Transporting a Vehicle Bought at a Manheim Auction
The trucking is the easy part. What holds up auction vehicles is the release, and the storage clock that starts running while you sort it out. A carrier cannot collect a car from a Manheim location until payment has cleared and the auction has issued a gate pass in the transporter’s name. Every delay people blame on transport at these sites is usually a release that has not come through yet. Get the paperwork moving first and the truck is rarely the constraint.
The Gate Pass Is What Actually Releases the Car
Manheim locations are secured facilities. A driver arriving without authorization will be turned away, however legitimate the purchase.
What the carrier needs is the vehicle information, the sale or stock number, and a gate release naming the transport company. That release follows cleared payment, and wire or floor plan funding takes time to post. If you book transport for the morning after the sale, expect the driver to arrive before the release does.
The fix is simple. Tell your coordinator which auction location it is and give them the sale number as soon as you have it, so the release can be arranged in the transporter’s name rather than yours. Then set the pickup window from when payment clears, not from when you won the bid.
The Storage Clock Is Real Money
Auctions allow a limited free period after the sale and then charge daily storage. Policies vary by location, so confirm the specifics with that site, but the principle is consistent everywhere: a vehicle left sitting costs money every day.
That changes how you should book. On an ordinary consumer move, a wide pickup window is the cheapest option and worth taking. Here, a wide window can cost more in storage than it saves on transport. Work out the daily storage rate first, then decide how much flexibility is actually worth it.
Manheim Is a Dealer Auction
Worth being clear about, because it shapes who is doing the shipping. Manheim runs wholesale auctions for licensed dealers rather than the general public, so most vehicles moving out of these lots are inventory rather than personal purchases.
That means transport here usually looks different from a household move. Vehicles are collected in groups, they often go to a dealership rather than a home address, and the person arranging the shipment is frequently not the person who will receive it. All of that is straightforward, but the carrier needs to be told, because a delivery to a closed dealership on a Sunday helps nobody.
Condition Matters More Here Than Anywhere Else
Auction vehicles sell as they are, and arbitration windows are short and measured from the sale rather than from delivery. If a problem is found after the car has traveled 1,200 miles, you are arguing about whether it arrived that way or left that way.
So make the pickup condition report count. Ask the carrier for photographs at collection, not just at delivery, and make sure the driver notes existing damage on the bill of lading before the car is loaded. That documentation is what separates a transport claim from an auction arbitration, and it is very hard to reconstruct later.
If you bought the car sight unseen, this is the single most valuable thing you can ask your transport company for.
Non Running and As Is Units
A fair share of auction inventory does not start, and that is fine as long as it is declared. A vehicle that will not run but rolls and steers can be winched onto an open carrier, which adds roughly $100 to $250. Those are planning estimates. Our order book records where a car was picked up and delivered but not the mileage, so we cannot band by distance. What it does show is the overall shape: across 3,614 single vehicle car moves since 2023 the middle half ran $900 to $1,550.
A vehicle that will not roll or steer is a different job needing different equipment, and quoting it as a runner guarantees a wasted trip and a rescheduled pickup. Say plainly whether it starts, whether it rolls, and whether it steers and brakes. Those are three separate questions and carriers price them differently.
What It Costs
Open transport ranges for a standard sedan on common auction lanes.
Moving several vehicles from one location together is cheaper per car than separate bookings, and it is worth asking about even if they are going to different destinations in the same region.
Common Questions
When can a carrier collect? Once payment has cleared and the auction issues a gate pass naming the transport company. Not before.
Who arranges the gate pass? You do, with the auction, but give your coordinator the location and sale number so it is issued in the carrier’s name.
Does the title travel with the car? Usually not. Titles are commonly processed and mailed separately, and the vehicle can ship without it.
Can you move a car that does not start? Yes, with winching, which adds roughly $100 to $250. Say whether it rolls and steers as well.
Can you collect several at once? Yes, and it is cheaper per vehicle than booking them individually.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 821-4555 with the auction location and sale number, or price the move with the instant calculator.
