What Run and Drive really means at Copart
Run and Drive is one of the most misunderstood labels at salvage auction. What it guarantees, what it does not, and how to use it.
BUYING · 3 min read
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What the label means
Run and Drive means that when Copart checked the car, the engine started, it moved under its own power and it stopped. It is a basic functional check done in the yard, not a mechanical inspection or a guarantee of health.
What it does not promise
It does not mean the car is roadworthy, that the gearbox is healthy, that it will pass an MOT or that it has no faults. A car can be Run and Drive and still have a slipping clutch, a knocking engine or serious electrical issues. Treat it as a green light to investigate, not a clean bill of health.
The other condition labels
Starts means it fired up but was not driven. Stationary or does not run means exactly that. Enhanced Vehicles and similar tags relate to how the lot is sold. Each tells you something about the mechanical risk you are taking on.
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How to price the risk
A confirmed Run and Drive car carries less mechanical risk, so you can budget a lower mechanical repair figure. A non-runner needs a bigger buffer because you do not know why it will not go. The Analyzer defaults an unconfirmed runner to a moderate mechanical allowance for exactly this reason.
What the recorded bids actually show
Do not assume a non-runner goes cheap. Across the UK salvage listings we had logged ending by 23 September 2026, the median closing bid was £500 for cars listed as starting and driving (3,071 lots), £600 for cars that start but do not drive (256 lots) and £500 for non-runners (857 lots). Those are recorded closing bids, not independently confirmed sales, and a national median mixes very different cars, so it cannot tell you a non-runner is worth the same as a runner of the same model. What it does tell you is that other bidders are not reliably marking non-runners down, so the discount has to come from your own maximum bid, not from the room. The dataset overview keeps this split current, and each model page breaks it down for that one model.
The smart approach
Use Run and Drive to shortlist lower-risk lots as a beginner, but still budget for the unknown. As you gain experience you can take on non-runners, but only at a bid that already prices the likely cause of the fault, because the recorded bids above show the room will not always discount them for you.
See the median closing bid recorded for each model, free
Related guides
- How to transport a salvage car home in the UK - Won a Copart lot? Now you have to get it home. Trailer, transporter or Copart delivery, with real costs and the rules.
- Buying a salvage car with no keys: what it really costs - What a no-keys salvage lot means for starting, moving and registering the car, what to budget before you bid, and how far no-keys lots actually go for less.
- Copart damage types explained: what each label means - Front End, Mechanical, Water/Flood, Burn and the rest: what each Copart damage label means, what it leaves out, and what each damage type goes for.