Reading a Copart lot page like a professional
Every field on a Copart UK lot page tells you something, if you know where to look. A walkthrough of what actually matters and what beginners skim past.
BUYING · 5 min read
Start with the damage codes, not the photos
The primary and secondary damage fields are Copart's own classification, filled in by their inspector, and they are more reliable than a quick scroll through the photo gallery. A photo can flatter or hide a problem depending on angle and light. The damage code is a fixed vocabulary: front end, side, rear, all over, mechanical, water/flood, and so on. Read the code first, then use the photos to sanity-check it, not the other way round.
The title and category line
This tells you Cat S, Cat N, Cat A, Cat B, or a clean title being sold for another reason such as a fleet return or repossession. This single line decides your DVLA re-registration requirements, your insurance friction and your buyer pool later, so it should shape your bid ceiling before you even look at the damage.
Run and drive status
Copart marks each lot as run and drive, starts, or does not start, based on a basic test at intake. A run and drive tag on a Cat N car is a strong signal the damage is mostly cosmetic. A does-not-start tag needs real caution, because the reason could be anything from a flat battery to a seized engine, and the lot page will not tell you which.
Keys, odometer and airbag fields
Keys present or not present affects both your access to the car and its resale value; missing keys mean a locksmith or dealer reprogram before anyone can drive it. The odometer reading field is what Copart's inspector recorded, cross-check it against the photos of the dashboard for consistency. The airbag field tells you how many bags deployed, which drives a real cost you can look up in our airbag replacement cost guide.
Seller and location
The seller field usually shows an insurance company or a fleet/leasing company. Insurance-sourced lots have been through a formal write-off assessment, which is generally more consistent than a fleet return sold for other reasons. The yard location matters for your transport cost, factor the distance into your numbers before you bid, not after you win.
The photo gallery, used properly
Zoom into every panel gap and shut line, not just the obvious damage area. A door that doesn't sit flush in a photo can be your only pre-bid clue to a chassis leg being out of alignment. Look at the boot floor and door shuts for underseal disturbance, a giveaway of prior repair work Copart's damage code will not mention because it happened before this loss.
Put it together in the Analyzer
Every field above, category, damage code, run and drive status, odometer and airbag count, feeds directly into a proper repair-cost and profit model. Reading the lot page well is what makes that model accurate. Paste the lot URL into the Analyzer once you have read it properly, not as a replacement for reading it.