On this page you will find the general terms and conditions for professionals and further down the general terms and conditions for private customers of Copart Deutschland GmbH.
General Terms and Conditions for Business
General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use of Copart Deutschland GmbH for Business (www.copart.de)
Preliminary Remark
We, Copart Deutschland GmbH, Am Seestern 24, 40547 Düsseldorf, Amtsgericht Düsseldorf, HRB 92025 ("we", "us", "Copart"), operate an online auction platform for commercial buyers of used and damaged vehicles at the address www.copart.de (hereinafter referred to as the "Website").
The functioning of the website can be described in a simplified way as follows:
Registered commercial users (hereinafter also referred to as "Member") are given the opportunity to purchase offered vehicles on the Website. The term "vehicle" in the preceding and following sense shall be understood to mean any motor vehicle, including passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes, commercial vehicles, watercraft, machinery or related vehicle parts that we offer on our website. The vehicles can be purchased by means of a two-lane bidding process. In the first lane, bids can be submitted by Members from the time the vehicle is posted on the website until one hour before the start of the live auction ("pre-bidding procedure"). During the preliminary bidding procedure, a maximum bid is determined. This highest bid shall be the starting bid in the second lane of the bidding procedure that follows directly thereafter, in which Members can submit further bids in real time within a short period of time ("Live Auction"). The highest bidder in the live auction is the winner of the bidding process and is given the opportunity to purchase the vehicle from us.
The Pre-Bidding Procedure and the Live Auction are also jointly referred to as the "Bidding Procedure" in these GTC.
Copart offers vehicles for sale on the Website and concludes corresponding purchase agreements with Members based on these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use ("GTC"). Copart also provides, by means of the Website, the functionalities in accordance with these GTC that allow you as a Member to place bids on the vehicles for sale ("Services").
Art. 1 Scope, General
(1) For the sale of the vehicles as well as the use of the website and the associated services, the following GTCs shall apply exclusively in their currently valid version, unless they are overridden by mandatory deviating law (e.g. mandatory statutory provisions or individual agreements pursuant to § 305b BGB).
(2) In order to purchase vehicles and use the services on our website, registration as a Member is required. By registering as a Member, express consent to the validity of these GTC is declared.
(3) In addition to these GTC, our separate regulations on data protection in our privacy policy apply. The current version can be viewed, downloaded and printed at any time via the homepage of our website at www.copart.de under the link "Privacy Policy" (at the bottom of the website).
(4) The GTC apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions of the Members shall only become part of the contract if and to the extent that we expressly agree to their validity. This requirement of consent shall apply in any case, e.g. also if we start providing services to the Member without reservation in the knowledge of the Member's general terms and conditions. In case of doubt, only these GTC shall be authoritative for the sale of the vehicles and the use of the website and the associated offers.
(5) Individual agreements made between us and the Member in individual cases (including collateral agreements, supplements and amendments) shall in any case take precedence over these GTC. For the content of such agreements a written contract or the written confirmation of Copart is decisive.
(6) References to the validity of statutory provisions shall only have clarifying significance. Even without such clarification, the statutory provisions shall therefore apply unless they are directly amended or expressly excluded in these GTC.
Art. 2 User Contract, Registration, Membership Fee
(1) In order to have the possibility to purchase the vehicles offered on the Website as well as to use the functionalities of the Website, the Member must register on the Website and conclude a user contract with us for a fee based on these GTC.
(2) Member Types
- Registered Guests must register and provide their first and last name, email address and telephone number. Registered Guests may upload a residential address and copies of a valid photo ID as well as a business registration and EU VAT ID number in the further "VAT ID", if applicable, to become a Basic or Premium Member. Registered Guests may search the inventory, add vehicles to a Watchlist and create a Vehicle Alert. However, in order to bid on or purchase vehicles and view prices, a Basic or Premium Membership must have been acquired.
- Basic Members and Premium Members ("Member") must register and upload copies of a current photo ID as well as a business registration and VAT ID, if available. In addition, the Member must pay the initial membership fee in each case.
Basic or Premium Memberships must be renewed annually. This requires paying an annual, non-refundable membership fee and uploading copies of all valid licenses (if applicable) and information about changes of ownership or address.
(3) According to these GTCs, we sell vehicles to commercial buyers and conclude a user agreement with such members who purchase or use the vehicles and services offered by us on the website in the exercise of their commercial or independent professional activity ("Commercial Activity"). For non-commercial, private purchases, the GTC for consumers apply. The Commercial Activity of the Members presupposed by us for the conclusion of purchase contracts for vehicles as well as the conclusion of the User Agreement shall be deemed to exist in particular if the Commercial Activity can be assigned to one of the following industries:
- certified car recyclers
- car dealers
- tradesmen of the automotive trade
- workshops
- classic purchase and sale trade
(4) To conclude a contract of use, we specifically require that the natural person acting on behalf of the respective Member provides the following information/documents in full or correctly:
- first and last name of the natural person,
- proof that the acting natural person has unlimited legal capacity,
- has reached at least the age of 18,
- identifies himself/herself by presenting a copy of a photo ID (identity card, passport),
- company name of the Member, address, telephone, email address,
- provides written proof of the Member's commercial activity (copy of the business registration or a comparable document and, if the Member is domiciled in the European Union, disclosure of the VAT ID).
(5) Members are also obliged to notify us immediately in writing of any changes to their personal data and other information. This applies in particular in the event of a change or loss of the status of their commercial activity or a change in their VAT ID. If a Member violates the aforementioned obligations to notify us immediately of changes in data, we shall be entitled to exclude the Member in question from further use of the Website and/or to terminate the contract of use with the Member without notice.
(6) To conclude the contract of use, the Member must properly and completely fill out the online registration form posted on the website correctly and in full and transmit it to us by clicking on the designated button on the website. Members who are already registered with one of our affiliates may provide us with their personal email address used for previous registration. By providing the personal email address used for previous registration with one or more of our affiliates, the Member agrees that we may access any personal data and information previously provided to our affiliates in order to complete the Member's registration and submission of the membership application with us. Upon receipt of the registration form completed in full, the Member will receive access to the member area with the confirmation of transmission of their registration application. There, to complete the registration process, Member can upload a copy of the Member's business registration or similar, a copy of their photo identification and, if the Member is domiciled within the European Union, the VAT identification number, and create a personal password. From this moment on, the Member shall have the right to use the services offered on the website, with the exception of participating in bidding processes. As soon as we have received the documents and information in full and have verified and released them, we will confirm to the Member, to the email address specified by the Member, that all prerequisites for the conclusion of the contract of use are met. The contract of use shall be concluded upon the Members receipt of this email. Participation in bidding processes requires a separate activation pursuant to the following provision in Art. 2 (6).
