Vehicle Auction Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the auction-house, title-brand, damage-code and VIN-structure terms you’ll encounter when researching a vehicle’s history. Free, no signup required, written for buyers, dealers and importers.
VIN structure & identifiers
- Check Digit
- Position 9 of a US- or China-spec VIN; a calculated value used to detect typos and tampering.
- ISO 3779
- The international standard that defines VIN structure (17 characters, three sections).
- VDS (Vehicle Descriptor Section)
- VIN positions 4-9; manufacturer-specific encoding of model, body and engine.
- VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)
- The 17-character serial number assigned to every modern motor vehicle.
- WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier)
- The first three characters of a VIN; identifies the manufacturer and country of origin.
Title types & branding
- Branded Title
- Any title carrying a state-issued brand (salvage, rebuilt, flood, lemon, etc.) that signals damage or status history.
- Clean Title
- A title with no insurance, damage or status brands; the default for a vehicle that has never been totaled or recovered.
- Flood Title
- A branded title issued when a vehicle has sustained significant water damage, typically from flooding.
- Junk Title (Certificate of Destruction)
- An irreversible title brand for vehicles deemed beyond repair; the vehicle can never be returned to the road.
- Rebuilt Title
- A salvage-titled vehicle that has been repaired and passed a state safety inspection.
- Salvage Title
- A title issued when a vehicle is declared a total loss but is still potentially repairable.
Auction houses & terminology
- ADESA
- A wholesale dealer auction network competing with Manheim; the digital arm was acquired by Carvana in 2022.
- Buyer Fee (Auction Premium)
- The fee an auction charges the buyer on top of the hammer price; structured as a percentage or stepped tier.
- Copart
- One of the two largest US salvage auction houses; primarily online, with 200+ physical yards.
- IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions)
- Major US salvage auction house, the second-largest after Copart; owned by Ritchie Bros.
- Lot Fee
- A storage / handling fee charged by the auction yard while a vehicle waits to be sold or picked up.
- Manheim
- The largest wholesale dealer-only auto auction in the world; owned by Cox Automotive.
- Run and Drive
- An auction status meaning the vehicle starts, can be put into gear and driven a short distance under its own power.
Damage codes & condition
- Frame Damage
- Structural damage to the load-bearing frame or unibody of a vehicle; typically catastrophic for resale value.
- Parts Only
- An auction sale category for vehicles that cannot legally be returned to road use; bidders are buying the right to dismantle.
- Primary Damage
- The auction-listed designation for the most significant damage on the vehicle.
- Secondary Damage
- A second impact-area description recorded by the auction in addition to the primary damage code.
- Total Loss
- An insurance designation that the cost of repair exceeds the vehicle's pre-loss value (or a state-defined fraction of it).
Vehicle history reports
- AutoCheck
- A commercial vehicle history report from Experian; competing with Carfax with a numeric scoring system.
- Carfax
- A commercial vehicle history report aggregator covering accidents, ownership, service records and title brands.
- NMVTIS
- The US National Motor Vehicle Title Information System; a federal database of title brands and theft.
Looking up a specific VIN? Use the VIN search on the homepage for auction history, or the VIN Decoder to see the manufacturer / year / plant breakdown of any 17-character VIN.