It is part of the price, not an extra
A buyer's premium is a percentage of the hammer price added to the invoice. If you bid 20,000 on a lot with a 5% premium, you owe 21,000 before tax, title and transport.
The useful way to think about it is backwards: decide what the vehicle is worth to you delivered, subtract transport, subtract tax and title, subtract the premium, and what remains is your maximum bid. Bidders who skip that arithmetic are the ones who feel ambushed by the invoice.
What it funds
The premium pays for the parts of an auction you do not see: cataloguing, photography, inspection, the platform itself, payment handling and the staff who chase a title through a registry. A house with a low premium and no inspection is not cheaper — it has moved the cost onto you, in the form of risk.
The other line items
Expect some combination of documentation or title fees, state and local sales tax based on where the vehicle is registered rather than where it was sold, transport, and occasionally storage if you leave the lot standing too long.
- Buyer's premium — a percentage of the hammer price
- Documentation and title transfer fees
- Sales tax in your own state, usually paid at registration
- Transport, quoted on the route and the vehicle
- Storage after a grace period, charged per day
From the auction floor
See how this works on a real lot.
Every listing carries its inspection report, its full specification and its bid history. Read one before you decide what it is worth to you.