(7) Upon conclusion of the contract of use, a non-refundable annual member fee shall become due for payment by the Member for the first time in accordance with our current overview of fees ("fees"). We issue the Member a corresponding invoice for the respective service period (one year from the start of the contract of use, then one year from the end of the previous service period). As soon as we have received payment of the annual member fee, we will activate the Member's participation in bidding processes.
"Copart reserves the right to adjust the fees with a notice period of one month at its reasonable discretion to the development of price-relevant costs and if necessary, also to increase them. This concerns in particular the increase of wage costs, increased energy and material costs as well as cost-triggering changes in the legal framework. Increases in one type of cost (e.g., electricity or gas prices) may only be used to increase prices to the extent that they are not offset by declining costs in other areas. The same applies vice versa for price reductions.
In this case, the Member shall be at liberty to terminate the User Agreement in accordance with Art. 10 (1) of these GTC. If the Member makes use of his option to terminate, his annual member fee shall be refunded to him pro rata temporis (i.e. for the remaining full months) as of the effectiveness of the termination".
Art. 3 Scope of Services
(1) We maintain and operate the functionalities available on the Website, in particular the functionalities for performing the bidding procedure stipulated in Art. 5, based on the contract of use and in accordance with these GTC.
(2) We shall use our best efforts to ensure access to the website with an average annual availability of 95%. However, availability at all times is not an owed object of performance. In particular, necessary maintenance work, compelling security reasons and events outside our control (e.g. disruptions of public communication networks and the Internet, power failures or similar events) may lead to disruptions or the temporary suspension of our services and the accessibility of the website even below the average annual availability of 95%, without this constituting a contractual breach of duty on our part, unless we have negligently caused such a breach of contractual duty.
(3) We provide our services exclusively based on the technical status of the website and the respective, legal and commercial framework conditions for its use within the Federal Republic of Germany.
(4) We may temporarily restrict or discontinue access to the website at any time if this is necessary with regard to the security or integrity of our servers or in order to implement mandatory technical measures to maintain the contractual service, also towards other Members. The restriction of website access may be necessary in particular to protect against attacks from the Internet (e.g. in the event of so-called "denial of service" attacks) and is permissible in this case, even if this means that the annual average availability pursuant to Art. 3 (2) is not achieved.
(5) We hereby point out that we secure our systems against unauthorized access by third parties to the data stored by us to a reasonable extent using the security systems currently available to us, but an absolute protection against attacks by third parties is not possible according to the current state of technology and is not owed by us.
Art. 4 Intellectual Property and Rights of Use
The website contains content (texts, photographs, software, etc.) that is protected under relevant legal provisions. The content may therefore be subject to copyrights, trademark rights, patents or other industrial property rights. We and our respective licensors are exclusively entitled to the rights to this content. The contents may only be used in the context of the contractual use of the website. Furthermore, such content, in particular texts and photographs, may not be edited, downloaded, reproduced, rented, lent, leased, sold, made publicly available or distributed in any other way without our express consent.
Art. 5 Bidding Process
(1) The bidding process for the individual vehicles offered on our website shall take place in two lanes. The first lane is the "Preliminary Bidding Process" (compare (3)), the second lane is the "Live Auction" (compare (4)). Changes in the "Additional Information", are possible until the live auction. Additional information is - besides the standard information about the vehicle that is always available - information in free text about any optional equipment and other descriptive information (such as information about vehicle documents, vehicle condition, origin) of a vehicle offered on our website.
(2) Placing Bids
Members may view the vehicles offered on the Website and indicate the maximum amount they wish to bid on them ("maximum bid"). The respective maximum bid is not visible to the other Members. All bids in the bidding process are net, exclusive of any sales tax or other duties that may be payable by the Member.
(3) Preliminary Bidding Process
From the moment the vehicle is listed on the website, the preliminary bidding process starts. The functionality of the website ensures that if the maximum bid for the respective Member has not yet been reached, bids are submitted in the bid increments specified by us (e.g. EUR 100.00). These bids are based on the current maximum bid or on the minimum price set for the respective vehicle, if applicable. The website functionality shall only bid as much as necessary to ensure that the Member remains the highest bidder or bids the minimum price if the maximum bid specified by the Member allows it. If a Member reaches another Member's maximum bid or bids more, the Member in question will be notified to allow the Member to possibly increase its maximum bid. Bids already placed during the preliminary bidding are binding for the Member but expire as soon as a bid is outbid. The highest bid submitted during the preliminary bidding is the "preliminary maximum bid". The preliminary bidding process ends a few minutes before the respective vehicle is auctioned off in the live auction.
(4) Live Auction
During the live auction, further bids are submitted in real time in the bid increments determined by us in each individual case (e.g. EUR 100.00) and the decisive winner of the bidding process is determined. Bids are submitted by the Member by clicking on the button provided for this purpose on the Website. The live auction starts with the preliminary highest bid as the minimum bid. If no bid has been submitted in the preliminary bidding process, the live auction will start with a starting price shown on the website. The member who submits the highest bid ("highest bid") within the live auction is the winner of the bidding process. The highest bid is considered a legally binding offer by the Member to purchase the vehicle at the respective highest price. If only one bid is submitted in the live auction which corresponds to the preliminary highest bid, the bid submitted in the live auction shall be deemed to be the decisive highest bid; in this case, the Member in the live auction shall be the winner of the bidding process.
(5) End of the Bidding Process
The respective bidding process ends when the period specified by us for the live auction (e.g. one hour) has expired. Further bids on the vehicle are no longer possible after the end of the live auction.
(6) Bid Binding
Each Member is bound by its highest bid for the period of the bidding process plus a further five (5) working days ("duration of bid binding"). This expressly also applies to the bids of participants in the live auction who were not the highest bidders. The aforementioned period shall run from the time of termination of the bidding process pursuant to paragraph (5) above. Working day means the days Monday to Friday except for 24.12. and 31.12. as well as public holidays (hereinafter "working day").
