Cars and Bids is a clean 2006 BMW M3 E46 in your garage. It is not a car that suits everybody, but those who desire it cannot do without it. You can post it in Craigslist and take one month chasing lowballers. You might leave it on Facebook Marketplace and have to work with customers who are unable to read an entry. Or you might place it before 5 million subscribers who already understand precisely what an E46 M3 is and why it is a special car. That is the Cars and Bids pitch, and it is not a bad one.
Cars and Bids is an online car auction model designed to specialize in enthusiast cars – sports cars, custom cars, unusual trucks, oddities, and late-1970s to modern classics. The platform was started in 2019 by automotive YouTube content creator Doug DeMuro and tech entrepreneur Blake Machado, and opened in 2020, since then supporting over 675 million dollars in total sales in 30,000-plus auctions (as of mid-2025). It is not the oldest auction site, nor is it the lowest priced anymore. However, it also possesses an element that cannot be readily recreated by its competitors, and that is an internal fan base of car lovers who had reached the listings prior to it going live.
It is all unraveled – the mechanism, the price, the players, and if it is truly worth your time as a buyer or seller in 2026.
Cars and Bids: Overview
Cars and Bids is the most appropriate online auction site to sell enthusiast cars that have been built after 1978 – especially when you have it to sell that has authentic collector value. The zero-seller-fee model is an offer of the best type. The offset is that the fees to buyers will be equal to those of Bring a Trailer, and the platform will continue to be US-focused. In case you are not in the US or are selling a daily car, find another place.
Who Owns Cars and Bids? The Platform Behind the Name
As of August 2025, the most-watched car reviewer in the US is Doug DeMuro (born May 22, 1988, Denver, Colorado), with 5 million YouTube subscribers and over 2,000 YouTube videos devoted to the review of cars that were launched since the 1980s. His channel, which relies on the Quirks and Features format, and Doug Score rating system has received more than 1.7 billion views since its inception in 2013. He has learned economics at the Emory University in Atlanta, and was a writer at Autotrader.com, The Truth About Cars, and Jalopnik before becoming an independent writer.
Cars and Bids was founded on a simple observation: without a place of their own, the YouTube viewers DeMuro was attracting (young, digitally native, fascinated by intriguing modern cars) had no marketplace of their own. Places such as Bring a Trailer were targeted at the vintage collector market. eBay Motors was targeted to everybody, which resulted in it targeting nobody in particular. In 2019, DeMuro collaborated with Blake Machado, who is a technology entrepreneur with a history in marketplace platforms and they created something that specifically targeted the contemporary enthusiast.
January 2023: Investment in the Chernin Group (TCG). TCG purchased a majority of Cars and Bids, which made the platform and the YouTube activities of DeMuro one company, for a price of $37 million. TCG acquired Rogelio (Ro) Choy as CEO – Choy had already acquired cannabis-on-demand platform Eaze by growing it to the point where it made sales of up to 200 million. The investment enabled Cars and Bids to grow its operations and staff as DeMuro concentrated on content production. By the year 2025, the team has expanded to approximately 40 individuals and the site is making around 40 car sales daily.
The company is established in San Diego, California. There he lives with his wife Joanna and their two sons (born 2021 and 2023). He has been the face of the platform as professional management runs the platform.
The Cars and Bids Process: Like It.
For Sellers
Listing is completely free. The ultimate sale price remains 100 percent with the sellers. It begins by completing a brief form and 6 snapshots – Cars and Bids typically comes back to you within a day to inform you about the acceptance of your vehicle or not. Not all that passes the gate: the team also filters the listings in order to keep the site in its enthusiast spirit. A generic 2018 Honda Civic with no fascinating features is not likely to be passing the test. 18 Honda Civic Type R in Championship White clean service history? Different story.
The Cars and Bids team drafts the listing copy when accepted which is another significant offering to sellers who do not need to write their description. Professional photography can also be added on a per-shoot basis, ranging between $199 and 329, with professional photos listed reportedly having an average of 40 percent higher views. Auctions run for seven days. The majority of the bidding activity is focused in the last 30 minutes – it will restart the timer every time there is a new bid within the last minute, which would mean sniping.
