| 1.1 | User Agreement | | 1.1.1 | The Owner of these General Terms and Conditions for Auction Purchases (in short, “Auction Terms“) shall be Autorola International GmbH (Commercial Register: District Court of Frankfurt am Main, HRB 88582). The object of these Auction Terms is to regulate the sale of movable property by the Owner, businesses, or private persons (hereafter referred to as the “Seller”) to persons who are also businesses (hereafter referred to as the “Buyer”). Sales shall be arranged and conducted via Autorola International GmbH's (Autorola)Internet platform at Autorola.be. These Auction Terms form the legal basis between Autorola, the Seller and the Buyer (the “contracting parties”). Where reference to “vehicles” is made in these Auction Terms, they may also include other objects for sale at an auction.
The current version of the following Auction Terms shall also apply for future transactions between the contracting parties. Other general business terms shall not apply here, even if not explicitly contradicted. | | 1.2 | Exemption from Liability | | 1.2.1 | The User of the Internet platform shall release Autorola from all claims that other Users or third parties may make against Autorola, whether through violation of their rights in the offers and subject matter a User places on the website, or through his using the Autorola website for other purposes. The User shall also bear the costs of any legal defence Autorola may require, including all court and solicitor's costs. This shall not apply if the User is not responsible for the infringement. |
2 | Registration, Use of the Internet Platform |
| 2.1 | Registration Procedure | | 2.1.1 | A User must register to use all the services Autorola offers. No-one is entitled to register at Autorola. Registration is free and carried out by the User opening a user account and agreeing to these Auction Terms. By registering, a contract on the use of the Autorola.be Internet platform is concluded between Autorola and the User.
The data provided for Autorola at registration must be accurate and complete. Should there be a change in user data after registration, the User shall be obliged to notify Autorola of this change at once. Upon registration, the User shall select a User name and password. The User's name may not violate third party rights, particularly not trade names or copyrights. The password must be kept confidential. The User shall be liable for the misuse of a User name or password. A User's account is not transferable. | | 2.2 | Use of the Internet Platform | | 2.2.1 | The Internet platform and other Autorola websites may contain links to other Internet sites. Autorola has no influence on the design and subject matter of these site links. Autorola shall not be responsible for the topicality, accuracy, entirety or quality of the information provided on them and expressly dissociates itself from all subject matter on any such sites.
When using Autorola websites, the User is not entitled to employ any devices, software or other practices likely to affect the functioning of the Internet platform. The User may not employ any measures likely to result in unreasonable or excessive infrastructure loads. Subject matter on the Autorola Internet platform may not be copied, passed on, used or reproduced in any way without the owner's prior permission. This shall also apply for “robot/crawler” search engine copies, “screen scraping” and other automatic devices.
The layout of Autorola websites may only be reproduced and/or used on other websites with Autorola prior written permission. | | 2.3 | Freezing of Accounts | | 2.3.1 | Autorola may freeze a user account at any time, especially in the case of violations against the general and particular Auction Terms. As soon as a user account is frozen, the User may no longer use the Autorola website or re-register without Autorola express permission. | | 2.4 | Termination of Contract | | 2.4.1 | The User may terminate his user contract at any time, without notice. Written notification or an e-mail to customerservice@autorola.eu shall serve to state termination. |
3 | Concluding a Contract in an Auction |
| 3.1 | Autorola.be Auction Conditions | | 3.1.1 | Users may not manipulate the course of an auction by making bids via another user account or through the express intervention of a third party. The Seller, in particular, shall be prohibited from placing bids on the objects he is auctioning during the bidding period. The auctioning of objects is prohibited where their tendering, sale, or purchase violates the statutory regulations or the rules of common decency. In particular, objects may not be described or put up for auction if their advertising, tendering or sale violates copyright and intellectual property rights, industrial property rights or any other rights (e.g. the right to one’s own image, name and personality). | | 3.2 | Auction Procedure | | 3.2.1 | The beginning, end and course of an auction shall be controlled by Autorola. Autorola reserves the right to cancel or alter scheduled auctions. Only in exceptional cases shall Autorola GmbH be entitled to invalidate auctions without given reason, without a legal claim ensuing on the User's part. Invalidation may take place before or during an auction. | | 3.3 | Placing Items for Auction | | 3.3.1 | The Seller must place objects for auction in the appropriate category, with a correct and complete written and illustrated description. This shall include an accurate indication of all the essential properties and features required to make a purchase, and any defects likely to reduce the object's value, i.e be a truthful statement of its actual condition. Furthermore, the Seller must give Users full information as to who owns the object under tender, the owner's right to put it up for auction, and the details of payment and collection.
