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A plain-English guide to buying salvage cars through MBS.
Want to bid? All bidding happens on IAA UK Auctions, not this site — you'll need an IAA account first.
A salvage car is one that's been declared a total loss by an insurance company after an accident, flood, fire, theft recovery, or mechanical issue — but is often still repairable or breakable for parts.
Insurers sell these vehicles to specialists like MBS, who then list them for public auction. Some cars need structural repair. Some just need cosmetic work. Some are fine and just uneconomic to fix through insurance.
Salvage is not scrap. Most salvage cars go back on the road or are broken for parts that keep other cars on the road.
Structural damage. Repairable, but requires DVLA re-registration after repair.
Non-structural damage. Repairable, no re-registration needed. Most common category at MBS.
Replaced by Cat N in 2017. You'll still see Cat D on older cars.
Rare damage category. Treat like Cat N.
No insurance category. Usually recovered thefts, fleet end-of-life, or direct disposals.
Browse items on our Vehicles for sale page or direct on the IAA platform.
Register with IAA to place bids — sign up here →
Set a max bid — IAA auto-bids up to your limit.
If you win, IAA invoices you. Payment and collection happen through them.
Collection is via our separate collection service, MBS Collect. Visit MBS Collect →
Yes — by appointment at our Salford yard. Call us on 0161 834 6479 to arrange a viewing slot. Note that IAA may also offer viewing windows depending on the item.
IAA charges a buyer's premium on top of the hammer price — a percentage set by IAA, not by MBS. Check the live item listing for the current figure before bidding.
Typically a few working days from winning. IAA sets the exact window and notifies you after the sale. Late collection may incur storage fees.
No. Auction sales are binding — distance-selling regulations do not apply to auction purchases. This is why checking the category, photos and description before bidding matters.
Salvage cars are sold as seen. We publish the category, photos, damage notes and known history. Beyond that, no warranties apply — the price reflects that.
Most items are sold with the V5 logbook, but not all — some are sold on V5C/2 (new keeper slip) or with a replacement-V5 process required. The item description tells you which.
We do, in agreement with the seller, based on the car's real market value. The reserve can be lowered mid-auction at the seller's request if an item isn't attracting bids.
Every category, every make, updated live from the IAA feed.
Browse cars for sale →
