Copart was founded in 1982 by Willis J. Johnson, an embodiment of the American success story. Johnson grew up learning about business from his father, an entrepreneur who dabbled in everything from dairy farming to running restaurants and building houses. Johnson took that entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a strong work ethic and a passion for change, and started Copart with just one salvage yard in California.

In 1994, Willis took Copart public (NASDAQ: "CPRT"), raising the capital needed to expand the company across the United States and invest in technology. In 1998, Copart became the first company to accept proxy bids for online bidding.

In 2003, Copart became the first online auto auction with a completely online model and marked its first international expansion into Canada. Following that, Copart experienced rapid growth. In 2006, Copart expanded into the UK. In 2012, expansion into the UAE, Brazil, and Germany took place. In 2015, Copart expanded into Spain, Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman. In 2018, Copart expanded to Finland.

Our evolving auction technology has transformed Copart from a salvage vehicle auction company into the global leader in online vehicle auctions. We are a technology company offering a global remarketing platform that connects buyers and sellers around the world.

Today, Copart is the premier destination for quality vehicles. Our technology makes it easy to find, bid on and win the vehicles our Members are looking for. Members can choose from used, repairable and wholesale vehicles, ranging from classics to early and late-model cars and trucks, industrial vehicles, and more. We sell over one million vehicles each year and have thousands up for auction every day. To this day, Willis Johnson’s passion for the auto auction industry remains a driving force behind Copart’s culture.