Vehicle Condition Disclaimer

Effective date: 2026-11-07 · Version 3 · Part of the Auction Direct Terms of Service.

Every vehicle is sold AS IS

Every vehicle on Auction Direct is sold "AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH ALL FAULTS." Buyer beware.

Auction Direct gives no warranty of any kind, express or implied, about any vehicle. That includes:

• warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose
• condition, mileage, or title
• emissions or smog compliance
• roadworthiness, or compliance with any law

Auction Direct never owns, inspects, or sells the vehicles listed. All information about a vehicle comes from its Seller:

• descriptions, condition reports, warning lights, photos, video, and engine audio
• title status
• any estimate of value

Auction Direct does not verify that information.

What Buyers must do before bidding

• Review every photo, the full condition report, and the engine audio, and make your own judgment. No test drives or inspections are offered in the Auction Direct Marketplace.
• Treat any value estimate as a rough guide only. It is not an appraisal or an offer.
• Expect that a vehicle may be sold without a smog certificate. Auction Direct does not check smog status.
• Account for repairs, smog certification, taxes, registration, DMV fees, transport, and storage. All are the Buyer's responsibility unless agreed otherwise with the Seller.
• Your bid is binding. There is no re-trading at pickup: you pay the winning price (Terms of Service, Sections 4.1 and 6.4).

Your due diligence stays yours

These are the Buyer's responsibility and are not grounds to walk away from a sale:

• accident history, and anything a vehicle history report would show (except undisclosed frame, structural, or flood damage, below);
• wear and tear; and
• anything visible in the photos or stated in the listing.

Marketplace pickup check

At a Marketplace pickup, before you sign the bill of sale or take the vehicle, check that it starts and moves if it was listed as "runs and drives", that the VIN and odometer match the listing, and that the title is as described and properly signed off.

You may decline to complete the sale, with no strike, only for the problems listed in the Terms of Service, Section 6.5:

• the vehicle doesn't run as listed;
• the wrong vehicle, VIN, or odometer reading;
• the title isn't as described, or there is no clean, clear, signed-off title; or
• the Seller doesn't produce or release the vehicle.

Undisclosed frame, structural, or flood damage may also be reported, and Auction Direct decides each case at its discretion (Terms of Service, Section 6.6).

You must file the report on the website before signing the bill of sale or taking possession, with photos or video taken at pickup. After you sign and take the vehicle, the sale is final. This check is not an inspection, warranty, or guarantee by Auction Direct.

No returns, no arbitration, on any sale

For every vehicle bought on Auction Direct (Marketplace, Licensed Seller sales, and Dealer Auctions):

• Auction Direct offers no arbitration, guarantee, return, or refund, and does not mediate between Buyer and Seller. Auction Direct's review of a pickup report decides only its own fees, strikes, and account actions.
• Buyer fees are non-refundable. Auction Direct may, in its sole discretion, issue a courtesy refund, for example when a seller is found to have misrepresented a vehicle.
• Any claim about a vehicle is between the Buyer and the Seller only.

Condition lights

Listings show a colored light so buyers can quickly find and filter vehicles. Lights only summarize what the Seller reported, and they are not a guarantee, a warranty, or grounds for any claim against Auction Direct.

"Title in process (duplicate requested)." A Marketplace listing with this label means the Seller has requested a duplicate title. The Seller must still hand over a clean, clear, signed-off title at pickup.

"Private seller" and "Business seller." In the Marketplace list, each vehicle is labelled by who sells it: a private party, or a Licensed Seller such as a tow company or charity. The label describes the Seller only; every vehicle is still sold as is. The Marketplace pickup check above applies to private-seller vehicles.

Lien-sale and charity vehicles

• Lien-sale vehicles are sold under California lien-sale law, without a reserve price as the law requires.
• Lien-sale and charity vehicles may have no smog certificate, no keys, and unknown history, and may require extra DMV steps from the Buyer.

Your rights under the law

This disclaimer limits Auction Direct's responsibility. It does not take away any right a Buyer may have against a Seller who misrepresents a vehicle, or any right the law does not allow to be waived.