(7) Bidding Agent
Members can control their activities on the website through a "bidding agent". Our service in the context of the bidding agent consists insofar of providing the corresponding functionalities on the website.
(8) Inspection of Vehicles
In individual cases and after prior agreement with Copart, vehicles can also be inspected by non-members on site at the respective Copart facility; the fees incurred can be found in the overview of fees.
(9) The fee calculator provided by Copart, refers to estimated values, the actual fees, may vary depending on the country. Copart therefore does not guarantee the results.
Art. 6 Conclusion of Contract with and without Reserve, Right of Withdrawal
(1) With regard to all vehicles marked with the note "No Reserve" in their description, a purchase contract between the highest bidder and us shall be concluded at the highest bid immediately upon termination of the bidding process pursuant to Art. 5 paragraph (5) of these GTC. In this case, the highest bidder shall receive the system notice "Sold".
(2) With regard to all vehicles marked with the note "On Reserve" in their description, a minimum price is to be achieved during the bidding process. If the highest bid reaches or exceeds this minimum price, a purchase contract between the highest bidder and us shall be concluded at the highest bid immediately upon termination of the bidding process pursuant to Art. 5 paragraph (5) of these GTC; in this case, the highest bidder shall receive the system notice "Sold".
(3) If the highest bid does not reach the minimum price, the highest bidder will receive the system notice "Sold on Approval" at the end of the bidding process. In this case, a purchase agreement between the highest bidder and us is only concluded if we expressly accept the highest bid by means of a separate declaration of acceptance, e.g. by email, within five (5) working days upon termination of the bidding process pursuant to Art. 5 paragraph (5) of these GTC.
(4) Without prejudice to further statutory rights of withdrawal, we are entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract with the highest bidder if it becomes apparent after conclusion of the contract that the highest bidder
- at the time of conclusion of the contract did not perform any commercial activity within the meaning of Art. 2 (3) of these GTC or provided inaccurate information during registration and/or in the membership registration form or did not update such information contrary to the obligation under Art. 2 (5) of these GTC, or
- fails to pass our verification of its VAT ID.
Art. 7 Payment Terms, Retention of Title
(1) The annual membership fees are payable in advance for each contractual year and are due for payment upon issuance of the invoice. The other fees listed in the fee table are also due for payment upon issuance of the invoice. All invoices must be paid within three (3) working days, whereby the receipt of payment on the Copart account is decisive. If the full amount is not credited to the Copart account within three (3) working days, default shall occur automatically without the need for a further reminder.
(2) The purchase price for the vehicles purchased by the Member as well as the fees incurred for the respective vehicle (e.g. buying fees, Late Removal Fee, Lot Retrieval Fee, etc.) are also due for payment upon issuance of the invoice. ll invoices must be paid within three (3) working days, whereby the receipt of payment on the Copart account is decisive. If the full amount is not credited to the Copart account within three (3) working days, default shall occur automatically without the need for a further reminder. Overpayments of a customer may only be offset against current receivables. Overpayments of a customer may only be offset against current receivables.
(3) The Member can pay invoices by using the payment methods offered by Copart. Unless otherwise agreed with Copart in individual cases, all invoice amounts are to be paid by bank transfer to the Copart account specified in the invoice. All bank charges shall be borne by the Member, in particular charges for foreign bank transfers, return of direct debits or other comparable charges.
(4) Copart reserves the right to transmit invoices and payment reminders exclusively by electronic means.
(5) If the Member is in arrears with the payment of a purchase price for a vehicle and/or fees, Copart will charge a late payment fee according to the current fee table. Irrespective of this, interest shall be paid on the outstanding invoice amounts during the default at the respectively applicable statutory default interest rate. We reserve the right to assert further damage caused by default. With respect to merchants, our claim to the commercial due date interest rate (§ 353 HGB) shall remain unaffected. If the Member does not fulfill his payment obligations despite being in default within a period of three (3) working days after receipt of a reminder for payment, Copart is entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract and to release the vehicle for a new bidding process ("relisting"). By submitting a credit note for the purchase price of the vehicle purchased by the Member as well as the fees incurred for the respective vehicle, Copart declares its withdrawal from the purchase contract. In this case, the Member shall also be obligated to pay Copart a "relist fee" for the relisting of this vehicle according to the current fee table. Until the relist fee is paid in full, the Member is blocked from the bidding process.
(6) All prices and fees to be paid within the scope of the purchase contracts for vehicles and/or the contract of use are net and exclude VAT or other charges. The Member shall be responsible for the payment of all such taxes and duties. The Member shall notify Copart of its VAT ID, which is valid in the country where the Member's company is located. The Member complies with the applicable tax laws and regulations. The Member undertakes to reimburse Copart for any taxes and related costs paid or to be paid by Copart that are attributable to taxes for which, in accordance with this provision, the Member would have been responsible if invoiced to the Member. The Member shall promptly reimburse Copart for all costs resulting from the Member's non-compliance or late perception of its responsibility for its tax liabilities.
(7) All costs, customs duties or charges etc. incurred in connection with the export and import of the vehicles purchased by the Member shall be borne by the Member. The Member shall be responsible for obtaining any import permit that may be required as well as all permits, approvals or other documents required in connection with the import into the country of use and any transport through third countries at its own expense.
(8) The vehicles sold to the Member remain the property of Copart or the property of the respective owner until full payment of all current and future claims arising from the purchase contract and the contract of use.
(9) Copart is furthermore entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract 10 working days after exceeding the free standing and parking time due to non-fulfillment. The purchase price will be refunded with deduction of stand fees and relist fees.
Art. 8 Collection and Delivery
(1) Unless otherwise expressly agreed between Copart and the Member, the Member's vehicles shall be collected from the Copart facility specified on the website for the respective vehicle (collectable debt). After conclusion of the purchase contract, the Member is obligated to pick up the vehicle at the specified Copart facility at the latest within five (5) working days after corresponding notification by Copart of the conclusion of the contract ("collection period"). The Member will receive a PIN for collection from Copart, which must be presented upon collection of the vehicle.