Most of the sales are now transacted using safe Pay. SafePay, created collaboratively with KeySavvy (the collaboration was extended in April 2025), costs 99 dollars and does money transfer, title transfer, and paperwork. It is especially handy to sellers who already have a loan on the car, since the buyer has to pay prior to being provided with the contacts of the seller, minimizing most instances of bad-actor behavior found in the private sales market.
For Buyers
Buyer fee (as of February 2025), 5 percent of the winning bid, with a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 7,500. This is a fee raise compared to the initial structure of 4.5 percent with a limit of $4,500 which Cars and Bids modified in February 2025 after a series of layoffs and business restructuring. The new arrangement is identical in fees to the Bring a Trailer offering – an action which Autoblog and others have commented on as stripping Cars and Bids of one of its competitive advantages in the past.
Bid requires registration on valid credit card and phone number. When you have a bid Cars and Bids imposes a hold on your card, the buyer fee of the buyer, which in either case charges you, and which is released at the end of the auction. All bids are binding. Anyone who bids more than you is going to be another human being in real time – no extensions of the auto-bid deeper than the one-minute timer can be reset. Each listing comes with a free vehicle history report, a true point of difference with most individual sale websites.
It can be in the form of a reserve price where the car price is not known till the end of the auction. There is no clear tagging of any Reserve listings. The buyer has the responsibility and the cost of pre-purchase inspection, which the platform reminds them to do through the comment section or seller contact feature. Foreign buyers are welcome, though the importation cost, transportation, and logistics regulation will be all on the buyer.
What Sells on Cars and Bids and What Doesn’t
The platform was initially specialized in cars that were manufactured since 1981. In May 2025, Cars and Bids broadened its eligible range to vehicles manufactured prior to 1981, making 1970s classics and even a few older vehicles that fit the profile of an enthusiast.
The platform is best suited to 1990s and 2000s performance sedans, sports cars, rare factory specials, interesting trucks and SUVs, and enthusiast-grade EVs – most specifically Tesla and Rivian models. Bring a Trazer will appeal to those with deeper pockets who happen to be in need of a true rarity; Cars and Bids will appeal to the fan who needs a 2003 Subaru WRX with a good service record or a 2009 BMW M3 which has been well maintained.
Significant sales: A Lamborghini Murcielago of 2002 sold at 417,000. A 2006 Ford GT fetched $395,000. It sold a 1996 Toyota Mega Cruiser- one of the strangest cars to ever sell in any auction- at $310,000. These are not representative of the average sale, but they show the ceiling. More common deals are between 15,000 and 60,000 on the desirable modern classics.
What the platform will not be good at: daily transportation. A used Toyota Camry of 90,000 miles will not be the appropriate one. Unless your car has some mixture of performance qualifications, rarity, collectorism or fan base, the Cars and Bids crowd is not your crowd. That is to use CarMax, Facebook Marketplace, or a local dealer.
Bring a Trander vs. Cars and Bids vs. PCARMARKET.
The online enthusiast car auction marketplace has three primary platforms, namely Cars and Bids, Bring a Trailer, and PCARMARKET. They have a different profile of the best selling product and the type of buyer.
| Feature | Car & Bids | Bring a Trailer | PCAR Market |
| Founded | 2020 | 2017 | 2007 |
| Focus | Modern enthusiast (1978-now) | Porsche specialist, then broader | Classic & modern collector |
| Seller fee | FREE | ~5% success fee | FREE |
| Buyer fee (2026) | 5% / $250 min / $7,500 max | 5% / $500 min / $7,500 max | 5% / $250 min / $7,500 max |
| Auction length | 7 days | 7+ days | 7 days |
| History report | Free included | Not standard | Not standard |
| Notable advantage | DeMuro audience; zero seller fee | Porsche & German car specialist community | Highest sale prices; deepest community |
| Available in Canada | Buyers yes, sellers limited | Yes | Yes |
| India access | Buyers only (import costs apply) | Buyers only | Buyers only |
Bring a Trafer has been going since 2007, and has the richest comment section in the sector – the auctions sometimes read like a Wikipedia entry on automotive, with specialists commenting on everything in fine detail. The level of such scrutiny is a positive aspect to both the buyer (greater vetting) and the seller (greater engagement). Cars and Bids attracts a younger viewer base and the DeMuro YouTube cross-promotion element that can result in a substantial number of additional views to a listing in case the car is featured.
