Buy a salvage car in BC without a dealer licence

In British Columbia, ICBC sells the vehicles it writes off only to licensed businesses. For everyone else, the way in is another insurer's public sale, a private sale or a marketplace like ours.

These are the province's and the auctions' rules as of October 2026, and either can change them. Check the sources before you act.

Who can buy at BC's salvage auctions

Many of the vehicles ICBC writes off are sold through an auction partner. ICBC's salvage registration page says buyers must be licensed dealers, or licensed non-dealers, with a registered buyer account. Other auctions set their own rules on who can bid, so read each one's terms.

Manitoba Public Insurance is one exception. It sells salvage online to anyone who opens a public buyer account and isn't a Manitoba dealer or recycler, and the account can bid on some public inventory located in British Columbia. A vehicle bought in another province still has to meet BC's rules before it can be licensed here.

Some buyers use a broker, who bids for them and charges a fee on top of the auction's buyer fees, plus taxes, transport and storage if you collect late. In BC, a business that helps consumers buy vehicles for a fee needs a VSA broker-agent licence, so check that it has one, and get the full cost in writing before you bid.

Making an offer on DNF

Here, owners who kept a vehicle after a write-off, body shops and small rebuilders list vehicles themselves, and a free account is all you need to make an offer. You offer what it's worth to you, above or below the asking price, with no clock running. Listings show the ICBC status in ICBC's words, the damage, whether it starts, runs and drives, photos and a Score.

Once the seller accepts and any required platform fees on both sides are paid, you'll both have each other's contact details, and the payment, the transfer and the pickup are yours to arrange. We never handle the vehicle payment. Nobody checks a seller's status against ICBC, so look it up free with ICBC, along with the claims history, before you pay. A Salvage vehicle can change hands, but it can't be licensed until it passes inspection.

Licences for resellers, and what to check

A vehicle for yourself needs no dealer licence. Buying vehicles to repair and resell for profit is another thing. Motor dealers in British Columbia are licensed by the Vehicle Sales Authority (VSA). Anyone who deals in five or more vehicles in 12 months is treated as a dealer, and the VSA says buying even one vehicle to resell can count. Selling only to other dealers needs a wholesaler licence. Ask the VSA before you start.

Before you buy anything, read the BC salvage rules guide for what each status means, check the status and claims history with ICBC and search for liens. The provincial inspection is covered in the BC rebuilt inspection guide.

See everything listed in British Columbia, salvage vehicles in BC and rebuilt vehicles in BC.