(2) Vehicles shall only be handed over to the Member upon presentation of its valid PIN and after full payment of the agreed purchase price and all fee claims due pursuant to Art. 7 of these GTC from the ongoing business relationship with Copart. After full payment of the aforementioned claims, the vehicle shall be handed over and the registration certificate (Part I and Part II) shall be sent to the member by mail. Furthermore, the registration certificate (Part I and Part II) will only be sent to purchasers who export the vehicle once they have provided us with the signed entry certificate. In case of customer(s) from a non-EU country, the vehicle documents will be sent to the facility of the vehicle after payment has been received by Copart and are to be collected there together with the vehicle.
(3) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the vehicle shall pass to the Member upon handover at the latest. The handover shall be deemed to have taken place if the Member is in default of acceptance. Upon expiry of the collection period, the Member shall be in default of acceptance if the Member has not collected the vehicle by then or has not made the payments to be made pursuant to Art. 8 (2) above by that date.
(4) If the Member is in default of acceptance, fails to cooperate or delays in collecting the vehicle for other reasons for which the Member is responsible, Copart is entitled to demand reimbursement of the resulting damage, including additional expenditure. The member is also obligated to pay the Late Removal Fee listed in the current fee table for each day that the collection deadline is exceeded.
(5) The Member bears full responsibility for the removal of the vehicle from the parking space. The Member is aware that the vehicles may no longer be roadworthy or may no longer be suitable or approved for movement on public roads, even if they were described as "Run & Drive" on the platform. Depending on the vehicle, the bidder must take appropriate measures during collection to ensure safe transportation, such as using suitable car transporters if transport on the vehicle's own wheels cannot be carried out safely. If this does not occur, Copart can prohibit the removal. The loading of a vehicle is carried out by the buyer himself or by third persons authorized by the buyer. Even in case of loading by Copart, the buyer bears the risk of possible damage both to the purchased vehicle and to its own transport vehicle. Removal from the facility is at the Member's own expense. The Member is also obliged to pay the Lot Retrieval Fee, which is listed in the current fee table.
(6) Place of performance for all Copart services arising from the purchase contracts concluded pursuant to Art. 6 of these GTC is the corresponding Copart facility of the respective vehicle.
Art. 9 Special Terms of Use for the Website
(1) Both the username and password of the Member's accounts must be treated as confidential. Members are responsible for all activities and actions undertaken under their username or password. Members shall notify us immediately if their username, password or account is used by unauthorized parties or in the event of any other breach of security. Members shall furthermore ensure that they properly log out after each use of their Member account. We are not responsible for any damages resulting from a breach of the obligations imposed on the Members in this paragraph.
(2) When Members log on to our website, they undertake to always comply with the applicable legal provisions. In particular, it is prohibited to distribute unlawful or immoral content, to unlawfully reproduce, distribute or make accessible proprietary goods and to send or distribute offensive, defamatory or threatening content.
(3) Members further undertake not to take any action at any time which could jeopardize or damage the security of our website. Members are in particular prohibited from penetrating or attempting to penetrate our data network (hacking), from sending unsolicited spam mails (spamming), from using equipment or running applications that cause or may cause disruptions/changes to the physical or logical structure of our servers or networks.
Art. 10 Termination of the Contract of Use, Consequences of Termination
(1) The contract of use for the use of the website has an indefinite term. It may be terminated by the Member or by us without notice at any time. If the Member exercises this right of termination, the annual member fee already paid by the Member will not be refunded. If Copart terminates the contract of use, Copart shall refund the Member the annual member fee pro rata temporis.
(2) This shall not affect the right of termination for good cause. The right to terminate this contract of use for good cause shall be given to Copart in particular if the Member violates the provisions of these GTC; In such case, Copart shall not be obliged to refund the annual member fee pursuant to Art. 10 (1).
(3) Any termination must be in writing or text form (e.g. email) to be valid.
Art. 11 Exclusion of the Warranty for Vehicles
(1) The vehicles offered on the website are exclusively used and damaged vehicles, in particular salvage vehicles as well. Any warranty for material defects of the vehicles is therefore excluded. This shall not apply in the case of fraudulent concealment of defects or the assumption of a guarantee for the condition of the vehicle as well as in the case of injury to life, body and health of the Member. The liability regulation pursuant to Art. 12 of these GTC shall otherwise apply to damage claims arising from a liability for defects.
(2) Since we do not verify the accuracy of the information provided to us by the previous owners and presented on the website for the respective vehicle, we do not assume any warranty in accordance with the preceding paragraph 1, in particular for this information.
Art. 12 Liability
(1) The Member's claims for damages are excluded. Excluded from this are damage claims by the Member arising from injury to life, limb or health or from the violation of material contractual obligations (material obligations) as well as liability for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent violation of duty by ourselves, our legal representatives or vicarious agents. "Material contractual obligations" are obligations that protect the legal positions of the Member which are material to the contract and which must be granted to the Member under the contract in terms of subject matter and purpose; material contractual obligations are also contractual obligations the fulfillment of which makes the due implementation of the contract possible in the first place and where the Member has regularly relied on and may rely on compliance with such obligations.
(2) In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, we shall only be liable for the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract if such damage was caused by simple negligence, unless the Member's claims for damages arise from injury to life, limb or health.
(3) The limitations of the paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall also apply in favor of our legal representatives and vicarious agents if claims are asserted directly against them.
(4) This shall not affect the provisions of the Produkthaftungsgesetz (German Product Liability Act).
(5) It is the responsibility of the Member alone to decide whether and on which vehicle the Member wishes to bid. We do not provide nor are we obliged to provide any advice, information or recommendation to Members. We therefore recommend that the Member obtain expert advice, if necessary, on the economic and tax consequences of the contracts concluded pursuant to Art. 6 of these GTC before making a decision.
Art. 13 Information on Data Processing
(1) After the conclusion and during the term of the contract of use, the Member may view their personal data on the website after registering on the website by using the username and password.
(2) Within the scope of our data processing, we comply with all relevant data protection regulations, in particular the provisions of the Datenschutz-Grundverordnung [German General Data Protection Regulation], the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz [German Federal Data Protection Act] and the Telemediengesetz [German Teleservices Act]. Without the Members’ consent, we shall only collect, process or use stock and usage data if this is necessary to implement the contractual relationship and for the purpose of recourse and settlement.
(3) Furthermore, we shall only use the Members' data in accordance with the provisions of our Privacy Policy. The same shall apply to the disclosure of data to third parties. The current version of our Privacy Policy can be viewed, downloaded and printed out at any time on our website under the link "Privacy Policy" (at the end of the website).
