Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions govern the use of the AutoIdeal website, dealer portal and vehicle advertising services.

Please read them carefully before using AutoIdeal.

Part 1 – Terms of Use

1. About us and these Terms

The website autoideal.co.uk, the AutoIdeal dealer portal and associated AutoIdeal services (together, “AutoIdeal”, the “Site” or the “Platform”) are operated by:

AutoIdeal UK Ltd Company number: 17223514 Registered office: 113-115 Codicote Road, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9TY, United Kingdom Email: customersupport@autoideal.co.uk

In these Terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean AutoIdeal UK Ltd.

By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms.

If you advertise a vehicle through AutoIdeal, Part 2 – Advertising Terms also applies.

If there is any conflict between Part 1 and Part 2 relating specifically to vehicle advertising, Part 2 will apply.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we process personal information and our Cookie Policy explains our use of cookies and similar technologies.

2. Who may use AutoIdeal

You must be at least 18 years old to:

• create a private-seller account;
• advertise a vehicle;
• create or operate a dealer account;
• purchase an advertising service from AutoIdeal; or
• enter into another paid agreement with AutoIdeal.

People under 18 may browse publicly available vehicle advertisements but must not use services that require them to enter into a contract with AutoIdeal.

AutoIdeal may provide the following account types:

Buyer accounts

Buyer accounts may allow users to save vehicles, manage preferences and use other buyer features.

An account is not necessarily required to browse advertisements or send a vehicle enquiry.

Private-seller accounts

Where private advertising is available, private sellers may apply to advertise their own vehicles.

Applications are subject to approval by AutoIdeal.

Dealer accounts

Dealer accounts are available to approved motor traders.

Dealer accounts may include different permission levels.

A Dealer Admin may manage dealership information, users and advertisements.

A Dealer User may manage vehicle advertisements and other functionality made available to that user.

Platform administrators

Platform-administrator accounts are restricted to authorised AutoIdeal personnel.

Your account responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• providing accurate information;
• keeping your account information up to date;
• protecting your login credentials;
• taking reasonable precautions against unauthorised access; and
• notifying us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.

You must not knowingly allow another person to use your account in breach of these Terms.

3. Acceptable use of AutoIdeal

You may use AutoIdeal only for lawful purposes.

You must not:

• use AutoIdeal fraudulently or unlawfully;
• provide false or deliberately misleading information;
• impersonate another person or business;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to another user’s account or our systems;
• introduce malware, viruses or other harmful technology;
• interfere with the security or operation of AutoIdeal;
• use automated systems to create accounts, submit enquiries or interact with listings improperly;
• scrape, harvest or systematically extract substantial amounts of information from AutoIdeal without our written permission;
• use AutoIdeal to infringe another person’s intellectual-property, privacy or other legal rights; or
• use AutoIdeal in a manner that could reasonably damage the Platform or other users.

We may take reasonable technical and organisational measures to detect and prevent fraud, automated abuse, security threats and other misuse.

4. Availability and changes to the Site

We aim to keep AutoIdeal available and functioning properly.

However, we do not guarantee that the Site will always be available, uninterrupted or error-free.

We may temporarily restrict, suspend or modify parts of AutoIdeal where reasonably necessary for:

• maintenance;
• technical updates;
• security;
• legal or regulatory requirements;
• improvements to the service; or
• circumstances outside our reasonable control.

We may introduce, modify or discontinue functionality as AutoIdeal develops.

Where a material change affects a paid service already purchased, we will act reasonably and nothing in these Terms affects rights that cannot legally be excluded.

5. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, the AutoIdeal name, branding, website design, software, layout, text, graphics and other content created for AutoIdeal belong to AutoIdeal UK Ltd or are used under licence.

These materials are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

You may use the Site for your personal use or legitimate business purposes in accordance with these Terms.

You must not reproduce, republish, sell, license, commercially exploit or systematically extract substantial parts of AutoIdeal without our prior written permission.

Vehicle manufacturers’ names, logos and trade marks belong to their respective owners and are used for identification purposes where applicable.

6. Vehicle advertisements and AutoIdeal’s role

AutoIdeal provides an advertising and marketplace platform.

Unless AutoIdeal expressly states otherwise in relation to a particular service:

AutoIdeal does not own the vehicles advertised on the Platform, is not the seller of those vehicles and is not a party to the contract for the purchase or sale of a vehicle.

A contract for the purchase of an advertised vehicle is made directly between the buyer and the relevant seller.

Sellers are responsible for ensuring that their advertisements are accurate, lawful and not misleading.

