Used Vehicle Sales Conditions (motor vehicles and trailers)

Non-binding recommendation of the Central Association of the German Motor Trade e. V. (ZDK)



I. Conclusion of contract/transfer of rights and obligations of the buyer

1. The buyer is bound to the order for a maximum of 10 days, for commercial vehicles up to 2 weeks. The purchase contract is concluded when the seller confirms acceptance of the order for the specified object of purchase within the specified periods in text form or carries out the delivery. However, the seller is obliged to inform the customer immediately if he does not accept the order.

2. Transfers of rights and obligations of the buyer from the purchase contract require the consent of the seller in text form.

This does not apply to a claim for money by the buyer against the seller.

The prior consent of the seller is not required for other claims of the buyer against the seller if the seller has no interest worthy of protection in an exclusion of assignment or legitimate interests of the buyer in the assignability of the right outweigh the interest of the seller in an exclusion of assignment worthy of protection.

II. Payment

1. The purchase price and prices for ancillary services are due for payment when the object of purchase is handed over and the invoice is handed over or sent.

2. The buyer can only offset against the seller's claims if the buyer's counterclaim is undisputed or there is a legally binding title. Excluded from this are counterclaims of the buyer from the same purchase contract. He can only assert a right of retention if it is based on claims from the same contractual relationship.

III. Delivery and Delay in Delivery

1. Delivery dates and delivery periods, which can be agreed as binding or non-binding, must be stated in text form. Delivery periods begin with the conclusion of the contract. 2. The buyer can request the seller to deliver ten days, in the case of commercial vehicles two weeks, after exceeding a non-binding delivery date or a non-binding delivery period. The seller is in default once the request has been received. If the buyer is entitled to compensation for damage caused by delay, this is limited to a maximum of 5% of the agreed purchase price in the case of slight negligence on the part of the seller.

3. If the buyer also wants to withdraw from the contract and/or demand damages instead of performance, he must set the seller a reasonable deadline for delivery after the relevant period has expired in accordance with Section 2, Sentence 1 of this section.

If the buyer is entitled to damages instead of performance, the claim in the case of slight negligence is limited to a maximum of 10% of the agreed purchase price. If the buyer is a legal entity under public law, a special fund under public law or an entrepreneur who, when concluding the contract, is exercising his commercial or independent professional activity, claims for damages in the event of slight negligence are excluded.

If the seller is unable to deliver by accident while he is in default, he shall be liable with the liability limitations agreed above. The seller is not liable if the damage would have occurred even if the goods had been delivered on time.

4. If a binding delivery date or a binding delivery period is exceeded, the seller is already in default by exceeding the delivery date or the delivery period. The rights of the buyer are then determined according to number 2, sentence 3 and number 3 of this section.

5. The limitations of liability and exclusions of liability in this section do not apply to damage caused by a grossly negligent or intentional breach of obligations by the seller, his legal representative or his vicarious agent or in the event of injury to life, limb or health.

6. Force majeure or operational disruptions occurring at the seller or his suppliers, which temporarily prevent the seller from delivering the object of purchase on the agreed date or within the agreed period through no fault of his own, change the dates and periods specified in sections 1 to 4 of this section by the duration of the performance disruptions caused by these circumstances. If such disruptions lead to a delay in performance of more than four months, the buyer can withdraw from the contract. Other rights of withdrawal remain unaffected.

IV. Acceptance

1. The buyer is obliged to accept the object of purchase within eight days of receipt of the notice of readiness. In the event of non-acceptance, the seller can make use of his statutory rights.

2. If the seller demands compensation, this amounts to 10% of the purchase price. The compensation is to be set higher or lower if the seller proves higher damage or the buyer proves that less damage or no damage at all has occurred.

V. Retention of title

1. The object of purchase remains the property of the seller until the claims to which the seller is entitled under the purchase contract have been settled.

If the buyer is a legal entity under public law, a special fund under public law or an entrepreneur who is acting in the exercise of his commercial or independent professional activity when the contract is concluded, the retention of title also applies to claims by the seller against the buyer from the current business relationship until the settlement of claims in connection with the purchase.

At the request of the buyer, the seller is obliged to waive the retention of title if the buyer has indisputably fulfilled all claims in connection with the object of purchase and there is appropriate security for the other claims from the current business relationship.

During the period of retention of title, the seller has the right to possess the registration certificate part II.

2. If the buyer does not pay the due purchase price and prices for ancillary services or does not pay them in accordance with the contract, the seller can withdraw from the contract and/or, in the event of a culpable breach of duty by the buyer, demand damages instead of performance if he has unsuccessfully set the buyer a reasonable deadline for performance, unless setting a deadline is unnecessary in accordance with the statutory provisions.