Art. 14 Amendment of the General Terms and Conditions
(1) The GTC shall also apply as a general agreement in their respective version for the use of future services on our website without us having to refer to them again in each individual case.
(2) We reserve the right to amend the GTC as well as the services offered by us. The amendments will be communicated to the Member at our option either by email or on the website upon login and shall enter into force upon receipt of the communication, provided that the Member has not objected to the amendment in whole or in part in writing or by email within six (6) weeks of receiving the communication, insofar as we have again expressly referred to this circumstance in the amendment communication. Amendments shall not have any retroactive effect on services used prior to their entry into force. We therefore recommend that Members save the version of the GTC provided to them upon registration, as we do not store any personal data for the respective Member. As far as Members do not agree with the change of the GTC, they shall have the right to immediately terminate the contract of use pursuant to Art. 10 (1) and (2) of these GTC.
(3) Copart reserves the right to change the GTC in particular if and to the extent that
- Copart is obliged to establish compliance of the GTC with applicable law, in particular, if the prevailing legal position changes;
- Copart, by making the amendment, complies with a court judgment delivered against Copart or a decision of an authority;
- the amendment is only for the benefit of the Member; or
- Copart additionally introduces entirely new services or functionalities on the website which have to be described or regulated in the GTC.
Furthermore, the provisions of Art. 14 (2) shall apply accordingly.
Art. 15 Applicable Law, Jurisdiction
(1) The pre-contractual relationships between ourselves and the Members, the use of the website by Members, these GTC and our Privacy Policy are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. Application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CSIG) is excluded. The language of negotiation and of the contract is German.
(2) If you are a business person within the meaning of the Handelsgesetzbuch [German Commercial Code], a legal entity under public law or special fund under public law, it shall be deemed agreed that all legal disputes arising from or in connection with the use of this website shall be settled before a competent court of law in Düsseldorf, Germany. We shall have the right, however, to bring an action or institute other legal proceedings at the Member’s place of general jurisdiction.
Art. 16 Final Provisions, Written Form
(1) Amendments to and modifications of these GTC and legally relevant representations and notifications (e.g. notices setting deadlines, notices of defects, declarations of rescission or reduction) to be provided by the parties after conclusion of the contract shall only be valid when given in writing. This shall also apply to amendments of this requirement of written form itself.
(2) If individual provisions of these GTC are or shall become invalid, this shall not affect the remaining provisions. Invalid provisions shall be replaced by legal provisions unless the parties reach an agreement which achieves the purpose intended by the invalid provision. If the parties have overlooked a point in these GTC that needs to be addressed, the provision that they would have agreed in consideration of the interests of both parties if they had been aware of the gap shall be deemed agreed.
(3) If these GTC are translated into other languages, the German version alone shall be the legally binding version.
Date: March 2025
Version number: 2025_03_V02
General Terms and Conditions for Consumers
General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use of Copart Deutschland GmbH for Consumers (www.copart.de)
Preliminary remark
We, Copart Deutschland GmbH, Am Seestern 24, 40547 Düsseldorf, Amtsgericht (Local Court) Düsseldorf, HRB 92025 ("we", "us", "Copart"), operate an online auction platform for buyers of used and damaged vehicles at the address www.copart.de (hereinafter referred to as "Website").
The functioning of the Website can be described in a simplified way as follows:
Registered consumers (hereinafter also referred to as "Bidders") are given the opportunity to purchase vehicles offered on the Website. The term "vehicle" as used hereinbefore and hereinafter shall be understood to mean any motor vehicle, including passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes, commercial vehicles, watercraft, machinery or related vehicle parts that we offer on our Website. The vehicles can be purchased by means of a two-stage bidding procedure. In the first stage, bids can be placed by Bidders from the time the vehicle is posted on the Website until one hour before the start of the live auction ("Pre-Bidding Procedure"). During the Pre-Bidding Procedure, a highest bid is determined. This highest bid is the starting bid for the second stage of the bidding procedure that follows directly thereafter, in which the Bidders can place further bids in real time within a short period of time ("Live Auction"). The highest bidder in the Live Auction is the winner of the bidding procedure and is given the opportunity to purchase the vehicle from us. If the bidding procedure is won, the vehicle will be reserved for the Bidder for a period of 6 calendar days.
The Pre-Bidding Procedure and the Live Auction are also jointly referred to as the "Bidding Procedure" in these GTC.
Copart offers vehicles for sale on the Website and concludes corresponding purchase contracts with the Bidders based on these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use ("GTC"). However, the binding purchase contract is not concluded online, but only after the consumer has inspected the vehicle reserved for him/her at its location after winning the Bidding Procedure. Copart also provides, by means of the Website, the functionalities in accordance with these GTC that allow the Bidder to place bids on the vehicles for sale ("Services").
§ 1 Scope of application, General
(1) For the sale of the vehicles as well as the use of the Website and the associated Services, the following GTC in their respective valid version apply exclusively, unless they are overridden by mandatory deviating law (e.g. mandatory statutory provisions or individual agreements pursuant to § 305b of the German Civil Code (BGB)).
(2) In order to purchase vehicles and use the Services on our Website, registration as a Bidder is required. By registering as a Bidder, express consent to the application of these GTC is declared.
(3) Our separate regulations on data protection in our privacy policy apply in addition to these GTC. The current version of our privacy policy can be viewed, downloaded and printed at any time via the homepage of our Website at www.copart.de under the link "Privacy Policy" (at the bottom of the Website).
(4) The GTC apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions of the Bidder shall only become part of the contract if and to the extent that we expressly agree to their application. This requirement of consent shall apply in any case, e.g. also if we start providing Services to the Bidder without reservation in full awareness of the Bidder's general terms and conditions. In case of doubt, only these GTC shall be authoritative for the sale of the vehicles and the use of the Website and the associated offers.
(5) Individual agreements made between us and the Bidder in individual cases (including side agreements, supplements, changes and amendments) shall in any case take precedence over these GTC. For the content of such agreements, a written contract or the written confirmation from Copart shall be authoritative.
(6) References to the applicability of statutory provisions shall only have clarifying significance. Even without such clarification, the statutory provisions shall therefore apply unless they are directly modified or expressly excluded by these GTC.
§ 2 User contract, Registration, Membership fee
(1) In order to have the possibility to purchase the vehicles offered on the Website and to use the functionalities of the Website, the Bidder must register on the Website and conclude a user contract with us for a fee based on these GTC.
