Rules Reference
Read from live code constants · Year base: 2026Vehicle-type matrix
Applied in auction_service.upsert_listing. Any lot failing these rules is dropped before a Vehicle row is created.
| Code | Category | Max age | Earliest year accepted | Statutory rule | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Cars | 20 yrs | 2007+ | allowed only if ≤ 5 years old | Electric cars (EV/BEV/PHEV): only if < 5 years old |
| M | Motorcycles | 5 yrs | 2022+ | excluded entirely | |
| H | Heavy (trucks, buses, earthmoving, plant, machinery) | 15 yrs | 2012+ | allowed only if ≤ 5 years old | |
| R | Caravans / RVs / Motorhomes | 10 yrs | 2017+ | excluded entirely | |
| L | Trailers | 10 yrs | 2017+ | excluded entirely | |
| O | Boats / Watercraft | 10 yrs | 2017+ | excluded entirely |
How lots get classified
Keyword match (first match wins) from vehicle_service._VEHICLE_TYPE_MAP.
Anything not matching defaults to C (Car).
M — Motorcycles
atvdirt bikemopedmotorbikemotorcyclequad bikescootersidecar
H — Heavy (trucks, buses, earthmoving, plant, machinery)
backhoeboom liftbulldozerbuscab chassiscoachcompactorcrane truckdump truckdumperexcavatorfork liftforkliftfront end loaderfront-end loadergraderheavy machinerymini busminibusmobile plantprime moverrigid truckrollerscissor liftsemi trailersemi-trailershuttle busskid steerskid-steertankertelehandlertippertow trucktruckwheel loader
R — Caravans / RVs / Motorhomes
rv campercamper trailercamper vancampervancaravanfifth wheelmotor homemotorhomepop top
O — Boats / Watercraft
boatcabin cruiserdinghyinflatablejet skijetskikayakoutboardrunaboutwatercraftyacht
L — Trailers
trailer
Auction source capture rules
Pickles
Product types captured:
BoatsCaravansCarsMachineryMotorcyclesTrailersTrucksearthmoving-and-mobile-plant
- Scrapes both salvage and non-salvage feeds daily
- Timed sales: monitor starts 10 min before first lot close
- Live (Simulcast): WebSocket capture via pickles_watcher.py
- Fees: salvage / non-salvage / industrial tables per lot
Manheim
Product types captured:
damaged-vehiclespassenger-vehiclestrucks-machinery
- Live fetch on session page view — lots upserted to DB with refs
- All 3 path_roots supported (each uses a different HTML selector)
- No native bidding API — data comes from HTML cards + refreshmaxbid
- Fees: salvage / non-salvage / industrial tables
IAAI
Product types captured:
all (no productType filter applied)
- Authenticated via Incapsula cookies + session_fetcher.py
- Live monitor uses WebSocket
- Fees: salvage only (AU ops)
Grays
Product types captured:
salvagemotor-vehicles-motor-cyclesclassic-cars4x4sports-and-luxury-carscommercial-vehiclesEV/Hybridmotorcycles
- Two scrapers: GraysScraper (salvage) + GraysNonSalvageScraper (NS auto)
- Cross-source dedup at upsert: same physical lot can appear in both grays + grays_ns; only one row kept
- Bid-history API is public; returns one record per unique bidder (their highest bid)
- GGG (Going-Going-Gone) anti-snipe: every bid in last 10 min extends close by 10 min
- Bid monitor polls every 60s; 30-min grace post-close to catch GGG triggers
- Post-close finalizer marks status=sold/passed and sets sold_price within ~5 min of GGG ending
- Fees: variable buyer's premium + flat $49.50 admin (Industrial admin: $5,000+ only)
Market price sources
| Source | Role | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Carsales (dealer) | Tier 1 ceiling | Upper-bound reference for vehicles year ≥ current_year − 2 only |
| Carsales (private) | Tier 2 sell price | Primary exit-price signal for profit calcs |
| Facebook Marketplace | Tier 2 | Supplements Carsales private |
| Non-salvage auction results | Tier 2 | Clean-title hammer prices private-market reference |
| Salvage auction hammer (Pickles/Manheim/IAAI) | Tier 3 | Raw salvage comps |
Seller-type classification
- Anything under 500 km forced to 'dealer' regardless of Carsales adtype (demonstrator / near-new)
- Carsales 'dealer' listings: used as Tier 1 ceiling for year ≥ current_year − 2
- Carsales 'private' listings: Tier 2 — the realistic sell price
