Cars at Prozorro.Sale auctions: who sells them, how to check and buy

Prozorro.Sale is not only about land and buildings. Vehicles appear here every day: from old Ladas for a few thousand hryvnias to recent foreign cars, trucks and special machinery. Here is where these vehicles come from, how to tell a good lot from a problematic one, and how to take part.

Who sells vehicles

• State and municipal companies and institutions — written-off fleet vehicles: passenger cars, minibuses, trucks, trailers. The lot title often says “alienation of state property”. These lots are in the “Property sale” catalogue.
• Customs offices — vehicles that have become state property. Customs auctions are often repeat ones: if no buyer was found, the lot is offered again at a lower price.
• Banks and leasing companies — pledged and repossessed cars and machinery, in the “Commercial sale” group.
• Bankrupt companies — the debtor’s fleet is sold by the insolvency practitioner to pay creditors: the “Bankruptcy” group. It has the most trucks, tractors and road machinery, and the price goes down at repeat auctions. More in the article on bankruptcy assets.
• The State Property Fund of Ukraine — vehicles as small privatization objects.

Cars seized by enforcement officers for debts are sold in a different system, SETAM; they are not in our catalogue.

How to search

The easiest way is to search the catalogue by words from the title. Titles are in Ukrainian: “автомобіль” (car), “транспортний засіб” (vehicle), or simply the make — “Volkswagen”, “Renault”, “КАМАЗ”. Add a region and a price range. Good lots go quickly, so it is more convenient to save a filter: the radar will message you in Telegram as soon as a new vehicle appears.

What to check before bidding

• What exactly is being sold. Some lots sell not a whole car but a share in it, or even the right to a car that is on the wanted list. Read the title and description to the end.
• VIN, year, mileage. Use the VIN and the number plate to check the vehicle’s history in the open services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in the register of encumbrances on movable property — for seizures and pledges.
• Technical condition. The vehicle is sold as is, with no warranty. Descriptions are usually frank: “not running”, “needs repair”, “parts missing”. If the organizer lets you inspect the vehicle — contacts are in the announcement — do it.
• Documents. Whether the registration certificate and keys are available, whether the vehicle has been deregistered, who hands over the documents after payment and how.
• Customs vehicles. Find out from the announcement which payments are already included in the price and whether the vehicle can be registered in Ukraine — sometimes a car is sold for spare parts only.
• Total cost. Add VAT if it is not included (the lot page shows this), the marketplace fee, delivery or a tow truck, registration charges and repairs.

How the auction works

1. Register on one of the accredited Prozorro.Sale e-marketplaces.
2. Pay the registration fee and the guarantee deposit and apply before the application deadline shown on the lot page.
3. On auction day, raise the price online. Some vehicles are sold at a Dutch auction: the price drops by itself until someone stops it.
4. Set your price limit in advance — in the heat of bidding it is easy to pay more for an old car than it costs on the market.

After you win

The winner signs the protocol, pays for the lot and signs the sale contract within the deadlines in the announcement. Then come the acceptance certificate, removal of the vehicle at your own expense and re-registration at a service centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If the winner refuses to sign or pay, the guarantee deposit is not returned.

Vehicles of state companies and customs

Vehicles of bankrupt companies

Looking for a particular make or a vehicle in your region? Save a filter with words from the title — the radar will message you in Telegram as soon as such a lot appears.

This is an overview for orientation, not legal advice. The binding terms of each auction are in its announcement and documents on prozorro.sale.