(2) For the conclusion of a user contract, we specifically require the respective Bidder to:
- have unlimited legal capacity,
- have reached at least the age of 18,
- identify himself/herself by presenting a copy of a photo ID (identity card, passport).
(3) In order to conclude the user contract, the Bidder must duly and completely fill in the online registration form posted on the Website and transmit it to us by clicking the appropriate button on the Website. After receipt of the fully completed registration form, the Bidder will receive access to the members' area with the confirmation of transmission of his/her registration application. There, the Bidder can upload his/her photo ID and create a personal password to complete the registration process. From this moment on, the Bidder has the right to use the Services offered on the Website, with the exception of participating in the Bidding Procedure. As soon as we have received the documents and information in full and have verified and approved them, we will confirm to the Bidder, to the email address specified by him/her, that the user contract has been concluded. Participation in the Bidding Procedure requires separate activation pursuant to the following provision in § 2 (4).
(4) Upon conclusion of the user contract, a non-refundable annual membership fee in accordance with our current fee schedule for consumers shall be due for payment by the Bidder for the first time. We will issue a corresponding invoice to the Bidder for the respective service period (one year from the start of the user contract and then one year at a time from the end of the respective previous service period). As soon as we have received payment of the annual membership fee, we will activate the Bidder for participation in the Bidding Procedure.
(5) The Bidders are obliged to provide complete and correct information during the registration process. Furthermore, the Bidders are obliged to notify us immediately (unverzüglich) in writing of any changes to their personal data and other information. If a Bidder is in breach of the aforesaid obligation of immediate notification of changes in data, we are entitled to exclude the relevant Bidder from further use of the Website and/or to terminate the user contract with him/her without notice.
(6) Upon conclusion of the user contract, the Bidder undertakes to pay the fees, including, without limitation, the membership fees, in accordance with the respective current fee schedule for consumers ("Fees"). We reserve the right to adjust and, if necessary, increase the Fees with a notice period of one month; in this case, the Bidder is at liberty to terminate the user contract before the fee increase takes effect in accordance with § 10 (1) of these GTC.
§ 3 Scope of Services
(1) We maintain and operate the functionalities available on the Website, including, without limitation, the functionalities for the implementation of the Bidding Procedure under § 5, on the basis of the user contract and in accordance with these GTC.
(2) We will use our best endeavours to ensure access to the Website with an average annual availability of 95%. However, availability at all times is not owed by us. In particular, necessary maintenance work, compelling security reasons as well as events beyond our control (e.g. disruptions of public communication networks and the Internet, power failures or similar events) may lead to disruptions or to the temporary suspension of our Services and the accessibility of the Website even below the average annual availability of 95%, without this constituting a contractual breach of duty on our part, unless we have culpably caused such a breach of contractual duty.
(3) We provide our Services exclusively on the basis of the technical status of the Website and the respective legal and commercial framework conditions for its use within the Federal Republic of Germany.
(4) We may temporarily restrict or suspend access to the Website at any time if this is absolutely necessary with regard to the security or integrity of our servers or in order to implement mandatory technical measures to maintain the contractual services also vis-à-vis other Bidders. The restriction of Website access may be necessary in particular (but without limitation) for the protection against attacks from the Internet (e.g. in the case of so-called "denial of service" attacks) and shall be permissible in this case, even if the annual average availability pursuant to § 3 (2) is not achieved as a result.
(5) We point out here that we secure our systems against unauthorised access by third parties to the data stored by us to a reasonable extent, using the security systems currently available to us, but that absolute protection against attacks by third parties is not possible according to the current state of the art and is not owed by us.
§ 4 Intellectual property and rights of use
The Website contains content (texts, photographs, software, etc.) that is protected under the applicable legal provisions. The content may therefore be subject to copyrights, trademark rights, patents or other industrial property rights. We and our respective licensors are exclusively entitled to the rights in this content. The content may only be used in accordance with and within the limits of the contractually agreed use of the Website. Beyond that, such content, in particular (without limitation) texts and photographs, must not be edited, downloaded, reproduced, rented, lent, leased, sold, made publicly accessible or distributed in any other way without our express consent.
§ 5 Bidding Procedure
(1) The Bidding Procedure for the individual vehicles offered on our Website takes place in two stages. The first stage is the "Pre-Bidding Procedure", the second stage is the "Live Auction". Changes in the "Additional Information" are possible until the start of the Live Auction. Additional information is - in addition to the standard information on the vehicle which is always available - information in free text on any special equipment and other descriptive information (such as information on vehicle documents, vehicle condition, origin) regarding a vehicle offered on our Website.
(2) Placing of Bids
Bidders can view the vehicles offered on the Website and indicate the maximum amount they would like to bid on them ("Maximum Bid"). The respective Maximum Bid is not visible to the other Bidders. All bids in the Bidding Procedure are gross, i.e. including any VAT, buyer's fees and other charges to be paid by the Bidder.
(3) Pre-Bidding Procedure
From the moment the vehicle is posted on the Website, the Pre-Bidding Procedure starts. The functionality of the Website ensures that bids are placed for the respective Bidder whose Maximum Bid has not yet been reached according to the bid increments specified by us (e.g. EUR 119.00). These bids are based on the current highest bid or on the minimum price set for the respective vehicle, if applicable. The functionality of the Website will only bid as much as necessary to ensure that the Bidder remains the highest bidder or bids the minimum price if the Maximum Bid specified by the Bidder allows this. If a Bidder reaches the Maximum Bid of another Bidder or bids more, the Bidder concerned will be notified so that he/she can possibly increase his/her Maximum Bid. Bids placed in the Pre-Bidding Procedure are already binding on the Bidder, but expire as soon as a bid is outbid. The highest bid placed during the term of the Pre-Bidding Procedure is the "Highest Pre-Bid". The term of the Pre-Bidding Procedure ends one hour before the start of the Live Auction.