The description and images used must not violate third party rights and must refer solely to the object under tender (original photographs). Descriptions, drawings and photographs may not contain any advertising for anything other than the object under tender, and especially not include links to a personal website, telephone numbers, etc.
Where Autorola is the Seller, objects being auctioned will be described by a contract partner or service provider, without Autorola conducting a second appraisal. | | 3.4 | Description Discrepancies | | 3.4.1 | Should, in the Buyer's view, the defects of an object on auction exceed those described by the Seller, Autorola is entitled to obtain an expert opinion, which shall be binding for the partners to the contract. The ensuing costs shall be paid by the party responsible for an established or non-established discrepancy; if only a slight, or no discrepancy is ascertained, the ensuing costs shall be borne by the Buyer. Faulty descriptions of objects worth up to €300.00 are deemed immaterial and will not be contemplated. See Sect. 4.3.1. for further information. | | 3.5 | Placement | | 3.5.1 | By placing an object on an Autorola website, the Seller declares his prior binding acceptance of a Bidder’s highest offer at the end of the bidding period, as long as the bid meets the minimum stipulated price. The Seller also expressly declares his agreement to sell the auctioned object to the bidder should no higher bids be made. | | 3.6 | Bidding Rules, Binding Period | | 3.6.1 | The Bidder shall make a bid by entering a sum of money within the bidding period. All offers shall be gross amounts. Should two bidders offer the same price, the first bid to be entered shall be considered the higher.
The Bidder's bid shall be binding until invalidated by a higher bid. Should the Bidder not be outbid and the minimum price not met, the offer shall remain valid for a 48-hour period (working days) following the end of the online auction, unless another ruling is agreed to.
Bids already submitted may not be lowered or invalidated unless the Bidder has legal permission to do so, for example via the recision regulations of the German Civil Code. All submitted bids will be registered and stored by Autorola . Autorola shall resolve any uncertainties that arise regarding bids in a manner binding for all the contracting parties. | | 3.7 | Sales Agreement | | 3.7.1 | As long as the minimum price is attained, at the end of the online auction a sales agreement will be concluded between the Seller and the highest bidder, in which their rights and obligations shall primarily be in accordance with Sections 4, 5, and 6 of these Auction Terms.
When an object had been purchased, Autorola shall send the sales contract to the Seller and the Buyer. The contracts Autorola sends must be checked for accuracy. At the same time, they will be placed on the respective user accounts at Autorola.eu. |
4 | Collection and Buyer's Right of Inspection |
| 4.1 | Location | | 4.1.1 | Purchased vehicles/objects must be collected by the Buyer at his own expense, from the location stated by the Seller in his notice of sale or on the website. The Seller shall provide the address of the location. Should no exact address be indicated in the postal code area, the vehicle shall be picked up at the Seller’s address. | | 4.2 | Collection Deadline / Lump Sum Compensation | | 4.2.1 | All vehicles must be collected by the Buyer at the stated location, within 5 working days of receiving a so-called "notification of release". Notification generally follows immediately after payment of the purchase price has been received.
Where payment is not handled by Autorola, the Buyer is obliged to pick up vehicles within 5 working days after receiving Autorola electronic sales contracts.
