Here's how to bid at a car auction: register early, line up proof of funds, inspect the car during preview, and set a maximum that includes the buyer's premium, often about 10 percent in person. When the hammer falls you've bought it, so the work happens before the car rolls onto the block. Whether it's a classic, exotic, or collector car, bidding at an auction remains the same.
Most first-timers get this backward. They watch a weekend of televised coverage, get swept up in the lights and the noise, and treat the bidding as the main event. It isn't. The bidding is over fast. The preparation is where you win or lose. If you want to know what cars are actually bringing, start with reading the collector market. This piece is the floor playbook for January 2027. Every figure below comes from the auction houses' published terms, and those terms change, so confirm each sale's current rules before you register.
1. Pick Your Sale
Two big January sales open the collector calendar. Mecum Kissimmee runs Jan. 5 to 17, 2027, and Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale follows Jan. 23 to 31, 2027. Both run for well over a week, so you don't need to be there every day. Pick the sale based on the cars you actually want, then pick the days those cars are scheduled to cross.
If you're still building a shortlist, our look at the fastest appreciating cars under $100K is a useful way to see which models are drawing attention. Treat it as a map of the market, not a buy signal. The biggest car shows in America guide puts both sales in context with the rest of the season if you're planning travel around them.
2. Register as a Bidder Before You Travel
Bidder registration is paid at these sales. It isn't a free wristband, and the fee is your price of admission to the bidding, not to the building. Barrett-Jackson offers early registration along with online, phone, and proxy bidding, which helps if you can only fly in for a weekend or want to bid on a car that crosses on a Tuesday afternoon.
Remote bidding works, but it changes the math, as you'll see in step 4. If you're weighing a live room against an online platform altogether, we compared them in Bring a Trailer vs. Cars & Bids vs. live auctions.
3. Line Up Proof of Funds
Auction houses want to know you can pay before they hand you a number. Barrett-Jackson asks for a bank letter of guaranty, pre-approved financing, or a wire guaranty. Mecum and others have their own requirements, so read the registration packet for your specific sale.
Call your bank weeks out, not days. A letter of guaranty runs on the bank's schedule, not the auction's, and nobody at the registration desk can speed it up for you.
4. Know the Buyer's Premium
The buyer's premium is the percentage the auction house adds on top of the hammer price. It's the number first-timers forget, and it's never small. Here's what the major houses publish, but confirm against the current terms for your sale.
| Auction House | In-Person Premium | Phone or Online | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrett-Jackson | 10 percent on-site | Confirm in sale terms | Early, online, phone, and proxy bidding offered |
| Mecum | 10 percent | 12 percent | $1,000 minimum premium per vehicle |
| RM Sotheby's | Listed on each lot page | Listed on each lot page | Check the lot page before bidding |
Notice the Mecum minimum. On a $6,000 project car, a $1,000 premium works out well above 10 percent, which changes what a cheap lot really costs.
5. Do the Math Before You Raise a Hand
Set your number in the hotel room, not on the floor. Say your all-in cap is $50,000 and the premium is 10 percent. You stop near $45,000 hammer, because $45,000 plus a $4,500 premium is $49,500. Then add sales tax (based on state and location), title, and transport on top. Shipping alone can swing the total, and our guide to enclosed vs. open car transport explains why it's worth quoting before you bid.
Your cap should also reflect why you're buying. A car you plan to drive every weekend justifies a different ceiling than one you'll keep under a cover. If you haven't settled that, read driver or investment first. We're not going to tell you what a car will be worth later, and you should be wary of anyone on the floor who does.
6. Inspect During Preview
Preview days are when the cars sit still and you can look closely. Use them. Read the condition report if one is offered, check the paperwork, and match what's in the folder to what's on the car. Our guide to provenance covers what good documentation looks like, and what makes a collector vehicle explains which details drive value.
For anything near the top of your budget, hire an independent inspector who knows the model. A few hundred dollars spent at preview is cheap compared to learning about a rusty floor pan after the hammer.
7. Reserve vs. No Reserve
A reserve lot has a minimum price the seller will accept, and if bidding doesn't reach it, the car doesn't sell. A no reserve lot sells to the high bidder regardless. No reserve sounds like a bargain, but it often draws more bidders, not fewer. At Mecum, lots that go unsold can move into The Bid Goes On, where negotiation can continue after the car leaves the block. Check Mecum's terms for how it works at your sale.
8. On the Floor
Arrive about 15 cars before your lot crosses. That gives you time to find a spot where the ringmen can see you and to settle down before the bidding starts. Ringmen work the crowd and confirm bids, so make eye contact and bid clearly. A nod across a loud room is a real commitment.
Keep your bidder number on you and don't lend it to anyone. Bids on that number are yours. And when the price passes the figure you wrote down in step 5, put your hand in your pocket.
Write your maximum hammer price on the back of your bidder card. When the adrenaline hits, you'll want a number you can read, not one you have to recalculate.
9. After the Hammer
Once you win, head to the office to sign the paperwork, pay, and start the title process. Then arrange shipping promptly, since auction houses set deadlines for removing vehicles. [VERIFY removal deadlines for each sale.] Get coverage in place before the car leaves the lot, too. Our piece on insurance and storage walks through what to set up.
10. Go as a Spectator First
The best first-time car auction tip is the simplest: go once without a bidder number. Watch how fast lots move, how ringmen work, and how people behave when two bidders want the same car. You'll learn more in an afternoon than from a season of TV. If your budget is still taking shape, collecting on a budget shows what real entry-level buys look like.
Planning Your Auction Trip With GarageApp
GarageApp won't bid for you, but it helps with everything around the sale. Use event discovery to find auctions and meets near your travel dates, and attendee visibility to see who else from your circle is going. Owner search by make, model, and trim lets you find people who actually own the car you're eyeing and ask them what to check at preview.
Once the car is home, log the paperwork, inspection notes, and auction results in your GarageApp Virtual Garage. Our guide to building your digital car garage shows how to set it up so the records stay with the car.