrier, reported within 24 hours |
| Shipping price | Shipping page: “the price you see is the price you pay” | PAL’s terms: extra fees if order details are wrong; 1.5% a month on unpaid invoices |
| Cancelling a shipment | FAQ: allowed until a driver is en route, by phone or email | PAL’s terms: by email only; at least $100 once a carrier is dispatched |
| Where bidding starts | What’s Cars & Bids?: auctions “start from $0” | FAQ: a minimum bid of $100 to start |

## Before you bid: a checklist

Cars & Bids is one of several enthusiast marketplaces we read in the same week, each against its own terms: see [Bring a Trailer](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/bring-a-trailer-review/), [Hemmings](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/hemmings-review/) and the [AutoTempest](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/autotempest-review/) listing search. Salvage and dealer auctions work differently; see our [Copart](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/copart-fees/), [IAA](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/iaai-auction/), [AutoBidMaster](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/autobidmaster-review/) and [CarMax auction](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/carmax-auction/) guides. Selling instead? Start with [where to sell a car](https://baronauto1.com/trade-your-car/where-to-sell-a-car/).

- **Read the listing and its free history report,** then check the VIN yourself: [title brands](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/title-check-by-vin/), [mileage](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/odometer-check-by-vin/), [accidents](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/vin-accident-check/), NICB’s free theft and total-loss lookup, and [open recalls](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-a-car-for-open-recalls/).
- **Get the car inspected before you bid,** at your cost. Cars & Bids inspects nothing.
- **Ask the seller** what the listing does not cover, including liens, whether the title is in hand, and when the car can be collected.
- **Work out the fee:** 5% of your top bid, never under $250 or over $7,500, held on your card from your first bid.
- **Line up the money** to pay in full within a week: loan approval before bidding, a wire or cashier’s check, or SafePay if both of you are in the US.
- **Price the shipping first,** and note any damage on the bill of lading before you sign for the car.
- **Check you can register the car** where you live, and budget for tax and DMV fees.
- **Decide on arbitration** when you sign up: the opt-out window is 30 days.
- **Set your limit and keep it.** No proxy bidding, a late bid adds a minute, and a winning bid cannot be withdrawn.

## Common questions

### How much does Cars & Bids charge buyers?

A buyer’s fee of 5% of the winning bid, with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum, paid to Cars & Bids on top of the price you pay the seller. It is charged to your card when the auction closes and is non-refundable: $1,000 on a $20,000 car, by our arithmetic. Taxes, registration, shipping and any SafePay fee are extra.

### How much does Cars & Bids charge the seller?

Its FAQ says listing is free and sellers keep 100% of the sale price. Optional photo shoots cost $199 or $329, and SafePay is $198 in total, plus $99 with a loan, which buyer and seller can split. The Terms also allow a listing fee shown at submission and a cancellation fee if a seller backs out, so confirm costs in writing before you submit.

### Who owns Cars & Bids, and does Doug DeMuro still own it?

Cars & Bids credits Doug DeMuro and a team with creating it; the company you contract with is Cars and Bids, LLC of San Diego. The Chernin Group lists it as a current portfolio company and names DeMuro and Blake Machado as co-founders. Neither company publishes who holds what share, so we cannot say how much DeMuro still owns.

### Is Cars & Bids legit?

It trades under published terms through a named company, with named partners for payment (KeySavvy) and shipping (Preowned Auto Logistics, an active FMCSA-registered broker). We found no regulator or court action in a first-page search, though dockets were not searched and the BBB blocked our requests. Whether a given car is sound is a separate question: Cars & Bids does not inspect or verify what sellers say, so your own checks decide that.

### What happens if you win a Cars & Bids auction and don’t pay?

You lose the buyer’s fee already charged to your card, and the FAQ says you are permanently banned. The Terms also let Cars & Bids terminate your account and claim damages, including an amount equal to the lost buyer’s fee.

### How long do Cars & Bids auctions last?

Seven days, but every bid in the final minute resets the clock to one minute, so an auction closes only after a full minute with no new bid. Reserve prices stay hidden until the close.

## Sources and further reading

- [NMVTIS (US Department of Justice)](https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov/)
- [NMVTIS approved data providers](https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov/nmvtis_vehiclehistory)
- [NHTSA recall lookup](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls)
- [NICB VINCheck](https://www.nicb.org/vincheck)

Recall, complaint and safety-rating figures on this page were retrieved from the federal databases above on August 19, 2026. Federal data changes — re-check any VIN before you rely on it.

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*This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership.*

Canonical source: https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/cars-and-bids-review/