AutoIdeal does not routinely physically inspect every advertised vehicle and cannot guarantee every statement made by a seller.

We may carry out verification, moderation and vehicle-data checks, but such checks do not transfer the seller’s responsibility for the advertisement to AutoIdeal.

7. Vehicle information and third-party data

Some information displayed on AutoIdeal may come from third-party vehicle-data providers or other external sources.

This may include:

• vehicle specifications;
• MOT information;
• mileage-related information;
• write-off information;
• theft indicators;
• outstanding-finance indicators; and
• other vehicle-history or provenance information.

We take reasonable steps when selecting and using such services, but third-party data can occasionally be incomplete, delayed or inaccurate.

Buyers should therefore carry out appropriate checks before purchasing a vehicle.

Nothing in this section excludes responsibility that AutoIdeal cannot legally exclude.

8. Buyers’ responsibility

AutoIdeal is an advertising marketplace and should not be treated as a substitute for appropriate checks before purchasing a vehicle.

Before entering into a vehicle purchase, buyers should consider:

• reviewing the advertisement carefully;
• asking the seller appropriate questions;
• checking relevant documentation;
• confirming the seller’s identity where appropriate;
• inspecting the vehicle;
• checking its history; and
• obtaining an independent inspection where appropriate.

Your statutory rights against a vehicle seller are not affected by these Terms.

9. Reporting advertisements

You may report an advertisement or account that you reasonably believe:

• contains false or misleading information;
• is fraudulent;
• relates to a stolen vehicle;
• breaches these Terms;
• infringes another person’s rights; or
• is otherwise unlawful or inappropriate.

We may investigate a report and, where appropriate, ask the seller for information, require changes, restrict the advertisement or remove it.

Submitting a report does not guarantee that an advertisement will be removed.

We are not required to disclose confidential information about our investigation or another user’s account.

10. Enquiries and third-party services

When you submit an enquiry about a vehicle, we may send the information you provide to the seller you have chosen to contact.

The seller is responsible for its subsequent handling of your information as explained in our Privacy Policy.

AutoIdeal may also make third-party services available or introduce users to third-party providers.

These services may include:

• vehicle finance;
• warranties;
• insurance;
• vehicle delivery;
• vehicle-data services; and
• other automotive products or services.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, AutoIdeal acts only as an introducer or platform in relation to those services.

The third-party provider is responsible for the product or service it provides and may have its own terms and privacy policy.

Where a regulated financial or insurance service is involved, the appropriate provider is responsible for that regulated service.

We will clearly identify where a service is provided directly by AutoIdeal rather than by a third party.

11. External links

AutoIdeal may contain links to third-party websites.

We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, availability or privacy practices.

A link does not necessarily mean that AutoIdeal endorses the third party.

12. Suspending accounts and removing advertisements

We may refuse, restrict, suspend or remove an advertisement or account where we reasonably believe this is necessary because:

• information is materially false or misleading;
• a trader is improperly advertising as a private seller;
• there is suspected fraud, theft or unlawful activity;
• an advertisement or account infringes another person’s rights;
• content is abusive, discriminatory, threatening, obscene or unlawful;
• the user repeatedly breaches these Terms or our advertising requirements;
• required verification information has not been provided;
• payment is overdue, reversed, disputed or subject to a chargeback;
• use of the account presents a material security risk;
• continued access could expose AutoIdeal or another person to legal or regulatory risk; or
• we are required to act by law, a court, regulator or competent authority.

Where reasonably practicable, we may give the user an opportunity to correct a breach before taking permanent action.

However, we may act immediately where reasonably necessary to address fraud, theft, illegality, security risks, serious misconduct or legal obligations.

We will exercise these rights reasonably and proportionately.

Suspension or removal does not affect rights that either party has already acquired.

13. Our liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful.

In particular, nothing excludes or limits liability for:

• death or personal injury caused by negligence;
• fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
• any liability or statutory consumer right that cannot legally be excluded or restricted.

If you are a consumer

We are responsible for losses that are a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill.

We are not responsible for losses that are not reasonably foreseeable.

AutoIdeal supplies its consumer-facing services for private use. We are not responsible to a consumer for business losses arising from consumer use of the Site.

If you are acting as a business

To the fullest extent permitted by law, AutoIdeal will not be liable for indirect or consequential loss or for loss of profit, revenue, business, anticipated savings, goodwill or business opportunity arising from use of the Platform.

Nothing in this section makes AutoIdeal responsible for the acts or omissions of an independent vehicle seller merely because the seller advertises through AutoIdeal.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect:

• changes to AutoIdeal;
• new services or functionality;
• legal or regulatory changes;
• security requirements; or
• changes to our business operations.