- Unknown seller_type not used for scoring (avoids mislabelled demo stock)
Clean-title premium
WOVR'd vehicles sell ~7.5% below no-WOVR counterparts of same year/make/model/km — discount applied when comparing salvage hammer to retail market
WOVR / title tiers (resale ordering)
| Tier | Description |
|---|---|
| No WOVR (clean title) | Best — full resale value, re-registerable anywhere |
| Inspection-passed repairable | Passed roadworthy / structural inspection, buyer-aware |
| Repairable write-off | Repair + inspect + re-register for road use |
| Statutory write-off | No road use in most AU states — parts / scrap / export only |
Damage rules
- Fire / burn / severe fire damage — excluded across ALL sources and types
- Flood / water damage — KEPT (harvestable for parts, per owner rule)
- Hail, impact, collision, mechanical — all kept
Non-vehicle keyword blocklist · 240 terms
From auction_service.NON_VEHICLE_KEYWORDS. Any lot whose title or body contains one of these substrings (case-insensitive) is dropped at upsert AND during Manheim's live fetch.
tyres- wheels-3-point link3plagroleadair compressorair pureair seederarjesassorted assorted toolsbackhoe bucketbackpack blowerbay lightbay lightingbench grinderblowerboilerboiler systembox ofbridge cranebrush cutterbucket attachmentbucket--excavatorbundle ofbutter reworkercable drumcable drum trailercarton sealingchainsawcheckweighercircular sawcnc lasercompactorcompressorcone crusherconstruction equipmentcontainer cranecontainer ofcontinuous minerconvey-allconveyorcummins enginecustom miscellaneouscustom motorcustom nutdg containerdiesel engine -diff partdish washerdishwasherdistribution boarddrilldrill pressdrum ofdrum rollereast westeasy fold chaireilbeckelectric wheelchairengine - dieselengine assemblyengine--dieselexcavator bucketfertiliser spreaderfertilizer spreaderflexdrive unitfloor cranefloor jackfloor scrubberfold chairfood gradeforestry machineryfork tyneforklift attachmentgantry cranegear motor unitgeneratorgp bucketgp containergrinderhammbreakerhammer drillhand blowerhand toolshedge trimmerhedgerhi bay lighthi-bay lighthigh cubehooks retrailshot water systemhydraulic cranehydraulic floor craneimpact crusheriti unitjack specialistjack trolleyjaw crusherjib cranejumbo drillkeestracklaboratory machinelaser cutting machinelawn mowerleaf blowerlighting batteryline striperline trimmerlitter vaclitter-vaclongwalllot ofmachine toolsmanure spreadermarine unitmax plantmeat mincermeat sawmeat strippermessage boardmiscellaneousmitsui miikemobility aidmobility scootermotor assemblymotor unitmower (ridemower (ride on)mower deckmower ride onnav unitnut boltsorthophosphate sensoroverhead cranepackaging machinepallet forkpallet forkspallet jackpallet jackspallet ofpallet wrapperpallet wrappingparks gardeningpatient stretcherperformance ammopick & placepick and placepneumatic fastenerpole sawport craneporthole bridgeporthole cranepost hole diggerpower toolspower trowelpowerscreenpress brakepressure cleanerpressure washerpump parksrechargable torchrechargeable torchretrailsreworker machineride on trowelride-on mowerride-on trowelroad headerroadheaderrobotrobotic armrobotic weldingrock splitterroll ofrotary hammerrotary hoerotavatorsausage fillerscissor liftscrubberscrubnastersealing machineshearership-to-shoreshipping containersimradslasherspare partsspeed tillerstackersteel wheelsstretcherstrimmersts cranesweeperswitchboardtesabthree point linktillertire changertire changing machinetoolboxtoolboxestorchtorchestower cranetracked crushertraffic lighttraffic lightstransmission jacktroweltruck tyrestunnel borertunnel boringtyne extensiontyre changertyre changing machinevacuum packagingvacuum packervariable messagevehicle standwalk behindwalk-behindwater heaterwedge splitterweighing machinewelderwelding cellwheel barrowwheel jackwheelbarrowwheelchairwolverinework assist vehicleworkshop equipmentwrapping machinex ray machinex-ray machinexray machine
Buyer-fee schedules (GST-inclusive)
Defined in app/config.py. Categories auto-detected by body/title keywords in detect_fee_category(). Fees apply per lot on top of the hammer.