(4) Live Auction
In the Live Auction, further bids are placed in real time according to the bid increments (e.g. EUR 119.00) determined by us in each individual case and the winner of the Bidding Procedure is determined. The Bidder places his/her his bid by clicking the button provided for this purpose on the Website. The Live Auction starts with the Highest Pre-Bid as the minimum bid. If no bid has been placed in the Pre-Bidding Procedure, the Live Auction will start with a starting price shown on the Website. The Bidder who places the highest bid ("Highest Bid") in the Live Auction is the winner of the Bidding Procedure. The Highest Bid is deemed to be a legally binding offer by the Bidder to purchase the vehicle at the respective highest price. If only one bid is placed in the Live Auction which corresponds to the Highest Pre-Bid, the bid placed in the Live Auction shall be deemed to be the decisive Highest Bid; in this case, the Bidder in the Live Auction is the winner of the Bidding Procedure. However, no purchase contract is yet deemed to have been concluded thereby, see § 6 (4).
(5) End of the Bidding Procedure
The respective Bidding Procedure ends when the time period specified by us for the Live Auction (e.g. one hour) has expired. Further bids on the vehicle are no longer possible after the end of the Live Auction.
(6) Bid Binding Period
Each Bidder shall be bound by his/her Highest Bid for the duration of the Bidding Procedure plus six (6) additional calendar days ("Bid Binding Period"). The aforesaid period runs from the end the Bidding Procedure according to the foregoing para. (5).
(7) Bidding agent
Bidders can control their activities on the Website via a "Bidding Agent". Our related Bidding Agent service consists in providing the corresponding functionalities on the Website.
(8) Inspection of the vehicles
In individual cases and by agreement with Copart, vehicles may be inspected by the members on site at the respective Copart parking space in the run-up to the auction.
§ 6 Reservation with and without minimum price, Contract conclusion
(1) For all vehicles marked "No minimum price" in their description, a reservation agreement is deemed concluded between the highest bidder and us at the Highest Bid immediately upon termination of the Bidding Procedure pursuant to § 5 (5) of these GTC. In this case, the highest bidder receives the system message "Reserved".
(2) For all vehicles marked "Under reserve" in their description, a minimum price is to be achieved in the Bidding Procedure. If the Highest Bid reaches or exceeds the minimum price, a reservation agreement is deemed concluded between the highest bidder and us at the Highest Bid immediately upon termination of the Bidding Procedure pursuant to § 5 (5) of these GTC; in this case, the highest bidder receives the system message "Reserved".
(3) The highest bidder shall be informed at which marketing location the vehicle is located. There the highest bidder receives the pre-contractual information according to § 476 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The highest bidder can inspect the vehicle and make the final decision whether to buy or not. If the answer is yes, the purchase contract will be concluded on the spot.
§ 7 Terms of payment, Retention of title
(1) The annual membership fees are payable in advance for each contract year and are due for payment upon issuance of the invoice. The other fees listed in the fee schedule are also due for payment upon issuance of the invoice. All invoices must be paid within three (3) working days, whereby the receipt of payment on the Copart account is decisive. If the full amount is not credited to the Copart account within three (3) working days, default shall occur automatically without the need for a further reminder.
(2) The purchase price for the vehicles acquired by the Bidder as well as the fees incurred for the respective vehicle (e.g. buyer's fee, storage fee, provision fee, etc.) shall be paid at the time of conclusion of the purchase contract on site at the marketing location.
(3) The Bidder may settle invoices by means of the payment procedures offered by Copart. Unless otherwise agreed with Copart in individual cases, all invoice amounts shall be paid on site in digital form online by debit card or credit card or by instant bank transfer after signing the purchase contract. All bank charges and other transaction costs shall be borne by the Bidder, including, without limitation, charges for foreign bank transfers and other comparable charges.
(4) Copart reserves the right to transmit invoices and payment reminders exclusively by electronic means.
(5) All prices and fees to be paid under the purchase contracts for vehicles and/or under the user contract are gross, i.e. including the statutory value-added tax.
(6) Any costs, customs duties or levies etc. incurred in connection with the export and import of the vehicles purchased by the Bidder shall be borne by the Bidder. The Bidder shall be responsible for obtaining any import permit that may be required as well as all licences, permits or other documents required in connection with the import into the country of use and the possible transport via third countries at his/her own expense.
(7) The vehicles sold to the Bidder remain the property of Copart or the property of the respective owner until full payment of all current and future claims arising from the purchase contract and the user contract.
§ 8 Collection and delivery
(1) Unless expressly agreed otherwise between Copart and the Bidder, the vehicles shall be collected by the Bidder from the Copart parking space indicated for the respective vehicle on the Website (obligation to collect - Holschuld).
(2) Vehicles will only be handed over to the Bidder after full payment of the agreed purchase price and all fee claims due under § 7 of these GTC from the current business relationship with Copart. After full payment of the aforesaid claims, the vehicle will be handed over and the registration certificate (Part I and Part II) (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I und Teil II) will be sent to the Bidder by post.
(3) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the vehicle shall pass to the Bidder at the latest upon handover. The handover shall also be deemed to have taken place if the Bidder is in default of acceptance (Annahmeverzug).
(4) If the Bidder is in default of acceptance or fails to cooperate or if the collection is delayed for other reasons for which the Bidder is responsible (zu vertreten haben), we shall be entitled to claim compensation for the resulting damage, including any additional expenses. In addition, the Bidder is obliged to pay the storage fee listed in the respective current fee schedule for each day of storage from the day of contract conclusion if he/she does not collect the vehicle on the day of contract conclusion.
(5) The Bidder bears full responsibility for the removal of the vehicle from the parking space. The Bidder is aware that the vehicles may no longer be roadworthy or may no longer be suitable or approved for movement on public roads, even if they were described as "Run & Drive" on the platform. Depending on the vehicle, the bidder must take appropriate measures during collection to ensure safe transportation, such as using suitable car transporters if transport on the vehicle's own wheels cannot be carried out safely. If this is not done, Copart may prohibit the removal. The loading of a vehicle shall be carried out by the Bidder itself or by third parties authorized by the Bidder. Even in the case of loading by Copart, the Bidder shall bear the risk of any damage to the purchased vehicle as well as to his own transport vehicle. The removal from the parking space shall be at the Bidder's own expense. In addition, the Bidder is obliged to pay the provision fee listed in the respective current fee schedule. If the bidder, after participating in an auction and reserving a vehicle, fails to appear at the Copart yard to inspect the vehicle provided on-site and, if applicable, to conclude the contract (on-site option), the bidder shall be obligated to pay a processing fee in accordance with the current fee schedule.
(6) The place of performance (Erfüllungsort) for all Services of Copart under the purchase contracts concluded in accordance with § 6 of these GTC shall be the respective Copart parking space of the relevant vehicle.