The version applicable when you purchase a particular paid advertising service will continue to govern that transaction unless a change is required by law or is expressly agreed with you.

For ongoing services, we will provide reasonable notice of material changes where appropriate.

The date at the top shows when these Terms were most recently updated.

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you retain any mandatory protections available to you under the law applicable to you and may have the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.

If you are acting in the course of business, the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from these Terms, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Part 2 – Advertising Terms

These additional terms apply when you advertise a vehicle through AutoIdeal.

Each purchase of an individual private-seller advertisement constitutes a contract between the advertiser and AutoIdeal UK Ltd for the provision of advertising services.

Dealer advertising is subject to these Terms together with any dealer package, order form or other commercial terms agreed with AutoIdeal.

B1. Who can advertise

You may advertise only after completing any registration or verification process required by AutoIdeal.

Private sellers

A private seller may advertise only:

• a vehicle they own or are legally authorised to sell;
• in their genuine capacity as a private individual; and
• using accurate personal and vehicle information.

A person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business or profession must not represent themselves as a private seller.

Motor traders must use an approved dealer account.

Dealers

Dealers may be required to provide information including:

• trading name;
• legal business name;
• company registration number;
• VAT number where applicable;
• business address;
• contact information; and
• supporting verification documents.

We may reasonably request additional information to verify a dealer.

Approval of a dealer account does not amount to an endorsement, guarantee or certification of the dealer or its vehicles by AutoIdeal.

B2. Advertising requirements

You are responsible for the content of your advertisement.

You must:

• advertise a genuine vehicle that exists and is genuinely available for sale;
• have the legal right or authority to advertise and sell it;
• describe the vehicle accurately;
• provide accurate mileage, price, specification and material condition information;
• disclose information where omission would make the advertisement misleading;
• use photographs of the actual vehicle being advertised unless AutoIdeal expressly permits otherwise;
• have the necessary rights to use photographs and other content;
• keep the advertisement reasonably up to date; and
• remove or mark the vehicle as sold when it is no longer available.

You must not include:

• false or misleading statements;
• misleading prices;
• hidden mandatory charges;
• another business’s branding or contact details without permission;
• unlawful, abusive, discriminatory, threatening or obscene content;
• material infringing another person’s intellectual-property or privacy rights; or
• duplicate advertisements intended to manipulate search results.

The same vehicle must not normally be advertised more than once on AutoIdeal at the same time.

We may use registration and VIN information to identify duplicate advertisements.

Where the Site specifies photograph requirements, advertisements must comply with those requirements.

We may reject, require changes to, pause or remove an advertisement that does not comply with these Terms.

B3. Prices shown in vehicle advertisements

Where a seller is acting as a motor trader and advertises a vehicle to consumers, the advertised price must comply with applicable consumer-protection and price-transparency requirements.

The seller is responsible for ensuring that the price shown is accurate and includes unavoidable mandatory charges payable by the consumer, where required by law.

A seller must not advertise an artificially low headline price and subsequently add unavoidable mandatory charges in a misleading manner.

Optional products and services must be clearly identified as optional.

B4. Vehicle provenance checks

AutoIdeal may carry out a vehicle-data or provenance check before or during publication of an advertisement.

Where our provider indicates that a vehicle is recorded as stolen, AutoIdeal may prevent publication or immediately suspend the advertisement while the matter is investigated.

Where information indicates that a vehicle:

• has previously been written off;
• has outstanding finance; or
• has another relevant provenance marker,

AutoIdeal may display that information to users.

The existence of such information does not necessarily prevent publication unless AutoIdeal determines that publication would be unlawful, misleading, unsafe or contrary to these Terms.

Third-party vehicle-data checks are not guaranteed to be error-free.

If you believe displayed vehicle-history information is incorrect, you should notify us promptly.

You must never knowingly advertise a stolen vehicle.

B5. Private-seller advertising price

Unless a different promotional price is clearly displayed before purchase, a private-seller vehicle advertisement costs:

£14.99 including any applicable taxes

for one vehicle advertisement lasting up to 30 days from publication.

The total price will be displayed before payment.

Payment is processed by Stripe.

AutoIdeal does not store your complete card number.

Each vehicle advertisement is purchased separately.

The advertisement ends automatically at the end of its stated advertising period unless another arrangement is clearly offered and accepted.

There is no automatic renewal or recurring charge for a standard 30-day private-seller advertisement unless this is expressly offered and separately agreed.

