Your first online auction purchase: a step-by-step ledger

The sequence that keeps first-time buyers out of trouble, in order:

• 1. Title status first. Clean, salvage, rebuilt, or certificate of destruction — this decides everything downstream, including whether you can register the car.
• 2. History report. Run the VIN before you fall for the photos.
• 3. Total landed cost. Hammer price + buyer fees + broker fee + vehicle shipping + reconditioning. One number, written down.
• 4. Access route. Most salvage and wholesale lanes need a license; private buyers go through registered brokers.
• 5. Payment logistics. Know your wire limits and the platform's payment window before bidding, not after winning.

Data point for step 3: across 40 member-reported salvage purchases this year, final landed cost averaged 34% above hammer price. Anchor on landed, never on hammer.