Buying on CarCollect: everything you need to know

Welcome, you are registered as a buyer in the CarCollect community. Before you start bidding on the extensive range of vehicles, there are some practical tips and important facts that we would like to share with you. In this blog, we explain how you can start bidding on vehicles well prepared and what is expected of you as a buyer.

Dashboard

As soon as you are logged in to CarCollect, you see the dashboard. Here you can find your activities, open actions, and company information. From here you can also navigate directly to the current offer per category. This dashboard is your starting point and helps you to keep your actions and offers organized.

Action button

The action button on the right of each vehicle is important. You can use this button to make a bid, pay invoices, release vehicles, schedule transport and close the vehicle file. These actions depend on the status of the vehicle. The vehicle status can be found in the bar at the top of the offer page. As soon as the vehicle status changes, after you placed a bid, you will receive an e-mail.

OfferCarCollect offers vehicles in three categories: General, Remarketing and Buy-Now. The vehicles are generally auctioned in a 'closed' bidding system. This means that the bids are not visible to other buyers.

• General

In the category 'General' you will find vehicles from mainly brand dealers that still have to be traded in. Usually, one out of three cars that are offered here are traded via CarCollect.

• Remarketing

In Remarketing we offer ex-lease, ex-rental and confiscated vehicles. These vehicles are often immediately available.

• Buy-Now

As the category 'Buy-Now' already says, these are vehicles that are immediately available for the stated price. It is, of course, also possible to make a bid on these vehicles.

Vehicle auctions in the 'General' and 'Buy-Now' categories are open for a maximum of 28 days. Although we see a vehicle file is awarded or cancelled within 5 to 10 days on average. Auctions within 'Remarketing' have a pre-set end time. The remaining time is indicated by a timer next to the vehicle. So, make sure you bid on time!

Search

Are you looking for a vehicle of a specific brand or year of manufacture? Easily search by filtering for example on brand, year of manufacture, mileage, or vendor. You can also save your filter settings as a favorite search, which is very efficient for the next time you want to search. You can do this by clicking on the star icon at the bottom of the filter bar. This way you can perform your search again within one click.

Marking a vehicle as a favorite or not showing it anymore? Click the heart or the invisible button next to the vehicle. These vehicles can also be found under 'My filters' in the filter bar. In addition, from 'My Filters' you can directly see the vehicles you have bid on or bought.

Bidding

If you found an interesting vehicle, then you can start bidding! You can do this by clicking on the bid button. Think carefully about what you think the vehicle is worth before you make a bid. Every bid you make is a binding bid. If you want to use additional services in CarCollect, be aware that additional costs may apply. So please read the price structure carefully before confirming your bid.

Bidding Coach

To give you an idea on how your bid stands in comparison to other bids in an auction, CarCollect gives you the opportunity to consult the Bidding Coach. The Bidding Coach can be activated once per vehicle and after that you cannot bid on that specific vehicle anymore. Have you used the Bidding coach? The grey dot in front of your bid will turn green, orange or red. When you hover the mouse over the dot, you get an explanation about the Bidding coach and how your bid stands compared to the others.

Awarded or cancelled

You placed a bid and are waiting to see if the vehicle will be awarded to you. When the vehicle changes status, you will always receive an email notification. This will tell you whether the vehicle has been cancelled or awarded. If the vehicle has been cancelled, you can find the reason for cancellation and an indication of the difference between the highest bid and your bid, in the email. If you placed the highest bid, but the vehicle is still cancelled. You can see this in the email as well. Has the vehicle been awarded to you? Congratulations! The seller will send you a pro-forma invoice to start the process.

What are the costs?

CarCollect is free to use. You do not pay any subscription fees for buying vehicles and you are not obliged to bid. It is important to know that you do not do business with CarCollect, but always with the seller. Did you place the winning bid? Then transaction costs will be charged. This is a fixed amount and is settled per transaction. You will receive an invoice from the seller when the vehicle has been assigned to you. On this invoice you will find a specification of the costs. Besides your bid, other costs may apply to the vehicle, the additional costs. You can find the details in the price structure you’ll receive.

Payment

As soon as the (pro forma) invoice is available within CarCollect, you will be notified by email. This can also be found under 'Documents' when you click on the vehicle. You can now pay the (pro forma) invoice amount via a bank transfer. You will find the seller's payment details on the (pro forma) invoice. Did you have a pro forma invoice? Then the invoice will be sent, after the selling party received your payment.

Transfer of ownership

When the seller has received the payment, the status of the vehicle changes to Transfer of ownership. For this purpose, you will receive information on how to arrange the transfer of the vehicle. Has the transfer been completed successfully and have the correct documents been exchanged? Then the final step is transportation!

Transporting the vehicle

As a buyer, you arrange the transportation yourself. In some cases, the vehicle is automatically scheduled for transport, this is determined by the seller. If this applies, it will be indicated when you enter your bid. Of course, you are free to pick up the vehicle yourself, unless indicated otherwise.

Close vehicle file

Has the vehicle been delivered to you, or did you pick it up yourself? Then you can close the vehicle file via the action button. This lets you know that you have received the vehicle.

The steps above, will help you to be well prepared and to make a good deal on the large number of vehicles on CarCollect. Good luck with bidding! If you have any questions or you would like more information? Please contact us via the chat or via support@carcollect.com.