B6. Private-seller cancellation rights

If you purchase an advertisement online as a consumer, you may have a statutory right to cancel the advertising contract within 14 days from the day after the contract is made, without giving a reason.

Details of how to exercise your cancellation right will be provided during or immediately after the purchase process.

Starting your advertisement immediately

If you ask AutoIdeal to begin providing the advertising service during the 14-day cancellation period, we may ask you to make an express request for the service to begin immediately.

If you subsequently exercise your statutory cancellation right after the advertising service has started, you may be required, where permitted by law, to pay an amount proportionate to the service already supplied up to the time you tell us that you wish to cancel.

If the service has been fully performed during the cancellation period, your cancellation right will only be lost where the legal requirements for loss of that right have been satisfied, including obtaining the acknowledgements or agreement required by law.

Nothing in these Terms removes or restricts a statutory cancellation or refund right that you have as a consumer.

After the statutory cancellation period

After any applicable statutory cancellation period has expired, the £14.99 advertising fee is not normally refundable merely because:

• you sell the vehicle before the 30-day advertising period ends;
• you decide that you no longer wish to advertise it;
• you voluntarily delete the advertisement; or
• you otherwise stop using the advertising service.

This does not affect your rights where AutoIdeal has failed to provide the advertising service with reasonable care and skill, has materially breached the contract or where you otherwise have a statutory right to a refund.

B7. Private-seller checkout requirements

Before a private seller places an order, AutoIdeal will provide the information required by applicable consumer law, including:

• the nature of the advertising service;
• the total price;
• the advertising period;
• relevant cancellation information; and
• how the service will begin.

The checkout process must make clear that placing the order creates an obligation to pay.

After the contract is made, AutoIdeal will provide confirmation in a form that the customer can save, such as by email.

Where applicable, cancellation instructions and any required model cancellation form will also be provided.

B8. Dealer advertising

Dealer advertising is provided on the commercial terms agreed between AutoIdeal and the dealer.

These may specify:

• the maximum number of simultaneous advertisements;
• the advertising period;
• price;
• payment arrangements;
• additional services; and
• other package conditions.

A dealer may advertise up to its agreed allocation.

If the allocation is reached, additional advertisements may require existing advertisements to be removed or the dealer’s package to be increased.

Dealer advertisements do not necessarily have the same 30-day expiry that applies to standard private advertisements.

Where an allocation is reduced, AutoIdeal may pause advertisements as reasonably necessary to bring the account within the new allocation.

Dealer-specific commercial terms agreed in writing will prevail over these general Terms where they expressly conflict.

B9. Removing your advertisement

You may remove your advertisement through your account at any time where that functionality is available.

Voluntarily removing an advertisement does not itself create a right to a refund, except where you have a statutory or contractual right to one.

AutoIdeal may remove, pause or restrict advertisements in accordance with these Terms.

Where AutoIdeal removes an advertisement because the advertiser has materially breached these Terms, a refund will not normally be payable for the unused advertising period, provided that withholding the refund is lawful and proportionate in the circumstances.

Where AutoIdeal permanently removes an otherwise compliant paid advertisement for reasons attributable solely to AutoIdeal and not because of the advertiser’s conduct, we may, as appropriate, restore the advertisement, extend the advertising period or provide a proportionate refund.

Nothing in this section affects statutory consumer rights.

B10. Seller content and photographs

You retain ownership of content you submit to AutoIdeal, subject to any rights belonging to third parties.

By uploading vehicle photographs, descriptions and other advertising content, you grant AutoIdeal a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to:

• store;
• reproduce;
• display;
• format;
• resize;
• technically adapt; and
• distribute

that content to the extent reasonably necessary to operate, promote and provide the AutoIdeal service and your advertisement.

You confirm that you have the necessary rights to provide the content and grant this permission.

This licence ends when the content is no longer reasonably required for those purposes, subject to legitimate backups, record-keeping and legal obligations.

B11. Advertising records

AutoIdeal may retain appropriate records relating to advertisements after they are removed.

This may include vehicle details, seller information and records relating to publication or removal.

We retain personal information only in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data-protection law.

B12. Complaints and contacting AutoIdeal

If you have a complaint about an AutoIdeal advertising service, please contact:

AutoIdeal UK Ltd

Email: customersupport@autoideal.co.uk Postal address: 113-115 Codicote Road, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9TY, United Kingdom

We will consider complaints reasonably and aim to resolve them appropriately.

A complaint about the condition, quality or sale of a vehicle should normally be directed to the seller because AutoIdeal is not the vehicle seller.

This does not prevent you from contacting us where you believe an advertisement or seller has breached these Terms.