Auction Guide

Post-Sale Inspections for Wholesale Dealers

What a dealer-auction PSI covers, what Manheim and ADESA Clear publish on price and timing, and when the fee belongs on the car’s cost.

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FoxDMS team Updated November 5, 2026 · Last reviewed November 5, 2026

Quick Answer

A post-sale inspection (PSI) is a buyer-paid check ordered at the sale, or inside a short window afterward, on auctions that sell one. The published Manheim and ADESA Clear checklists look at mechanical and drivetrain function, structure, flood signs, and the odometer. They are not a title exam, and they are not a substitute for the condition report or for arbitration. Buy one when that auction still offers it, you can order it before the window closes, and one missed mechanical or structural item would cost more than the fee, including on eligible higher-priced units and on sight-unseen online purchases.

Read This First

A PSI Is the Auction’s Policy, Not a National Fee

Checked November 5, 2026.

Prices and windows change by auction

This page only states fees, mileage caps, and clocks that appear on a public page fetched for this guide. Manheim publishes a national price table and says pricing may vary by auction location. ADESA Clear publishes eligibility and timing and does not publish a dollar fee. ACV and OPENLANE’s public pages describe a pre-sale condition report and arbitration, not a PSI price list. If your lane’s fee or window is not on those pages, use that auction’s current fee schedule before you buy the inspection.

Sources, checked November 5, 2026: the Manheim Post-Sale Inspection Policy (labeled effective July 1, 2025), the Manheim PSI product page, the ADESA Clear PSI help page (updated June 29, 2026), ACV’s Vehicle Condition Arbitration Policy (effective August 13, 2026), ACV’s Terms of Service, ACV Purchase Protection terms (effective July 31, 2026), the ACV buyer page, OPENLANE’s inspections article (September 5, 2024), OPENLANE’s February 18, 2026 arbitration article, OPENLANE’s top-10 buyer FAQ (September 5, 2024), and the OPENLANE buyers page.

What It Checks

Mechanical, Structure, Flood, and the Odometer

The list is the auction’s checklist. Announced items are not covered again.

Manheim’s policy, effective July 1, 2025, calls a PSI a basic mechanical, structural, and flood inspection aligned with the National Auto Auction Association arbitration policy. It is a one-time look, as close to the end of the sale as possible, under the conditions at that moment. The inspected items on that policy and on the PSI product page are:

Odometer verification
Engine function and operation
Transmission engagement and function
Drivetrain, including 4x4 engagement and differential engagement
ABS and brake function
Emission-control equipment present, checked against the standards of the state where the PSI is done
Air conditioning operation
SRS (airbags)
Structure
Flood
Electrical accessories, for the current model year and up to 4 model years old

Seller-disclosed items on a green-and-yellow car are not inspected or guaranteed. Advanced driver-assistance systems are not part of the PSI. Manheim says those systems have to be checked by a qualified third party off the auction property. The product page also says that if an inspected item passes and then fails during the guarantee and costs $800 or more to repair or replace, it is eligible for claim resolution with Manheim. The policy itself says failures follow the NAAA repair-or-replace threshold for in-lane purchases, and that a later claim uses Manheim’s wholesale cost, at or above that NAAA threshold. Read both pages. The auction arbitration guide explains the June 1, 2026 NAAA threshold the policy points to.

ADESA Clear’s help page, updated June 29, 2026, uses a similar checklist for a physical-auction purchase through ADESA Clear: odometer verification, engine, transmission, 4x4, ABS and brakes if the brake light is on, flood, selected electrical accessories, emissions equipment, air-conditioning compressor engagement, airbags if the SRS light is on, and a visual structure check. The auction is not liable for frame damage a visual check would miss. The checklist applies to a single defective item of $800 or more to repair or replace. Electrical items over $500 are on that accessory list. Neither checklist is a title search. Title problems stay in arbitration, which is a different clock.

Three Different Tools

PSI, Arbitration, and the Condition Report

Buying one does not replace the other two.

Condition report, before the bid

ACV’s terms say that, unless the seller lists the car as seller-inspected, ACV inspects it on the seller’s lot to write a condition report. OPENLANE’s September 5, 2024 inspections article says the inspection happens before the vehicle is listed, and the report is what the buyer reads in order to bid. That report is not a PSI.

PSI, at the sale or just after

A PSI is a separate product. Manheim says you can order it after the purchase, inside the windows in the policy, or put eligible cars on Automatic PSI. ADESA Clear says the buyer elects it at checkout on the sale day. The buyer pays the fee whether the car passes or fails. On Manheim, the sale itself is not contingent on a PSI being available.

Arbitration, if something is wrong

Arbitration is the claim, not the inspection you buy up front. A failed PSI can put the car into that claim. Manheim says the buyer can negotiate, keep the car, or void the sale, and auction management’s decision is binding. ADESA Clear says a failed, undisclosed item goes to arbitration under the NAAA guidelines and ADESA’s guidelines. The filing rules are in the auction arbitration guide.

By Auction

What the Public Pages Actually Say

Only rows that come from a page linked above. Blank dollars stay blank.

Compared from public pages checked November 5, 2026. A local lane can still differ. Scroll sideways on a phone.
Auction	What the public page calls it	Published price	Clock the page states
Manheim PSI	Buyer-paid mechanical, structural, and flood inspection after the sale, with a 7-day or 14-day guarantee on a car that passes.	National table below. The page says pricing may vary by auction location. No base price is published for $50,000 and up.	Order windows in the policy. Guarantee runs from PSI completion to the claim. 200 miles from the auction odometer reading to the claim date.
ADESA Clear	Optional PSI, or one the auction requires, separate from ADESA’s arbitration guidelines. The page says some Clear rules differ from other ADESA PSI offerings.	No dollar fee on the help page. The buyer pays it regardless of the result. A denied PSI is refunded in full.	Choose it at checkout on the sale day. A 14-day PSI extends arbitration to 14 calendar days (sale day is day 1). A 7-day PSI uses the standard arbitration period, and the page does not number that period. Claims require 100 miles or less.
ACV	Pre-sale condition report, plus arbitration. No PSI fee schedule on the legal pages or the buyer page.	Not published. The buyer page says 10-day arbitration protection is included at no charge, and that buyers can extend the window or the coverage. The extension’s price is not on that page.	10 calendar days from purchase (purchase day is day 1). With ACV Transportation, the greater of that window or 4 calendar days after delivery. A purchased extension adds 10 calendar days. Odometer limit for a claim: 150 miles over the miles shown at delivery.
OPENLANE (digital)	Pre-sale inspection and condition report, then an As Described Guarantee. Not described as a Manheim-style PSI you add after the hammer.	No PSI price on the pages reviewed. Buy fees are not listed as a schedule. The September 5, 2024 FAQ says the As Described Guarantee applies if it is purchased. The February 18, 2026 article says it is available on 93% of inventory.	The public pages do not agree on one window. See the section below. The full Buyer Arbitration Policy is behind login.

Manheim

National PSI Prices and the Order Window

From the PSI product page and the policy labeled effective July 1, 2025.

Manheim national PSI prices by purchase price. The product page says pricing may vary by auction location. The $50,000-and-up row is printed as “Add $50 per $10,000” with no base price.
Purchase price	7-day AutoPSI	7-day walk-up	14-day AutoPSI	14-day walk-up
$3,000 – $9,999	$135	$170	$170	$195
$10,000 – $19,999	$155	$190	$190	$215
$20,000 – $29,999	$175	$210	$210	$235
$30,000 – $39,999	$205	$240	$240	$265
$40,000 – $49,999	$255	$290	$290	$315
$50,000+	Add $50 per $10,000	Add $50 per $10,000	Add $50 per $10,000	Add $50 per $10,000

Who can buy it. Green light under 125,000 miles, or green and yellow under 125,000 miles, with a purchase price over $3,000. The policy also makes a car ineligible at $3,000 or under, at 125,000 miles or more, if the purchase price or estimated MMR is above $75,000, if it sells yellow only, as-is, in the TRA lane, as a specialty unit or motorcycle, if it is an all-electric vehicle, if it has already left the Manheim facility, or if it is past the order window. A $3,000 car sits in the first price band and is still ineligible under the policy’s “$3,000 or under” line.
When you can still order it. 5 PM when the auction starts before 9:30 AM. 3 hours after the auction ends for other auctions. 3 hours after an if-bid is accepted. 24 hours after a Manheim Timed purchase on Manheim.com or a Manheim Facilitated purchase on OVE.com. An OVE offsite purchase that is not brought to a Manheim facility for processing is ineligible.
After it passes. The guarantee is 7 or 14 days, based on the product, and it is measured from the day the PSI is completed to the claim date. It is void if the car is resold during that period. A PSI claim needs 200 miles or less from the odometer reading recorded at the auction. Manheim’s option to take the car is capped at 102% of MMR. The product page says reimbursement of the purchase price will not exceed 102% of MMR at the time of purchase.
You still pay if it fails. The buyer owes the PSI fee on a pass or a fail. A failed PSI can go to arbitration. If the buyer and seller accept a price adjustment, Manheim quotes the NAAA rule that the car becomes as-is with no further arbitration.
Yellow light and high mileage. Those cars are not this PSI. The same product page describes a Limited Powertrain Inspection, with a 7-day guarantee only. It says 14-day LPI is not available, lists separate prices, and again says pricing may vary by location. This guide does not copy that second price grid.
Flat-rate plans. The product page also describes an auto flat-rate inspection. It does not print the flat dollar amount.

Example (hypothetical, using the published band): a $14,000 purchase is inside $10,000–$19,999. On the national table, a 7-day walk-up PSI is $190 and a 14-day walk-up PSI is $215, if that location uses the national price. The location may charge something else. Those figures are the inspection fee, not a repair estimate and not a promise that a later claim will pay.

ADESA Clear

Same-Day Checkout, No Published Dollar Fee

Help page updated June 29, 2026. Other ADESA PSI programs can differ.

The PSI is a separate service, not part of ADESA’s arbitration guidelines. The buyer can elect it, or the auction can require it.
Standard eligibility on that page: sold through ADESA Clear from an ADESA physical auction, selling price under $75,000, and not listed as-is. The auction can deny a PSI. If it does, the fee is refunded in full.
Excluded from the standard PSI, with an information-only report available if the buyer purchases one: as-is, $3,000 and under, over 125,000 miles, and over $75,000. Vehicles 10 years or older are on that same exclusion list. The page also says PSIs are not available for vehicles 10 years old or older. Read the live page before you rely on an information-only report for an older car.
Also excluded: sales out of a Carvana Inspection Center, listed exotic makes, motorcycles, watercraft, trailers, RVs, antiques (20 model years or older), homemade or modified vehicles, kit or hand-built vehicles, and heavy trucks and equipment.
A 14-day PSI extends arbitration to 14 calendar days, and sale day is day 1. The coverage section repeats that a PSI purchase guarantees that 14-day extension. The service-offering section says a 7-day PSI is subject to the standard arbitration period and does not state that period’s length. This guide does not fill in a number the page leaves out.
The car must have 100 miles or less for the dealer to arbitrate the PSI findings. Coverage ends if the car is resold. It cannot be transferred.
ADESA will not reimburse transportation, reconditioning, other work, or lost profit on a car returned during the extended period. The returned car has to be in the same or better condition as when it was purchased.

ACV and OPENLANE

Online Marketplaces Without a Published PSI Price

Do not copy Manheim’s fee onto a digital purchase.

ACV. The terms describe an inspection on the seller’s lot that produces the condition report before the sale. The buyer page says buyers receive 10-day arbitration protection at no charge and can extend the time window or the coverage with buyer-assurance offerings. The arbitration policy, effective August 13, 2026, sets the standard window at 10 calendar days from purchase, with purchase day as day 1. ACV Transportation changes that to the greater of the standard window or 4 calendar days after delivery, and delivery day is day 1. A buyer can purchase an extra 10 calendar days at the time of purchase. That policy does not list the price of the extension. A claim is barred if the odometer has risen 150 miles or more from the miles shown on the platform at delivery. Checkout has to be finished within 24 hours after the bid is accepted, or arbitration rights may be void.

Purchase Protection, in terms effective July 31, 2026, is a cancellation option, not a PSI. Those terms say a single undisclosed mechanical defect must be $800 or more under a $50,000 purchase price, and 2% of the purchase price at $50,000 or more, before that cancellation right applies. They also exclude red-light cars, cars at $75,000 or more, cars at 175,000 miles or more, exotics ACV names, powersports, heavy equipment, electric vehicles, and Class 4 or higher. Purchase Protection+ adds 10 calendar days. The page does not list a fee for either product. ACV’s arbitration policy also describes an optional confirmatory inspection for vehicles bought by dealers in Puerto Rico before the car ships. When ACV performs it, the policy says it is provided as-is, with no warranty, and ACV does not have to perform it. That is not a U.S. mainland PSI product.

OPENLANE. The September 5, 2024 inspections article says every listing is inspected before it goes up, including a test drive, and the result is the condition report. The buyers page says those reports include photos, component-level detail, and AutoCheck. That is the pre-sale report.

The As Described Guarantee is buyer protection tied to that report, not a post-sale inspection fee this guide can price. The pages do not agree with each other:

September 5, 2024 inspections article: 5 days from purchase, or 7 days from delivery with OPENLANE transport. Extended Guarantee: 14 days from purchase, or 14 days from delivery with OPENLANE transport.
September 5, 2024 top-10 FAQ: if the guarantee is purchased, 5 days from purchase or 7 days from delivery with OPENLANE transport. It points dealers to the Buyer Arbitration Policy for the full rules.
February 18, 2026 article, in the body: 7 days from purchase, and with the extended guarantee, 7 days from delivery, described as up to 14 days after purchase. The FAQ on that same article says 7 days from purchase or 7 days from delivery with OPENLANE Transport. The article also says the guarantee is available on 93% of inventory, and that about 5–6% of vehicles are sold as-is.
Buyers page: Extended Guarantee of up to 14 calendar days from purchase or delivery. It also says only 7% of units are listed as-is, and that 93% of listings are backed by buyer-protection programs including the As Described Guarantee and the Extended Guarantee.

Because those pages disagree on the day count, on whether the guarantee is included or purchased, and on the as-is share, this guide does not pick a number. OPENLANE tells readers to log in and open the Buyer Arbitration Policy. There is no PSI dollar amount on the pages above. Use the fee schedule in the account.

Decision Rule

When the Fee Is Worth Buying

Five checks before you add it. Skip any step the auction’s own page does not support.

Confirm this car is eligible

Match the light, miles, age, and price to that auction’s list. Manheim PSI is not for as-is, yellow-only, 125,000 miles and up, $3,000 and under, or a price or MMR above $75,000. ADESA Clear’s standard PSI is not for as-is or for a price of $75,000 or more. If the car is outside the list, the product you want may not exist on that lane.

Order it inside the published window

Manheim’s in-lane windows are the same day, measured in hours after the sale or as a 5 PM cutoff. Timed and OVE purchases on the policy get 24 hours. ADESA Clear wants the election at checkout on the sale day. If you cannot find the window on a public page, stop and read that auction’s current fee schedule before the car leaves.

Compare the fee with one missed item

Use the published fee, not a guess. On Manheim’s national 7-day walk-up column, a car from $10,000 to $19,999 is $190 and a car from $40,000 to $49,999 is $290, if the location uses that table. ADESA Clear does not publish the dollar. The claim bar on the pages reviewed is the auction’s number ($800 on the Manheim product page and on the ADESA Clear checklist, and the NAAA threshold in Manheim’s policy), priced at wholesale, not your retail shop ticket.

Higher dollars and sight-unseen buys

The fee is easier to justify when the purchase price is high and the car is still inside the PSI cap, or when you bought it online without a walk-around and that marketplace actually sells a PSI. ACV and OPENLANE’s public pages do not show that product. A limited announcement is a reason to read the light and the disclosure, not an automatic yes: Manheim does not inspect seller-disclosed items, and it excludes as-is and yellow-only cars from PSI.

Keep the car inside the claim rules

Manheim’s PSI claim mileage is 200. ADESA Clear’s is 100. ACV’s arbitration mileage cap is 150 over the delivery reading. Reselling during the guarantee voids the Manheim and ADESA Clear coverage those pages describe. Write the fee on the VIN the day you buy it, pass or fail, because you owe it either way.

On the VIN

Put the PSI Fee on the Car

In FoxDMS: the PSI fee and the buy fee are Auction Fee expenses on that VIN. Transport is a Transport expense. Recon is Mechanic, Body Shop, Parts, or Detailing. Those amounts sit on the vehicle with the purchase price. FoxDMS calculates floor plan interest per vehicle and includes it in that car’s cost when no manual floor-plan expense is already entered. True cost and the profit on the deal use that total.

A PSI fee left in a lump-sum auction bill disappears out of the car’s profit. The cost walkthrough is in are you making money on each car and in wholesale dealer accounting. Daily interest while you still own the car is in the floor plan interest calculator.

Per-dealership plans, billed monthly: Starter $39/mo, Growth $79/mo, Command $199/mo (see pricing). The 14-day trial requires a credit card. FoxDMS runs in any web browser, including on a phone, and there is no native app. Dealers anywhere in the US can use it. Support is email only at support@foxdms.com. Growth and Command include Priority Email Support. QuickBooks integration is coming soon and is not live. Wholesale dealer software is the product overview.

Common Questions

Post-Sale Inspections: FAQ

What is a post-sale inspection?

A post-sale inspection, or PSI, is an inspection the buyer pays for at the auction or inside that auction's short window after the sale. Manheim's policy calls it a basic mechanical, structural, and flood inspection done once, as close to the end of the sale as possible. The checklists reviewed for this guide include the odometer. They do not describe a title examination. Checked November 5, 2026.

How is a PSI different from arbitration and a condition report?

A condition report is prepared before the vehicle is listed so a buyer can bid from it. A PSI, where the auction sells one, is a separate inspection ordered at or just after the sale. Arbitration is the claim process if a covered problem appears later. Sale lights, deadlines, and the NAAA threshold are explained in the auction arbitration guide for wholesale dealers.

What does Manheim publish for PSI price and order timing?

Manheim's PSI product page lists national AutoPSI and walk-up prices by purchase-price band and says pricing may vary by auction location. For a purchase price of $10,000 to $19,999, that page lists a 7-day walk-up PSI at $190 and a 14-day walk-up PSI at $215. The policy effective July 1, 2025 says the buyer pays the fee whether the vehicle passes or fails. Order windows on that policy include 5 PM for auctions that start before 9:30 AM, 3 hours after the end of other auctions, 3 hours after an if-bid is accepted, and 24 hours after a Manheim Timed purchase on Manheim.com or a Manheim Facilitated purchase on OVE.com. The $50,000-and-up row says to add $50 per $10,000 and does not publish a base price.

What does ADESA Clear publish for a PSI?

ADESA Clear's help page, updated June 29, 2026, does not publish a dollar fee. It says the buyer must choose the PSI at checkout on the sale day and pays the fee no matter the inspection result. If the auction denies the PSI, the fee is refunded in full. A 14-day PSI extends arbitration to 14 calendar days, and sale day is day 1. A 7-day PSI is subject to ADESA Clear's standard arbitration period, and the page does not state how many days that standard period is. A PSI claim on that page requires 100 miles or less on the odometer.

Do ACV and OPENLANE publish a PSI fee?

ACV's arbitration policy, effective August 13, 2026, gives the buyer 10 calendar days from purchase, and the purchase date is day 1. It does not publish a post-sale inspection fee. If the buyer uses ACV Transportation, the window is the greater of that 10-day window or 4 calendar days after delivery. OPENLANE's public articles describe a pre-sale condition report and an As Described Guarantee, and they do not state one shared claim window or a PSI price. Check each auction's current fee schedule.

When should a wholesale dealer buy a PSI?

Buy a PSI when that auction still offers it for the light, mileage, age, and price, you can order it inside the published window, and one missed mechanical or structural item would cost more than the fee. Manheim's policy excludes as-is vehicles and vehicles with a purchase price or estimated MMR above $75,000. ADESA Clear's standard PSI is for vehicles under $75,000 that are not listed as-is. Sight-unseen online buys are a fit only when that marketplace actually sells a PSI. If a price or window is not on the public page, use the auction's current fee schedule.

How should the PSI fee be recorded on the car?

Enter the PSI fee and the buy fee as Auction Fee expenses on that VIN. Enter transport as Transport. Enter recon as Mechanic, Body Shop, Parts, or Detailing. FoxDMS keeps those amounts on the vehicle and calculates floor plan interest per vehicle, so true cost and deal profit include them. Plans are Starter $39 per month, Growth $79 per month, and Command $199 per month.

Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal advice and not an auction’s fee schedule. Your auction’s current policy controls, and it can change without notice on this page. Checked and last reviewed November 5, 2026.

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