Pickles · salvage
| < $100 | $33 flat |
| $100 – $500 | $130 flat |
| $500 – $1,000 | $235 flat |
| ≥ $1,000 | 15% of hammer + $140 |
Pickles · non salvage
| < $2,000 | $525 flat |
| ≥ $2,000 | 1.65% of hammer + $650 |
Standard motor vehicles only (luxury / EV-admin / gov fleet tiers not modelled)
Pickles · industrial
| ≤ $5,000 | 22.5% of hammer |
| $5,000 – $40,000 | 16.5% of hammer |
| $40,000 – $55,000 | 12.5% of hammer |
| > $55,000 | 9.9% of hammer |
Applies to Industrial · Agriculture · Recreational & Marine · Non-Gov Motorcycles
Manheim · salvage
| ≤ $200 | $121 flat |
| $200 – $500 | $148 flat |
| $500 – $1,000 | $210 flat |
| > $1,000 | 15% of hammer + $88 |
Effective 1 Aug 2025
Manheim · non salvage
| ≤ $2,000 | $500 flat |
| > $2,000 | 1.5% of hammer + $650 |
Manheim · industrial
| ≤ $5,000 | 22.5% of hammer (min $75) |
| $5,000 – $35,000 | 16.5% of hammer |
| $35,000 – $50,000 | 12.5% of hammer |
| > $50,000 | 9.9% of hammer |
IAAI · salvage
| < $100 | $33 flat |
| $100 – $500 | $125 flat |
| $500 – $1,000 | $230 flat |
| ≥ $1,000 | 14.95% of hammer + $135 |
IAAI AU sells salvage only. Occasional industrial lots use the same table.
Grays · salvage / non salvage
| $0 – $2,000 | $495 flat |
| $2,001 – $5,000 | $650 flat |
| $5,001 – $10,000 | $710 flat |
| $10,001 – $30,000 | 7% of hammer |
| $30,001 – $40,000 | 6% of hammer |
| > $40,000 | 5% of hammer |
Default Auto / SUV / EV schedule (GST inc.). Per-lot variations exist (Grays publishes BPmodalProps JSON in lot HTML); not yet parsed.
Grays · admin fee
| Auto / Non-salvage / Boats / Caravans | $49.50 inc GST per lot |
| Industrial ($5,000+) | $45 ex GST = $49.50 inc GST |
| Industrial (< $5,000) | no admin fee |
Added on top of buyer's premium. Subject to Grays review — may change.
Industrial category auto-trigger
Industrial fee table auto-applies when body/title contains any of:
tractor, excavator, boom lift, wheel loader, forklift, bobcat, grader, bulldozer, skid steer, telehandler, scissor lift, crane, dozer, cherry picker, backhoe, earthmoving, heavy equipment, plant equipment
Manheim payment-processing surcharge
Manheim applies a payment-processing surcharge on the Invoice Portal (cash/cheque not accepted):
• Domestic card — 0.85% + $0.30 · International card — 3.45% + $0.30
• PayPal (domestic) — 0.95% + $0.30 · PayPal (international) — 3.55% + $0.30
Deal Finder scoring
Every active listing gets a 0–100 score via _build_deal_scores(). Statutory write-offs go down the parts track; everything else goes down the resale track. Total = sum of the rows below.