Should these terms not be complied with, Autorola reserves the right to invalidate the purchase due to default (of the payment periods stated in the contract and the final date of payment stated in the invoice) and to market the vehicle elsewhere. The Buyer shall be sent a reminder to pay that states the lump compensation sum, following which he shall be invoiced for the auction fees, an additional handling fee of €250.00 (plus VAT) and, if need be, any price reductions resulting from a subsequent sale and any demurrage costs incurred by the dealer. The Buyer shall be permitted to provide proof that Autorola incurred significantly lower damages or none at all. | | 4.3 | Buyer’s Warranty Claims for Defects | | 4.3.1 | Conditions / Inspection
The sale of second-hand objects shall essentially be on a "purchase as is” basis, i.e. without any warranty. The Buyer is therefore obliged to inspect a vehicle thoroughly prior to acceptance, to determine whether it matches the description of the vehicle under auction. Obvious defects likely to impair the object's value must be contested on the spot, and the Seller and Autorola reprimanded within 48 hours. Autorola must be notified by telephone of such defects prior to this on: +49 69 153 90 2110, by Telefax, on: +49 69 153 90 2110 or by email, at: customerservice@autorola.eu; failing a Fax message, immediate written notification should also be sent. The vehicle shall remain at the same location.
Should a vehicle diverge from the vehicle description in ways not apparent before collection, even during proper inspection, substantiation of such defects should be presented to Autorola within 5 working days in the form of an expert's report from TÜV or DEKRA. The report should include particulars on whether the unnoticed defect already existed before collection. Only the reduced market value of the vehicle as stated in the expert's report may be reimbursed, less a sum of €300.00. No claims will be recognized if a vehicle is collected and driven more than 100 km under its own power. In addition, Section 3.4 and Section 7 (regarding the deduction of €300.00) shall apply. | | 4.3.2 | Price Reductions
Sections 3.4 and 4.3.1 shall apply in the event of a substantial discrepancy in the description. Section 7 shall remain unaffected. |
5 | Other Rights and Obligations of the Parties to the Contract |
| 5.1 | Transfer of Risk | | 5.1.1 | When a vehicle is accepted, the risk of accidental deterioration and destruction shall pass to the Buyer or his agent. | | 5.2 | Seller's Obligations | | 5.2.1 | Particulars on how the object under auction is equipped and descriptions of its condition shall be drawn up by the Seller, or the experts engaged by him, and be incorporated in the descriptions to the best of their knowledge and belief. | | 5.3 | Seller 's Rights | | 5.3.1 | The Seller shall be entitled to withdraw from a contract should the Buyer declare his credit status incorrectly, stop payments or have applied for insolvency or composition proceedings for his assets.
Should the sold object be damaged, lost or destroyed before risk is transferred to the Buyer, through no fault of the Seller, the Seller shall be entitled to withdraw from the sales agreement if he reports the damage, loss or destruction to the Buyer at once and returns the purchase price to him immediately.
