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Daily Storage Costs at Wholesale Car Auctions
Every dealer knows what they paid for a car. Most know what they paid to move it.
But very few can tell you what they spent on daily auction storage, even though it’s one of the most consistent leaks in the cost stack.
At wholesale auctions, the clock starts ticking the moment a car is sold. Some give you a grace period. Others don’t. And after that window closes, fees rack up every single day the car sits unpicked.
We gathered data from 30+ major auction houses from Manheim, ADESA, Copart, and more. The per-day charges range from $10 to $50, with grace periods from zero to 30 days.
See why a brokered transport deal can quietly tack $100–$200 onto your vehicle cost without anyone noticing.
Car Auction Holding Fees
View the full auction storage fee reference sheet
What the Data Shows
When you zoom out from the data in the list, a few patterns stand out:
- Short grace periods are common. Many auctions offer 7 days or less, which is well below the broker-driven average of 12 days idle.
- Daily fees typically fall between $10 and $25, but a few outliers (like ADESA at $45 or Manheim North Carolina at $70/week charged weekly) create major exposure if you’re not paying attention.
- Storage policies vary widely by location even within the same auction chain. You can’t assume what works in Manheim Atlanta applies to Manheim Central Florida.
- Most dealers aren’t budgeting for this. It’s rarely on the recon sheet, but often ends up paid (sometimes weeks later) when it’s too late to push back.
These fees are predictable. Avoidable? Not always. But manageable if you know what you're up against.
Why the Car Is Sitting That Long
Let’s get specific. Brokers often quote a 14-day delivery timeline. But most of that isn’t drive time.
- 2 days: in-transit time once picked up
- 1 day: typical dispatch-to-pickup window
- 11 days: brokering delay waiting to find a carrier who’ll take the load
So, for 12 of those 14 days, your vehicle is sitting at the auction racking up charges.
Why It’s Not Just a Dealer Problem
If you’re a carrier, those auction fees can drive dealers to micromanage your pickup windows or skip your bid altogether. It's not personal. It's math.
Every day you wait to get dispatched is a day the dealer might owe $15, $30, or more.
That’s why faster bookings matter. That’s why brokers who "shop" loads for a week are costing their customers, even if they quote a fair rate.
A Faster Way to Move Cars and Cut Storage Fees
Loads booked through Auto Hauler Exchange (AHX) average just 4 days from post to delivery. That’s:
- 1 day: posted on the marketplace
- 1 day: to pickup
- 2 days: in transit
Only 2 days at the auction, which means far less exposure to hidden storage charges.
In the same three examples above, AHX would reduce the storage cost from $180 to anywhere from $0 to $28.58.
The Takeaway
This isn't about calling out auctions. Their storage rules are public, reasonable, and necessary. The problem is that many dealers simply don’t know them, and even fewer factor them in.
So we pulled them together in one place. If you touch wholesale cars from buying, transporting, or managing reconditioning, then this reference sheet belongs in your bookmarks:
