How it works

What LMNM lists

LMNM is for vehicles driven unusually little for their age - ordinary cars, trucks, vans and SUVs as much as collector cars. The standard is 1,000 miles a year plus an allowance for the vehicle's decade, with a 100,000-mile ceiling and a minimum age of 3 model years.

• A vehicle just over the line - up to 5,000 miles - gets an editorial look: preservation, originality, ownership, documentation and rarity all count.
• A vehicle outside the standard is not thrown away. You can submit it for Exceptional Review with your reason - a highway diesel, a one-owner truck, a survivor with every receipt - and a person decides.
• Meeting the standard is not the same as being featured. Every listing is reviewed by the LMNM team before it appears. Staff Picks and cars marked "LMNM pick" are LMNM's editorial choices; a Featured placement is paid for, and wherever it sits in a paid position it is labeled "Sponsored".
• Modified vehicles are welcome where they still meet the standard. Excessive modifications that significantly alter the original nature of the vehicle may not fit.

Bidding

A bid is the amount you bid. There is no maximum and nothing bids on your behalf. The price is always exactly what somebody bid.

An auction with no bids sits at $0, and the first bid must be at least $100. After that the minimum rises by the increment for the current price:

A bid in the last 2 minutes moves the end 2 minutes later, and there is no limit on how many times that can happen. The auction ends when the bidding stops, not when the clock runs out.

Bids are binding. Have your funds or financing lined up before you bid.

What it costs

Membership is free. There is no charge to browse, follow or bid.

When you place your first bid on a car, a $250 authorization goes on your card. LMNM never collects it, and it is released when the auction ends unless you win; your bank usually holds that much of your available balance until then.

If you win, the Service Fee is 5% of the winning bid, with a minimum of $250 and a maximum of $7,500.

LMNM charges the Service Fee to your saved card automatically when the auction ends. If that charge does not go through, we tell you, and you have 24 hours to pay it from the auction page.

LMNM does not collect the money for the car. When the auction closes, the buyer and seller are introduced on LMNM and complete the sale between themselves.

The $250 hold is not part of the fee and is not a payment toward the vehicle. Fees has the full schedule and what happens if a payment fails.

Selling

Auctions. A no-reserve auction is free to list. A reserve auction is $99 once LMNM accepts the car. Winning bidders pay the Service Fee above.

Classifieds. $49 per vehicle for 60 days. Packages that include a CARFAX Report are not offered at the moment. Featured placement is $99 for 30 days. It is charged to the card on your account when you confirm, and its 30 days start as soon as the payment goes through; a listing with fewer than 30 days left is extended so none are lost. Wanted ads are free.

Dealers. Monthly plans, bought online from Billing on the dealership dashboard (Enterprise by agreement), sized by how many vehicles are live at once, with website ingestion included - see Dealers.

When you send the car in, LMNM places a temporary authorization for your package on your card; nothing is charged unless LMNM approves the listing. LMNM captures it only if the listing is approved, and aims to review within 72 hours (a target, not a promise). If LMNM declines the car, or you withdraw it before approval, the authorization is released and you pay nothing. If LMNM asks for changes, the authorization stays in place while it is valid and sending the car back costs nothing more. If it runs out before LMNM decides, you are asked to authorize again: LMNM never charges your card later without you.

Fees has the full schedule.

A featured listing sits in the featured strip on the homepage and at the top of its category’s default order for 30 days.

Sell your car

Common questions

How do LMNM auctions work?

You submit a car. If the LMNM team accepts it, we write it up with you and run it as a seven-day auction. Bidders ask questions in the comments and the seller answers there. A bid in the last two minutes pushes the end back two minutes, as many times as it takes, so the auction ends when the bidding stops.

A bid is a binding offer to buy at that price. If the high bid meets the reserve (or there is no reserve), the high bidder wins, pays the Service Fee to LMNM, and is introduced to the seller to complete the sale.

What is a reserve?

The lowest price the seller will accept. The seller sets it with LMNM before the auction, and it is never shown to bidders, during or after. A seller can lower a reserve while the auction runs but cannot raise it.

If the bidding does not reach the reserve, there is no sale. The seller and the high bidder then have 24 hours to agree a price privately on LMNM, if they want to.

Some cars run with no reserve. Those sell to the high bidder, whatever the price.

How much does it cost?

Membership is free, and so is browsing, following and bidding. If you win, you pay LMNM a Service Fee of 5% of the winning bid, with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum, charged to your saved card when the auction ends. If you do not win, you pay nothing.

How do I register to bid?

Create a free account here. Before your first bid you will verify your email and phone and add a card. The card is not charged; a $250 hold is placed on it when you bid on a car and released when that auction ends, unless you win.

How do I submit my car?

Describe the car once, add photos, and send it to the LMNM team from your account. A no-reserve auction is free to list: it sells when it closes, and the winning bidder pays the Service Fee. A reserve auction is $99, due once LMNM accepts the car. Some dealer plans, and some LMNM promotions for dealers, include Reserve seller-fee waivers. When LMNM accepts a Reserve auction from such a dealership, a waiver is applied automatically if one is left for that period, and it shows on the dealer dashboard and on the auction’s fee line. LMNM may waive the Reserve seller fee in its discretion.

What happens when an auction ends?

If the reserve is met, LMNM opens a private thread between the buyer and the seller and puts a short checklist on both of your accounts. Payment for the car, the title and pickup are between the two of you; LMNM does not hold the money, the title or the car.

Have your funds or financing ready before you bid. A winning bid is a commitment to buy, not a chance to think it over.

Is my card information safe?

LMNM never sees or stores your card number. Card details go straight to the payment provider, and LMNM keeps only a reference to the card and its last four digits.

Your card is not charged when you register. The $250 hold is placed at your first bid on a car and released if you do not win. Only the winning bidder is charged, and only the Service Fee.

Shipping

LMNM Shipping prices door-to-door transport on the vehicle page, from the car’s own location to your ZIP, on an open or an enclosed trailer. A price on a vehicle page is an estimate for that ZIP and trailer, not a booking. The final price depends on the exact pickup and delivery details. Instant prices are for a car that runs and is standard size; anything else is priced by hand. LMNM does not operate trucks: a licensed transportation provider and an independent carrier move the car. Online booking is coming soon. To arrange transportation using your estimate, contact LMNM. The shipping page says what is switched on today. For a hands-on white-glove option at any time, Dispatch Dudes or any licensed carrier will quote you directly.

Get your shipping price before the auction ends or before you agree a price for the car, so the total is no surprise. More about shipping, and how to buy and sell safely.

Still have a question?

Email support@lowmilesnomiles.com, or auctions@lowmilesnomiles.com for anything about a live auction.

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