PCARMARKET began as a Porsche-centric site and has expanded its horizons, yet it still has a competitive advantage against anything with a Stuttgart badge. It belongs to the list there should you be selling a 996 or 997 generation 911 – the community is well familiar with the cars.
It is true that in the case of the right car, it is not necessarily a bad idea to be listed on more than one platform at the same time (read the terms carefully) and the sellers who know their audience will use whichever platform will suit them best is selling whatever they have to offer.
The Cars and Bids Fees: The Complete Breakdown (as of March 2026)
Sellers: Free listing. Keep 100% of the sale price. Professional photography (Optional) 199-329. $99 used to use safepay transaction service. That is it, no success fee, no listing fee, no percentage of the sale of the seller. This is the most unique attribute of Cars and Bids and its best seller point.
Buyers: 5% buyer finance on the winning price. Minimum charge: $250 (i.e. assuming you win a car at a price of $3,000, then you have to pay a flat rate at $250 + 100 top up = 250). Maximum fee: $7500 (imposed on any amount above 150,000, the percentage fee is limited). So on a $50,000 car, the buyer’s fee is $2,500. On a $200,000 car, it’s still $7,500, not $10,000.
Fee increase in Feb, 2025 put the buyer cap at 7500 – a 3000 increase on high-value deals. This should be taken into consideration by buyers who want to purchase cars costing over 90,000; they are paying significantly more than they would do by 2025.
No additional fees are hidden other than a buyer fee. The buyer is responsible of shipping, which is organized with transport companies directly – Cars and Bids has a shipping quote tool on each listing page. To foreign purchasers, importation fees, compliance charges, and freights would be additional costs on the overall ownership cost and must be studied well before bidding.
International Access International Access Cars and Bids Canada Company.
Cars and Bids is a platform that is based in the US. Canadian customers are able and willing to take part in the auction, but the logistics is the buyer side and is therefore involved in ensuring that compliant transport is made across the border, that they meet the CBSA importation requirements and pay relevant duties. The seller is located in the US and delivers out of the US. Cars and Bids Canada is not an independent site; it does not have a specific regional site.
The same applies to the Indian buyer or any other international buyer who is not in North America. You can win and bid, yet the cumulative landed cost – shipping, import duties, homologation where necessary – can simply increase purchase prices by 30-60 percent on cars imported into India. Access to the platform is international; the geography of purchasing across continents demand distinct due diligence prior to a bid.
Confirmed localized versions As of March 2026, Cars and Bids does not have any confirmed plans to have localized versions in Canada or India or any other market according to publicly available information. The site is still firm as a US market.
A Cars and Bids Community: Reddit and Beyond.
The Cars and Bids community has a very active Reddit community (r/carsandbids) in which people resist being underbid or overbid, discuss PPI horror stories, and sometimes identify a listing error that went unnoticed by the Cars and Bids team. Reddit is a helpful sanity check, in case you want third-party opinion when purchasing a car and a listing is available.
The discussion boards of the individual auctions do too – the buyers will pose specific mechanical questions, some previous owners will show up to provide some background and the community will generally unearth issues that the sellers have overlooked. The crowd-sourced due diligence is one of the valid benefits of auction platforms over a private sale.
DeMuro himself continues to be active on the platform and will periodically look at vehicles that are under auction which can boost the number of views of a listing significantly. When your automobile is selected to be reviewed by DeMuro, you are accessing a group of people that no other auction site could match. Not all listings do but those he considers are usually either really odd or unique in some way or another, but there is the possibility and it creates appreciable incremental value to seller exposure.
