New independent dealer here and looking for help understanding how Manheim buy/sell fees are calculated. My rep tells me they're just different every time and there's no set formula. Excuse my ignorance but I'm not understanding how that makes any sense. How do you determine buy/sell prices without knowing what the associated fees are?
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Help with Manheim fees
- Thread starter A Wang
- Start date
Unfortunately, that is just how it is. You really don't know what the fee is going to be. Some sellers have a surcharge, sometimes there are charitable causes sponsored by other sellers and they add $100 on every unit. You just don't know. We just figure it will be about $500 and that is usually pretty close.
You are going to sell from cost anyway, so $100 here or there isn't going to matter.
You are going to sell from cost anyway, so $100 here or there isn't going to matter.
- Dec 28, 2020
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- First Name
- Brad
Digital only auctions are typically more transparent than traditional auctions due to lower variables/overhead. If you go to one of these sites like Carsker.com, ACV.com, etc they will list their fee structure.
While not an outright scam, it's certainly rather shady. Surprised nobody has filed a case with the FTC. Just today I called the auction to ask the buyers fee on a $6000 car in the dealer lanes. Have a customer interested in a car and obviously they want to know how much to expect before committing to have me try and buy it for them at X $ over auction bid + fees.
✨ AI Highlights
An independent dealer seeks clarification on Manheim's fee structure, complaining that their rep claims fees vary unpredictably with no set formula. Responses confirm that Manheim fees are indeed opaque and variable—often including surcharges, charitable add-ons, and other unexpected charges—making it difficult to accurately calculate buy/sell prices, though most dealers estimate around $500 and factor in the uncertainty. The consensus is that while this lack of transparency is frustrating and arguably shady, dealers accept it as standard practice, though some suggest exploring more transparent digital-only auction alternatives like Carsker or ACV.
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