The app is in pilot operationWe are just launching the app and continuously improving it. Some features or their appearance may therefore still change.

GET CARSBETA

How GetCars works

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Detailed guides to your account, bidding, and import. Written for customers — what you see on screen and which rules apply.

Dražba a nákup

Jak přihodit

Prebid, limity plánu, žádost o schválení a navýšení.

What a prebid is

A prebid is the maximum in USD you are willing to pay on the lot. The auction has not run yet. Bidding will climb toward your cap. The current bid on the lot may not jump as soon as you save a prebid — that is normal.

We enter the auction. You confirm the prebid with us.

Before you click Bid

You must be signed in, have complete billing, and an active deposit. Otherwise the site sends you to finish the account or the deposit first.

Read the recommendation. You will see either Bid or Request a bid. On cars we do not recommend, without permission the button cannot be used.

How to place a prebid

  1. Open the lot.
  2. Choose Bid or Request a bid.
  3. The dialog shows the bid increment, plan limits (power, auction count, per-vehicle cap) and what remains after confirm.
  4. The amount is aligned to a valid auction step. If you type a number off-step, we use the nearest valid amount.
  5. For a direct bid, confirm. For a request, send the request.

A confirmed active bid is binding. A request becomes binding only after GetCars approves it.

Request for approval

On check badges and not-recommended cars (with permission) the prebid sits as Waiting for GetCars approval.

  • It uses bidding power and an auction slot just like an active bid.
  • You see the status on the lot and in My bids.
  • You can cancel while it is pending. After cancel we will not approve it.
  • After approval it becomes an active bid.
  • After rejection it ends, the limit frees up, and we notify you.

Increase and decrease

A stored bid can only increase, not decrease. Want to go down? Cancel a pending request and enter a new one. An active prebid cannot be lowered — contact us only if the sale has not started and we can still operationally change it. We do not promise that.

If someone else at GetCars already placed the same amount on the car, we offer a one-step increase so you have priority. If your plan cannot go higher, pick another amount or cancel.

Plan limits

The dialog checks:

  • bidding-power cap,
  • concurrent auction count,
  • optional maximum per vehicle.

Pending requests, active prebids, and If Bid all count. If you hit the cap, free another bid, upgrade the plan, or enter a lower amount on a new placement.

My bids

The dashboard lists active and historical bids. Badges include waiting for approval, you won, you did not win, cancelled, If Bid, or that the current bid has passed yours.

A prebid applies to the auction date that was valid when you placed it. A new listing of the same VIN is a new sale — bid again.

Common mistakes

  • Bidding without reading title and damage.
  • Hitting the plan cap and wondering why the next car is blocked.
  • Expecting the Copart current bid to equal your prebid immediately.

Buying without waiting for the live auction: buy now. When the seller wants more after the sale: If Bid.