Payment & Deposits

All vehicles that are successfully acquired from the Insurance Company are subject to a respective acquisition fee of $199 through $999. We also do make profits on bulk purchases. We risk buying vehicles that we may lose profits, in order to obtain certain vehicles at lesser prices. There will be an additional $85 paperwork fee for these bulk purchases as well. Please refer to our Fees & Refund Policy for more information.

Balance Due: The customer must pay the balance due in full no later than 24 hours from sale confirmation notification (invoice). If the balance is not paid within 24 hours, a late fee of $50 per day will be added to your invoice. Once an offer is accepted by the Auto Auction or Insurance Auction Company, you will receive a call/invoice from one of our customer service representatives.

Payment Terms: Balances Due may be paid by Bank Wire Transfer, Cashier's Check or Money Order only. We do not accept Personal Checks and Western Union. If you reside outside the United States and/or cannot make payment on time, either arrange to prepay the full amount before submitting your offer, or be prepared to acquire daily late fees.

Fees: Please refer to our Fees & Refund Policy for more information.

Additional Fees & Services: If required (usually for inoperable vehicles), the customer will be charged a $25 forklift loading fee.

Security Deposits are typically $600.00 or 10% of the offer price, whichever is greater. A Deposit is required for every highest eligible offer, and is due by 8:30 AM, same day on the Offer End Date. Deposits are accepted via Bank Wire Transfer (all values), and credit card (up to $2000.00, i.e. two thousand dollars). International customers, please make sure necessary funds are transferred to a specified affiliated dealer's account via Bank Wire Transfer prior to submitting an offer.

Please note the customer's account will be suspended for non-payment if the customer fails to send the deposit on time. Suspended customers may be reinstated only by sending a deposit via wire transfer or other approved method, which will be applicable to his/her next purchase. Please plan accordingly to submit your payment in advance.

*Please note if a customer submits an offer with Elite Auto Auctions and has an available credit, the available credit will be used toward the bid deposit.

All items on our site are subject to an $85 document fee, which covers the costs to our company for preparing and processing all necessary paperwork for that particular vehicle. The document fee is in addition to your offer amount.

Yes, our affiliated dealers can accept loan checks. Please make sure that you secure financing for the vehicle prior to purchase (obtain a 'blank check' or pre-approval prior to placing any offers).

Security Deposit is refundable ONLY when a vehicle is not acquired by one of our affiliate dealers (i.e. the item sells for more at Insurance Auction than your offer at Elite Auto Auctions, or the Insurance Auction does not approve/accept the offer). If the item has been acquired from the Insurance Company by one of our affiliated dealers and the buyer forfeits the sale, the Security Deposit is kept (forfeited by the customer). The method of deposit refund is at the affiliate dealer's discretion. Please note fees for incoming and outgoing wires will be deducted from the amount of deposit. If the refund is remitted by check, the amount of refund will be $15 less ($25 incoming wire fee) than the deposit. If the refund is remitted by wire to a US customer, the amount of refund will be $25 less ($15 incoming wire fee + $25 outgoing wire fee) than the deposit. All refunds remitted by wire to an international customer will be $35 less (incoming plus international outgoing fees) than the deposit. All credit card refunds will be issued a surcharge of 10%.

All refunds are remitted in U.S. dollars only (with the exception of Canadian Customers)!

Refund Processing Policy and Timeline

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the status of your refund.

Please note that credit cards are never charged at the time of registration or bidding. Credit card transactions are authorized only. Funds are captured solely when a vehicle purchase is successfully completed. If you are inquiring about a pending authorization, you must contact your credit card issuer directly, as the timing for releasing authorizations is determined by your bank or credit card company.

In situations where an auction, insurance company, vehicle owner, or seller elects to cancel a sale, any funds received are credited to the customer's account pending refund processing in accordance with our Fees and Refund Policies.

To ensure proper handling and accurate accounting of refunds, refund requests are not accepted by email. Due to the volume of transactions, changes in personnel, spam filtering, support center routing, and sales department communications, all refund requests must be submitted in writing via Certified Mail, Priority Mail, Overnight Mail, or other trackable delivery service. This procedure ensures that the appropriate department receives and processes the request and provides a documented record for both parties.

Written refund requests for vehicle purchases must be mailed to:

Elite Auto Auctions
1201 North Market Street, Suite 111
Wilmington, DE 19801

As outlined in our Fees and Refund Policies, refunds are processed within thirty (30) days from receipt of a properly submitted written refund request. Once approved and processed, refund payments are sent via Federal Express (FedEx) to the customer's address on file or to another address specifically authorized by the customer in writing.

Because we process thousands of transactions and serve members nationwide, this procedure helps ensure accuracy, accountability, and timely handling of all refund requests. The written request requirement creates a clear audit trail, helps prevent fraud, and ensures that the proper accounting and compliance departments receive and review each request.

Please note that email communications, text messages, online chat messages, social media messages, verbal requests, and communications with sales representatives do not constitute a valid refund request and do not initiate the refund processing period. The thirty (30) day processing period begins only upon actual receipt of a written refund request at the address listed above.

If you have not yet submitted your written refund request, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible so that the refund review and processing period may begin.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Yes, all CANADIAN customers must pay the HST tax. If you are exporting the vehicles, you can submit proof to the tax department. Once the vehicle is exported, they will then issue you a refund.

Registration is FREE at Elite Auto Auctions unlike other sites, and we have the largest selection on any other single platform in the world. We allow you to place offers without making a deposit. Once you are the high bidder, we then require a $600 minimum. Elite Auto Auctions and its IAU has implemented this to have our customers try to place multiple offers and bids, before losing hope of purchasing a vehicle. We want to DETER customers from leaving a $600 deposit, then requesting a refund the next day or even the same day. We work for YOU. It is not in our best interest not to purchase a vehicle for YOU. Keep in mind you might have to place offers on ten or fifteen different vehicles before we can get one for you.

Your funds remain in your account for any future offers you wish to submit. There is no penalty for submitting offers on Elite Auto Auctions. If at any time you wish to remove your funds from your Elite Auto Auctions account, you must request a refund via our website only. The request form is located in the About Us section of the website. Refunds can take up to 5-7 days to reflect back into your credit card online statement.

No. PayPal is NO LONGER ACCEPTED. Check with your representative for other options.