No further claims shall exist after a withdrawal and purchase price reimbursement of this kind. |
6 | Purchase Price, Payment, Fees |
| 6.1 | Purchase Price and Tax | | 6.1.1 | Buyers from the Federal Republic of Germany
The purchase price shall be equivalent to the highest bid, and, unless other arrangements for the respective vehicle are expressly stated in its sales description, shall include the statutory rate of Turnover Tax (on the gross purchase price) applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Seller shall provide German buyers with a proper invoice indicating the net purchase price and the statutory Turnover Tax applicable. However, the preceding sentence shall not apply if the sale is subject to differential taxation according to Section 25a of the Turnover Tax Law. | | 6.1.2 | Buyers from EU States outside the Federal Republic of Germany
Before placing bids on objects subject to regular Turnover Tax, Buyers from EU countries outside the Federal Republic of Germany must notify the Seller in writing of their valid international Turnover Tax identification number; they must also give the Seller a written guarantee that the purchased object will be taken to another EU country outside the Federal Republic of Germany as quickly as possible. On fulfillment of these conditions, German Turnover Tax need not be paid on the net purchase price, so the purchase price shall only be the net purchase price. | | 6.1.3 | Buyers from Non-EU States (Third Countries)
Buyers from non-EU states (third countries) must pay the Seller a security deposit equivalent to the Turnover Tax applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Buyer will be reimbursed for the deposit as soon as he has proved beyond doubt that the purchased object (for which regular Turnover Tax has been paid under the Turnover Tax Law) has left the EU states. The Buyer will be reimbursed for the security deposit as soon as the appropriate form has been received. The right to receive payment of the security deposit may only be relinquished with the Seller's permission. | | 6.2 | Payment | | 6.2.1 | Autorola International GmbH, of Hanauer Landstrasse 291 B, in 60314 Frankfurt am Main, will issue a gross invoice for all vehicles sold through Autorola. The purchase price must be paid in full to Autorola by bank transfer, prior to collection. The transfer must be effected within 3 working days after a bid has been accepted. Autorola may put vehicles not paid for within this period up for sale elsewhere. In this case, Autorola will send the Buyer a written request for final payment with a deadline of 1 working day, notifying him that the vehicle will be offered for sale elsewhere, and stating any differential amounts or additional expenses this will entail. Any bank fees incurred shall be paid by the Buyer.
If Autorola is not the Seller, the Buyer shall pay the purchase amount when the vehicle's official registration papers and any other vehicle-related documents are exchanged at the time the vehicle is handed over.
The goods shall remain the property of the Seller until full payment has been effected. | | 6.3 | Fees | | 6.3.1 | The Buyer and Seller shall each pay auction fees according to the amounts stipulated in the current Autorola.be price list.
When a vehicle is sold to a foreign Buyer, Autorola shall charge an document handling fee of €250.00 plus VAT, which shall be paid by the Buyer.
Fees are due immediately after receipt of the invoice and may be remitted by bank transfer. The amount stated on the invoice shall include (in writing) the Value Added Tax applicable on the date of issue. Invoicing shall be by post; simultaneously the invoice will be placed online, so accessible for printing out on the respective User's account. Section 6.2 shall apply in this case; the User will be in default after a period of two weeks following the invoice date and be sent no reminder to pay.
The fee due to Autorola will be credited to the respective partner to the contract if the other partner to the agreement does not duly fulfil a contract concluded via the Autorola website. |
| 7.1 | Limitation on Liability | | 7.1.1 | Without exception, Autorola shall only be liable to compensate for damages – on whatever legal grounds – in cases of specific intent and gross negligence. In cases of simple negligence, Autorola shall only be liable for:
a) Damages from injury to life, limb or health;
b) Damages from violation of a fundamental contractual obligation (an obligation which facilitates the proper execution of a contract through its fulfillment and on the compliance of which the contracting partners may always rely). In this case, however, Autorola´s liability shall be limited to the replacement of foreseeable, standard damages.
The limitations on liability resulting from this section shall not apply should Autorola fraudulently withhold a defect or take on a warranty for an object's condition. |
8 | Governing Law, Place of Jurisdiction, Other Provisions |
| 8.1 | Governing Law, Place of Jurisdiction, Other Provisions | | 8.1.1 | The Seller/Buyer place of performance and place of jurisdiction shall be the Seller’s address, even for legal action, should a claim concerning the payment of bills of exchange or cheques be asserted.
Should the contracting parties be businesses, unless other agreements have been made, only the substantive law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply – excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods – for contracts concluded on the Autorola Internet platform. The sole place of jurisdiction for legal disputes with Autorola shall be Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Should separate parts of these Auction Terms be or become invalid, this does not relieve the Buyer of his obligation to accept the purchased goods and comply with the other terms of the agreement. The validity of the other provisions will not be affected by this. In this case, the contracting parties shall agree that the invalid provision shall be substituted by one that economically comes closest to the original provision.
Buyer’s rights arising from the purchase agreement shall not be transferable.
Frankfurt am Main, Germany, June 2011 |
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