Help & FAQ

You enter the price you expect to sell the car for, your target margin and your known costs (transport, repairs, MOT, valeting and so on). BidMargin works backwards: the highest bid where the bid, the auction's fees on that bid and your costs still leave your target profit. With Copart or BCA selected it checks the stepped fee schedule penny by penny rather than using a percentage guess.

Usually a buyer's fee that steps up with the hammer price, plus extras such as online bidding or retrieval fees. Copart publishes its fees before VAT, so BidMargin adds 20% VAT to them. BCA's Blue Standard fees are published including VAT, so nothing is added. Optional charges like BCA's V5 handling are only counted if you switch them on.

No. BidMargin uses the published standard schedules with the version and date shown in the app. Your own account level, the sale or later price changes can make your invoice different. Bids outside the published range get no rating. For other auctions or account rates, use Manual fees.

VAT on auction fees is counted as a cost. VAT on the hammer price is only added if you say the lot is sold plus VAT. Profit shown is gross cash profit before tax — reclaiming VAT and VAT on your own sale aren't modelled. An optional HMRC margin-scheme illustration is available once you confirm eligibility and enter the invoice price.

No. The expected selling price is your own figure. BidMargin does not provide market valuations, comparable adverts, days-to-sell, finance or stolen-vehicle checks.

They come from the DVSA MOT History service when you look up a registration, and are kept for up to 30 days to save repeat lookups. They show past tests only — they don't prove a car is roadworthy today. Always inspect the vehicle.

No. The calculator works free without signing up. A free account lets you save deals, use registration lookup, set your default costs and see profit history.