Auction damage types explained for Copart and IAAI buyers

Every lot at Copart and IAAI comes with a damage label, and it is often the first thing buyers filter on. Knowing the auction damage types helps you read a listing faster, but a label is only a starting point. Here is what the common labels mean and where they stop being useful.

Primary and secondary damage

Most lots show two damage fields:

• Primary damage is the main damage the auction noted, the one that most likely made the car a total loss or sent it to auction.
• Secondary damage is a second area or type of damage, if there is one. It is often empty.

Auction staff write these labels after a quick look at the car at the yard. Each auction uses its own wording, so the same kind of damage can appear under slightly different names.

Common auction damage types

These are the labels you will see most often. The wording varies between auctions.

• Front end, rear end, side. Damage to that part of the body, usually from a collision. It can mean anything from a bumper cover to a bent structure.
• All over. Damage on several sides of the car, often from a serious crash or a rollover.
• Top or roof. Damage to the roof, for example from a falling object.
• Undercarriage. Damage underneath, such as from hitting a curb or debris.
• Minor dents or scratches. Cosmetic damage as noted by the auction, with nothing larger seen.
• Normal wear. No specific damage, only the wear expected for the car's age and mileage.
• Hail. Dents across the roof, hood and trunk lid, sometimes with broken glass.
• Water or flood. The car has been in water. This can affect electronics, wiring, the engine and the interior, sometimes long after it dries.
• Burn or fire. Fire damage to the engine bay, the interior or the whole car.
• Mechanical. A problem with the engine, transmission, electrics or another system, often with little body damage.
• Vandalism. Damage done on purpose, such as broken glass, slashed seats or scratched paint.
• Frame, rollover, stripped, biohazard. Less common labels that usually mean a much harder repair or a car with missing parts.

What the labels do not tell you

A damage label is not a repair estimate. Keep these points in mind:

1. Hidden damage is not listed. A front end hit can include damage behind the bumper, to the cooling system or to the airbags, which the photos may not show.
2. A small label does not mean a small bill. Minor dents or scratches says nothing about how the car runs.
3. A mechanical label rarely says what failed.
4. The secondary field can be empty even when there is more damage.
5. The condition label, the title and the seller notes matter as much as the damage label.

Look through every photo, read the whole lot and, if you can, ask a broker or an inspector before you bid.

Filter by damage in the catalog

Auctions write damage in many slightly different ways, so the Bidpier catalog groups the labels into plain groups such as front end, side, hail, water or flood, fire and mechanical. Pick one or several groups and combine them with make, model, year, price and odometer. For example, you can list only hail damaged cars and then narrow them to one make.

Check it on Bidpier

Browse the catalog by damage, open a lot to see all its photos, and search the VIN to see every earlier sale of the car and the bid it ended on. To see what similar cars sold for, open the auction prices statistics.