3. As long as the retention of title exists, the buyer may neither dispose of the object of purchase nor grant third parties contractual use of it.

VI. Liability for material defects and defects of title

1. If the buyer is a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB, a shortening of the two-year limitation period for material defects and defects of title to no less than one year from delivery of the object of purchase to the buyer can only be effectively agreed if the buyer before submitting his contractual declaration specifically informed of the shortening of the limitation period and the shortening is expressly and separately agreed in the contract.

For material and legal defects in goods with digital elements, the provisions of this section do not apply to the digital elements, but rather the statutory regulations.

2. If the buyer is a legal entity under public law, a special fund under public law or an entrepreneur who, when concluding the contract, is exercising his commercial or self-employed professional activity, the sale is made to the exclusion of any claims for material defects and defects of title.

This exclusion does not apply to damage based on a grossly negligent or intentional breach of obligations on the part of the seller, his legal representative or his vicarious agent or in the event of injury to life, limb or health.

3. If the seller has to pay for damage caused by slight negligence on the basis of the statutory provisions, the seller's liability is limited:

Liability only exists in the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations, such as those that the purchase contract intends to impose on the seller in terms of its content and purpose, or the fulfillment of which is essential for the proper execution of the purchase contract and on compliance with which the buyer regularly relies and may rely . This liability is limited to the typical damage that was foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded.

The personal liability of the seller's legal representatives, vicarious agents and employees for damage caused by them through slight negligence is excluded.

This does not apply to damage based on a grossly negligent or intentional breach of obligations by the seller, his legal representative or his vicarious agent or in the event of injury to life, limb or health.

4. Irrespective of fault on the part of the seller, any liability of the seller in the event of fraudulent concealment of a defect, from the assumption of a guarantee or a procurement risk and under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

5. If a defect is to be rectified, the following applies:

a) The buyer must assert claims for material defects with the seller. In the case of verbal notifications of claims, the buyer must be given confirmation of receipt of the notification in text form.

b) If the object of purchase becomes inoperable due to a material defect, the buyer can, with the prior consent of the seller, turn to another master car mechanic.

c) For the parts installed as part of a defect elimination, the buyer can assert material defect claims on the basis of the purchase contract until the expiration of the limitation period of the purchased item.

Replaced parts become the property of the seller.

VII. Liability for other claims

1. For other claims of the buyer that are not covered in Section VI. "Liability for material defects and defects of title" are regulated, the statutory limitation periods apply.

2. Liability for delay in delivery is conclusively regulated in section III “Delivery and delay in delivery”. For other claims for damages against the seller, the regulations in Section VI apply. "Liability for material defects and defects of title", Sections 3 and 4 accordingly.

3. If the buyer is a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB and the subject of the contract is also the provision of digital content or digital services, whereby the vehicle can also fulfill its function without these digital products, the statutory provisions apply to this digital content or digital service §§ 327 ff BGB.

VIII. Jurisdiction

1. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all current and future claims arising from the business relationship with merchants, including bills of exchange and checks, is the registered office of the seller. 2. The same place of jurisdiction applies if the buyer does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, relocates his domicile or usual place of residence from within Germany after conclusion of the contract or his domicile or usual place of residence is not known at the time the action is filed. For the rest, in the event of claims by the seller against the buyer, the place of jurisdiction shall be his place of residence.

IX. Out-of-court dispute resolution

1. Motor Vehicle Arbitration Boards

a) If the motor vehicle company has the master sign “Meisterbetrieb der Kfz-Gunn” or the basic sign “Member company of the Kfz-Gunn”, the parties can, in the event of disputes arising from the purchase contract for used vehicles with a permissible total weight of no more than 3.5 t - with the exception of the purchase price - call the motor vehicle arbitration board responsible for the seller's registered office. The appeal must be made immediately after knowledge of the point in dispute, at the latest one month after the expiry of the limitation period for material defects and defects of title in accordance with Section VI. by submitting a brief (appeal) to the motor vehicle arbitration board.

b) Legal recourse is not excluded by the decision of the motor vehicle arbitration board.

c) By appealing to the motor vehicle arbitration board, the statute of limitations is suspended for the duration of the procedure.

d) The procedure before the motor vehicle arbitration board is based on its rules of procedure and procedure, which the parties will be given by the motor vehicle arbitration board on request. 4 e) Appeal to the motor vehicle arbitration board is excluded if legal action has already been taken. If legal action is taken during arbitration proceedings, the motor vehicle arbitration board ceases its work.

f) No costs are charged for using the motor vehicle arbitration board.

2. Notice according to § 36 Consumer Dispute Settlement Act (VSBG)

The seller will not participate in a dispute settlement procedure before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of the VSBG and is not obliged to do so. Status: 01/2022