Terms & Conditions

By registering an account and accessing The Wreck Auctions platform ("the Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform. These Terms may be updated at any time and your continued use constitutes acceptance of any changes.

The Wreck Auctions provides a digital marketplace in New Zealand connecting independent buyers and sellers of motor vehicles. We are not a party to any contract formed between buyers and sellers and we:

• Do not own, inspect, or warrant any vehicle listed on the Platform
• Do not verify seller ownership, finance status, or vehicle history (though we integrate third-party data tools to help buyers research)
• Do not guarantee that any transaction will be completed
• Are not an escrow service and do not hold vehicle purchase funds

This applies to the marketplace. Wreck Cash is separate: there, we buy the car from you ourselves (section 10).

Sellers are charged a listing fee to publish an auction. The exact fee is displayed during the listing creation process before payment is required.

• Listing fees are charged per auction, per vehicle
• Extending a listing: if your auction ends without a sale, or you withdraw it, you may extend it by 7, 14 or 30 days from My listings. Each extension is charged an extension fee, shown before you pay. In these Terms, "listing fees" includes extension fees
• Fees are non-refundable once the auction goes live, regardless of whether the vehicle sells or the auction is cancelled
• Promotions may waive or discount listing and extension fees, for all sellers or for a particular seller, at The Wreck Auctions's discretion. A promotion cannot be applied to a fee that has already been paid
• Buyers are never charged a fee to browse, bid, or win an auction on The Wreck Auctions
• The vehicle purchase price is paid directly from buyer to seller — The Wreck Auctions does not receive or process this payment

All bids are legally binding offers to purchase the vehicle at the bid price. By placing a bid you confirm you have the intention and financial means to complete the purchase.

• The highest bidder at auction close (where the reserve price is met) is obligated to complete the purchase directly with the seller
• Where a bid reaches exactly the maximum of another bidder's auto-bid that was set earlier, the earlier auto-bid keeps the lead at that amount and the later bid is not placed
• On a Live Lane lot you may set an auto-bid maximum before the lot starts, and change or remove it until then. When the lot starts, such auto-bids are placed in the order they were set, each at the next bid at that moment, and are then legally binding bids like any other. If the maximum is below the next bid at that moment, it is not placed and you are notified
• Bid retraction is not permitted except in exceptional circumstances, at The Wreck Auctions's sole discretion
• After winning, you must contact the seller within 48 hours via the details provided in your Transactions dashboard
• You are responsible for conducting your own due diligence — inspecting the vehicle, checking for finance owing (PPSR), and arranging financing before bidding
• The transfer of vehicle ownership must be completed jointly through NZTA (nzta.govt.nz) within a timeframe agreed with the seller

By listing a vehicle you represent and warrant that:

• You are the legal owner of the vehicle or are authorised to sell it on the owner's behalf
• The vehicle is free of any security interest (finance) unless explicitly disclosed in the listing
• All information in the listing — including odometer reading, condition, history, and photos — is accurate and not misleading
• Any known defects, write-off history, or imported status are clearly disclosed
• If you are a registered Motor Vehicle Trader under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, you must provide a Consumer Information Notice (CIN) to the buyer
• You must not bid on your own listing or have associates bid on your behalf (shill bidding)
• Once the auction sells, you must complete the sale with the winning buyer and jointly complete the NZTA ownership transfer

The listing form looks each vehicle up on CarJam and the PPSR. To prevent misuse, each member can look up 10 new vehicles a day (approved dealers 30); a vehicle that has already been looked up doesn't count.

Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA): If purchased from a private (non-trade) seller on The Wreck Auctions, CGA guarantees do not apply — the vehicle is sold "as is, where is." If the seller is a registered motor vehicle trader, CGA may apply to your purchase directly with that seller.

Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA): Sellers who are "in trade" must not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct. The Wreck Auctions is not liable for fraudulent seller descriptions but will cooperate with any investigation.

Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 (MVSA): Registered traders must provide a CIN; private sellers are exempt. The Wreck Auctions is not liable for a seller's failure to comply.

PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register): Buyers are strongly advised to search the PPSR (ppsr.govt.nz) to confirm no finance is owing on the vehicle before paying.

The Wreck Auctions uses Stripe to process listing fees securely. We do not store full card details. For vehicle purchase payments:

• Payment from buyer to seller is made directly between the parties (bank transfer recommended)
• We recommend buyers use internet banking to a verified account and never pay via cash, cryptocurrency, or gift cards
• The Wreck Auctions accepts no liability for any failed, disputed, or fraudulent payment between buyer and seller

Disputes from a transaction are between the buyer and seller. The Wreck Auctions is not a dispute resolution service. You may seek assistance from:

• Consumer NZ (consumer.org.nz) for advice on your rights
• Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal for disputes involving trader sellers (up to $100,000)
• Disputes Tribunal (disputestribunal.govt.nz) for private party disputes (up to $30,000)

To the maximum extent permitted by law, The Wreck Auctions's total liability to any user shall not exceed the listing fee paid by that user in the 12 months preceding the claim.

You agree to indemnify The Wreck Auctions, its directors, employees and agents against any claims, losses, or costs arising from your use of the Platform, breach of these Terms, or violation of any law.

The Wreck Auctions reserves the right to suspend or terminate any account that breaches these Terms, engages in shill bidding, posts false listings, or misuses the platform — without refund of any fees paid.

Wreck Cash is our own service for buying cars directly, at /we-buy-cars. It is separate from the marketplace: with Wreck Cash you sell your car to The Wreck Auctions Ltd, not to another member. The rest of these Terms apply to Wreck Cash too, except where this section says otherwise.

• No commitment from a request. Sending us your car's details does not commit you, or us, to a sale.
• Our offer is based on what you tell us. If the car is not as described when we see it, we may change or withdraw our offer.
• A sale needs both of us to agree. A sale only happens when we both agree the price. We confirm the price, and how and when you will be paid, in writing before you hand over the car.
• The same seller rules as everyone else (section 5). You must own the car or be allowed to sell it for the owner, and the details you give us, including the kilometres, condition, write-off or imported status and any known faults, must be true and not misleading.
• Finance. You must tell us about any finance or security interest owing on the car. It must be cleared before ownership of the car passes to us.
• Change of ownership. We complete the change of ownership with NZTA together when the sale is done.
• If we sell the car on. If we later sell a car we bought through Wreck Cash, including on our own auctions, the listing will say so and we follow the same rules as every seller in these Terms: we disclose what we know about the car, and we never bid on our own listings.

Your details are used only to deal with your request and make you an offer, as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Wrecky, the helper robot on our homepage, answers questions about using The Wreck Auctions by finding the answer in our own information: our FAQ, our pages, the auction calendar and our fees. Wrecky is our own software, not an AI service.

• General information only. Wrecky can misunderstand a question or show an answer that doesn't fit it. Its answers are not advice and not promises: these Terms, our Privacy Policy and each listing are what apply.
• It can't act for you. Wrecky can't see your account, bids, listings or payments, and it can't bid, list, message anyone or change anything.
• Check before you bid. Read the listing and these Terms before you bid: bids are legally binding (section 4).
• What it remembers. Wrecky remembers your chat, and your first name if you tell it, on your own device only. Use Forget me in the chat to clear it. How chats are handled is set out in our Privacy Policy.
• Questions it can't answer. We save a question Wrecky couldn't answer (the question only, not who asked, with any email address or phone number taken out) so we can add the answer to our FAQ.