Resale score (non-statutory) · 100 pts
| Component | Max |
|---|---|
|
Damage quality
Multiplier from damage-weight map × 25
|
up to 25 pts |
|
WOVR + PPSR status
No WOVR: 35 · Inspection-passed: 29 · Repairable: 22. Stolen −10, encumbered −5.
|
up to 35 pts |
|
Discount vs market
= 1 − (hammer ÷ effective market). ≥70% gap: 30 · 50–70%: 22–30 · 30–50%: 12–22 · <30%: scaled by discount. Effective market = Tier-2 private × clean-title multiplier (7.5% off if WOVR'd).
|
up to 30 pts |
|
Odometer
ratio factor 1.15 10 pts · 1.0 5 pts · 0.5 0 pts
|
up to 10 pts |
|
Peer scarcity
1 listing: 5 · ≤3: 3 · ≤8: 1 · >8: 0
|
up to 5 pts |
Parts score (statutory) · 100 pts
| Component | Max |
|---|---|
|
Parts damage area
Inverted damage map — rear damage = pristine front parts
|
up to 35 pts |
|
Odometer / condition
Same factor formula, scaled to 25
|
up to 25 pts |
|
Vehicle value proxy
≥$40k: 30 · $25-40k: 22 + scale · $10-25k: 10 + scale · <$10k: low
|
up to 30 pts |
|
Peer scarcity
1 listing: 10 · ≤3: 6 · ≤8: 3 · >8: 0
|
up to 10 pts |
Damage-weight multipliers
First matching keyword wins. Used for both resale (higher = better rebuild) and parts (higher = better parts pool).
Resale weights
rear1.00
rear end1.00
minor1.00
cosmetic1.00
hail0.85
paint0.85
front0.70
front end0.70
side0.65
vandalism0.65
impact0.60
mechanical0.55
electrical0.50
suspension0.50
theft0.45
flood0.25
water0.25
major0.25
fire0.15
burn0.15
rollover0.10
roll over0.10
biohazard0.05
Parts weights
rear1.00
rear end1.00
minor0.95
cosmetic0.95
hail0.90
front0.85
front end0.85
side0.75
vandalism0.70
impact0.65
mechanical0.60
suspension0.60
electrical0.50
theft0.50
major0.35
flood0.30
water0.30
rollover0.20
roll over0.20
fire0.15
burn0.15
biohazard0.10
Recommended bid formula
| Track | Formula |
|---|---|
| Resale | hammer × 0.85 × damage_weight × odometer_factor (rounded to $100) |
| Parts | avg_hammer × 0.12 × parts_damage × odometer_factor (rounded to $100) |
- Only computed when ≥ 3 real hammer sales exist for that make/model/year
- Tier-2 private-used median is the exit-price reference (not dealer retail)
- Dealer retail is only consulted when the vehicle year ≥ current_year − 2, marked down × 0.75 to estimate private
Decision gating (BID / WATCH / SKIP)
| Decision | Condition |
|---|---|
| bid | score ≥ threshold AND headroom above min — see bid policy below |
| watch | score above watch-floor but doesn't meet bid headroom OR <3 real hammer sales |
| skip | score below watch-floor, OR stolen (profile-gated), OR statutory + resale purpose |
| stat skip exception | Statutory in parts mode is allowed; only statutory + resale purpose is hard-blocked |
Bid decision policy
Active profile: default · version 1 · edits in policies/bid_rules.yaml
| Rule block | Values |
|---|---|
| bid |
min_score = 70 min_headroom_pct = 15 min_headroom_abs = 750
|
| watch |
min_score = 45
|
| hard_skip |
max_hammer_count_required_for_bid = 3 skip_if_stolen = False skip_if_statutory_and_purpose_resale = True
|