§ 9 Special terms of use for the website
(1) Both the username and the password of the Bidder account shall be treated confidentially. Bidders are responsible for all activities and actions undertaken under their username or password. Bidders shall notify us immediately (unverzüglich) if their username, password or account has been used in an unauthorised manner or any other breach of security occurs. Bidders must also ensure that they log out properly after each use of the Bidder account. We shall not be responsible for any damage resulting from a breach of the duties imposed on Bidders under this section.
(2) When Bidders log on to our Website, they undertake to comply with the applicable legal provisions at all times. In particular, it is prohibited to distribute illegal or immoral content, to unlawfully reproduce, distribute or make accessible copyrighted goods and to send or distribute harassing, defamatory or threatening content.
(3) Bidders further undertake not to do anything at any time that could endanger or damage the security of our Website. It is in particular (without limitation) prohibited to penetrate or attempt to penetrate our data network (hacking), to send unsolicited mass e-mails (spamming), to use facilities or run applications that cause or may cause disruptions/changes to the physical or logical structure of our servers or networks.
§ 10 Termination of the user contract, Consequences of termination
(1) The user contract for the use of the Website has an indefinite term. It may be terminated by the Bidder or by us at any time without observing a notice period. If the Bidder exercises this right of termination, the membership fee already paid by him/her will not be refunded. If Copart terminates the user contract, Copart will refund the membership fee to the Bidder pro rata temporis.
(2) The right of termination for cause remains unaffected. Copart is in particular (without limitation) entitled to terminate this user contract for cause if the Bidder is in breach of the conditions laid down in these GTC; in this case Copart is not obliged to refund the membership fee according to § 10 (1).
(3) Notice of termination must in any case be given in writing (Schriftform) or text form (Textform) (e.g. e-mail) to be effective.
§ 11 Time limit of the warranty for vehicles
The limitation period for buyer's claims for defects of quality will be limited to 12 months from the passing of risk after appropriate pre-contractual information (§ 476 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). The objects of purchase are used vehicles without exception. The limitation does not apply to damage to life, limb or health and to damage caused by gross negligence or intent.
§ 12 Liability
(1) In the event of a breach of material contractual duties (wesentliche Vertragspflichten), we shall only be liable for the foreseeable damage typical of the contract if such damage was caused by simple negligence (einfache Fahrlässigkeit), unless it is a matter of Bidder’s claims for damages arising from an injury to life, limb or health. "Material contractual duties" are duties which protect legal positions of the Bidder which are material to the contract and which the contract is precisely intended to grant to the Bidder in accordance with its content and purpose; material contractual duties are also duties the fulfilment of which makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and compliance with which the Bidder has regularly relied on and may reasonably rely on.
(2) The restrictions under the foregoing para. (1) shall also apply in favour of our legal representatives and vicarious agents or other persons engaged by us in the fulfilment of our obligations (Erfüllungsgehilfen) if claims are asserted directly against them.
(3) The provisions of the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) remain unaffected.
(4) It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to decide whether and on which vehicle to bid. We do not owe or provide any advice or information or recommendation to Bidders. We therefore recommend that the Bidder seek professional advice, if necessary, on the economic and tax consequences of the contracts concluded under § 6 of these GTC before making a decision.
§ 13 Information on data processing
(1) After the conclusion and during the term of the user contract, the Bidders can view their personal data on the Website after registering on the Website by means of the username and password.
(2) When processing the data, we comply with all relevant data protection regulations, including, without limitation, the regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation, the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) and the German Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz). We will only collect, process or use master and usage data without the consent of the Bidders if and to the extent this is necessary for the processing of the contractual relationship and for asserting claims and invoicing.
(3) Furthermore, we only use the Bidders' data in accordance with the provisions of our privacy policy. The same applies to the transfer of data to third parties. The respective current version of our privacy policy can be viewed, downloaded and printed at any time on our Website under the link "Privacy Policy" (at the bottom of the Website).
§ 14 Changes to the GTC
(1) The GTC shall apply in their respective current version.
(2) We reserve the right to change the GTC as well as the Services offered by us. The changes will be notified to the Bidder at our discretion either by e-mail or on the Website when logging in and will enter into force upon receipt (Zugang) of the notification provided that the Bidder has not objected to the change in whole or in part in writing or by e-mail within six weeks of receipt of the notification and provided that we have again expressly referred to the said condition and consequence in the notification of change. Changes shall not have any retroactive effect on Services used before their entry into force. For this reason, we recommend that Bidders save the version of the GTC provided to them upon registration, as we do not individually store such information for the various individual Bidders. If Bidders do not agree with the changes of the GTC, they are at liberty to exercise their rights to terminate the user contract with immediate effect in accordance with § 10 (1) and (2) of these GTC.
(3) Copart reserves the right to change the GTC in particular (without limitation) if and to the extent that
- Copart is obliged to bring the GTC into conformity with applicable law, in particular (without limitation) in the case of a change of the legal situation,
- Copart, by changing the GTC, complies with a court judgement or an official or regulatory decision against Copart,
- the change is only advantageous for the Bidder, or
· Copart introduces additional, entirely new services or functionalities of the Website that must be described or regulated in the GTC.
In all other respects, the regulations under § 14 (2) shall apply accordingly.
§ 15 Applicable law, Place of jurisdiction
(1) The pre-contractual relations between us and the Bidders, the use of the Website by Bidders as well as these GTC and our Privacy Policy shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is excluded. The language of negotiation and contract is German.
(2) The statutory place of jurisdiction shall apply.
§ 16 Final provisions, Written form
(1) Changes and amendments to these GTC as well as legally relevant declarations and notifications to be made by the parties after conclusion of the contract (e.g. setting of deadlines, notifications of defects, declarations of withdrawal (Rücktritt) or price reduction (Minderung)) must be made in writing (Schriftform). This shall also apply to changes to this requirement of writing itself.
(2) Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provisions shall be replaced by the statutory provisions unless the parties reach an agreement that achieves the purpose intended by the invalid provision. Should the parties have overlooked a point in these GTC that requires regulation, the provision they would have agreed upon in consideration of their mutual interests if they had been aware of the omission in the GTC shall be deemed agreed.
(3) If translations of these GTC are made into other languages, only the German version shall be legally binding.
Date: June 2025
Version number: 2025_06_V03