Who Ought to Drive Cars and Bids – and Who Ought to Drive It by.
Good match to Cars and Bids in case…
You are selling a sports car, modern classic, interesting trim, factory performance, or rare trim on a truck/SUV that was made in or after 1978.
You prefer to retain 100 percent of the selling price without having to pay a seller commission.
You are an American based car and your target customer is the North American fans.
You wish the audience of DeMuro to possibly see your car and also place a bid.
You are purchasing and demand complimentary vehicle history records and a facilitated and expert enthusiast inventory.
Look elsewhere if…
You are selling a daily driver car without any type of enthusiast appeal.
You are not in the US and require an infrastructure locally.
You want the highest possible sale price – Bring a Trailer has a stronger community and history that necessitates pushing rare cars even higher.
You are a purchaser who considers the total price transparency the most important feature and the 5% commission (with new cap of 7,500) is an element that has a major impact on your budget estimates.
Will Cars and Bids Be a Good Solution in 2026?
To the sellers who have the right type of car- one with real enthusiast value, a story to tell and a pool of buyers who have an idea of what to seek, Cars and Bids is likely to be the best deal in the market. No seller fees, 100 percent of the sale price, free listing support and it may result in a DeMuro YouTube review which will produce serious traffic to your auction. That’s a strong package.
To buyers, the calculus modified in February 2025 where fee structure was comparable with Bring a Trailer. The free vehicle history report continues to distinguish Cars and Bids and its inventory is more skewed towards modern enthusiast cars than Bring a Trailer is. Assuming you are in the market seeking a 2002-2006 generation vehicle, which has a cult following, then Cars and Bids is the place you need to be visiting on a daily basis.
The fact that total sales were in the 675 million and the number of auctions were more than 30,000 tells you that it is no longer a hobby project. It is a practical marketplace and the prices they obtain are more and more the prices-based prices that a knowledgeable amateur deems as a point of reference. Cars and bids has become the point of departure of any person in the US market that is buying car enthusiasts or selling them.
FAQs
By February 2025, the fee to buyers on winning is 5 percent of the winning price, with a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 7,500. This has increased to the former 4.5 that was limited to 4.500. The sellers are free and receive 100 percent of the sale price. The secure transaction service called SafePay is priced at 99 dollars per transaction and this is now standard payment method to most of the sales. Professional photography will be optional and cost between $199 and 329.
Cars and Bids was established by technology entrepreneur Blake Machado and automotive YouTuber Doug DeMuro who began the site in 2020. In January 2023, Cars and Bids and the YouTube channel of DeMuro were sold to The Chernin Group (TCG) with a majority share worth 37 million dollars and united into one company. Rogelio (Ro) Choy serves as CEO. DeMuro is still the face of the brand and still generates video content.
By 2025, Cars and Bids will have helped sell over 675 million vehicles under 30,000-plus auctions. Chernin Group investment (37m) in 2023 suggested a company valuation of between 74 million, referring to the revenue multiples quoted by industry analysts at the time. The platform sells around 40 cars every day by the middle of 2025. Annual revenue has not been publicly published.
Canadian customers have the opportunity to attend Cars and Bids auctions. Cars and Bids, however, is a platform of the US that does not have a Canadian alternative. International shoppers – and even Canadians fall under this category – will have all the logistical tasks across borders such as transport, CBSA importation sonnets, and other duties. Sellers are US-based. No distinct Cars and Bids Canada platform, and the company has not officially declared the expansion of the regions till the very beginning of 2026.
By 2026, both platforms are levying the same fee to the buyer: 5 percent of the winning price; minimum of $250, maximum of $7,500. The previous fees at Cars and Bids were lower and this was a major distinction. The two sites are free to the sellers and allow them to get 100 percent of the selling price. Bring a Trailer is older (established 2007 compared to 2020), has a larger commenting base, and generally has higher sale prices on rare vintage cars. One of the significant opportunities Cars and Bids has is the DeMuro YouTube viewers, which offers a free report on the history of the vehicle when a listing is being offered.
