FAQ
SalvageAlert — frequently asked questions
Short, factual answers about what SalvageAlert does, which auctions it covers, how alerts work and what each plan costs.
About SalvageAlert
What is SalvageAlert?
SalvageAlert is a monitoring service for salvage and insurance vehicle auctions. You save searches across IAA, Copart and GovDeals, and SalvageAlert notifies you when a new lot matches. It also publishes a free, searchable archive of auction lots with VIN, damage, odometer, title status and last observed bid.
Is SalvageAlert affiliated with IAA or Copart?
No. SalvageAlert is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by IAA, Copart or GovDeals. It reads their public listings; bidding and buying always happen on the auction’s own website.
Auctions and buyers
Which auctions and countries does SalvageAlert cover?
8 auction sources: IAA Canada, IAA USA, IAA UK (SYNETIQ), Copart Canada, Copart USA, Copart UK, Copart Germany, GovDeals. That spans Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, with prices in CAD, USD, GBP or EUR.
Can buyers outside the US and Canada use SalvageAlert?
Yes. The website and alerts are available in ten languages, and buyers in Europe and elsewhere use SalvageAlert to find vehicles to import. SalvageAlert does not bid, buy or ship vehicles: you still need a buyer account with the auction or a registered broker.
Alerts
How do SalvageAlert alerts work?
You create a saved search with filters such as make, model, year, damage, location and price, and choose the auctions to watch. SalvageAlert checks those auctions on your plan’s schedule and sends one notification per new matching lot. You can also watch a specific VIN and get Buy Now and price-drop alerts.
Where are SalvageAlert alerts delivered?
Through Telegram, push notifications in the iPhone app, and Web Push in the browser. Every match also appears in your feed on the website and in the app. Quiet hours hold notifications back and deliver them when the window ends.
Plans and pricing
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The free Trial plan includes 3 active saved searches checked every 12 hours. The public lot archive, VIN pages and the fee calculator are free without an account.
How much does SalvageAlert cost?
Starter costs $19.99 per month or $199 per year and includes 20 active searches checked every 6 hours. Unlimited costs $39.99 per month or $399 per year, with no search limit and checks every 2 hours. Prices are in US dollars.
Is there a free trial of the paid plans?
Yes. Starter and Unlimited include a 7-day free trial, once per account. Cancel before the trial ends and you are not charged.
Can I cancel at any time?
Yes. You can cancel from the billing page of your account, and the plan stays active until the end of the period already paid.
API
Does SalvageAlert have an API?
Yes. The SalvageAlert REST API gives programmatic access to lot search, lot details and photos, VIN decoding and history, market statistics and fee estimates, plus outbound webhooks. Requests are authenticated with an API key, and the API is documented with an OpenAPI specification.
How is the SalvageAlert API billed?
Each API call uses credits. Starter includes 500 credits per month and Unlimited includes 5,000, with rate limits of 120 and 300 requests per minute. Extra credits are sold as one-time packs of 1,000 / 5,000 / 20,000 credits.
Free tools and apps
Can I look up a VIN on SalvageAlert?
Yes, for free. Each VIN page lists every auction appearance SalvageAlert has recorded for that vehicle, with photos, damage and bids. It is an auction record, not a title, lien or vehicle history report.
How do I estimate the total cost of an auction vehicle?
Use the free SalvageAlert fee calculator. It turns a bid into an all-in price with IAA and Copart buyer fees, gate and online fees, sales taxes and currency conversion.
Is there a SalvageAlert mobile app?
Yes. The SalvageAlert iPhone app is on the App Store, with push alerts, the match feed, favorites and bid tracking on the same account as the website.
Start watching the auctions
Create a free account, save a search and get notified when a matching lot is listed.