Terms and Conditions

General

In these terms and conditions the following expressions shall have the following meanings:-
“we”/ “us”/ “ours” means or refers to MotorCheck (“MotorCheck” is a registered business name and registered trademark of Benchmark Fleet Services Ltd.), who provides the Information to you;
“you”/ “your” means or refers to you, the customer, who submits the Enquiry and receives the Information (in each case subject to these Conditions);
“Enquiry” means an MotorCheck enquiry submitted by you either online at the Website or by email, by telephone or in writing to the MotorCheck Offices or by SMS to our SMS Services;
“Information” means the information supplied by us relating to a motor vehicle or related information recorded on our electronic database in response to your Enquiry;
“Contract” means the contract between you and us for the supply of the Information made subject to these Conditions;
“Data Guarantee” The Guarantee provided by MotorCheck in accordance with this Agreement and the appendix to this Agreement.
“Website” means the MotorCheck.ie website.

When you submit an Enquiry to us, this constitutes an offer by you to enter into a Contract with us for the provision of Information subject to these Terms & Conditions. A Contract will only come into existence between you and us when we provide to you Information in response to your Enquiry whether by email, online via the website, downloaded from the website, in hardcopy printout or via SMS. We reserve the right for any reason and without explanation to decline to enter into a Contract with you.

The Contract and all Information provided shall be subject to these Terms & Conditions which apply to the exclusion of all other terms, conditions and statements.

When submitting your Enquiry at our Website, via email, phone or in writing, it is your responsibility to complete the request screens at our Website fully and correctly to ensure a prompt response by us. When submitting your Enquiry over the telephone, in writing or via SMS, you must provide us with accurate and complete information to ensure we are able to deal with your Enquiry promptly. It is also your responsibility when using MotorCheck’s services to notify us if we supply any Information which you know or suspect is incorrect or incomplete.

Website Conditions of Use

Use of the MotorCheck website and related services delivered outside the website such as phone, written and SMS services is subject to a number of terms & conditions as set out below. If you have any questions on these terms and conditions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Each time you access the website, emailed report, hardcopy report or SMS report you will be deemed to have read and accepted these Terms & Conditions and you accept that you will be bound by them. MotorCheck reserves the right to alter the Terms & Conditions at any time without notification to you and you are obliged to check if changes have been made to the Terms & Conditions. Your use of this web site, emailed report, hardcopy report or SMS report after changes have been made to the online Terms & Conditions shall constitute acceptance of the revised Terms & Conditions.

If you do not agree to abide by any of these Terms & Conditions you should cease using the MotorCheck website and any related services such as phone, written and SMS services immediately.

Disclaimer

The MotorCheck web site is provided “as is” and MotorCheck gives no warranties, conditions, guarantees or representations, express or implied, that this web site will be available without interruption or that it is error, virus or bug free.

MotorCheck uses data in its reports supplied by third parties. MotorCheck does not give any warranty or representation, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness, merchantability or appropriateness for any particular purpose or non-infringement of any information, materials or graphics on this website. Your use of our services shall be at your own risk, and except as provided for in the contractual terms relating to the provision of its services, MotorCheck shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from your reliance on any information contained on this website, emailed report, written report and SMS report, or your use of this website emailed report, written report and SMS report, or for any typographical or other errors or omissions within the material contained on this website.

All information supplied in relation to Finance Checks is given to the best knowledge and belief of Hire Purchase Information Ltd., according to the information contained in its records. Hire Purchase Information Ltd. nor MotorCheck do not warrant or guarantee that it has a complete record of every vehicle the subject of a Hire Purchase or Leasing Agreement or that it has a complete up-to-date record of those vehicles which were at one time but have subsequently ceased to be the subject of a Hire Purchase or Leasing Agreement. Hire Purchase Information Ltd. nor MotorCheck do not accept liability for any action arising out of any information given.

All stolen vehicle information is supplied on UK vehicles by the Police National Computer service in the UK. The Garda stolen vehicle database is not available to third parties and therefore stolen data on Irish vehicles is from our own database of vehicles where we have been instructed by various sources to attached a stolen marker to a vehicle. For this reason MotorCheck do not warrant or guarantee that it has a complete record of every vehicle stolen in Ireland. MotorCheck do not accept liability for any action arising out of any information given.

Copyright and Other Rights

Except where expressly acknowledged on the website, the contents of the web pages of this website, the content of downloadable MotorCheck reports and the content of SMS services are © Copyright MotorCheck 2007, and MotorCheck is the proprietor of all other intellectual property rights in them.

All MotorCheck trademarks, names and logos are the proprietary marks of MotorCheck or its associated companies. Marks identifying third parties are owned or licensed by those third parties or their associated companies.
Except with the express permission of MotorCheck, you agree that you will not copy, reproduce, redistribute, download, republish, transmit, display, adapt, alter, create derivative works from or otherwise extract or re-utilise any material appearing on this web site.

Linked Sites

MotorCheck does not control third party websites which our website may provide hypertext links to, and therefore MotorCheck is not responsible for any content on third party sites linked from our site or which provide a link to our site. The inclusion of links to any third party web sites does not imply any endorsement of the material, information or statements contained on the web site or of the owners or operators thereof. You may not create a link to the MotorCheck website from another website without our express written permission.

Charges

You will pay us our charges for the Information and Services provided at our current levels from time to time, by credit card or any other payment method we accept (details of which are available at the Website), before we send you the Information.

Pre-Purchase Inspections

Pre-Purchase Inspections are prepared from visual and external checks only and are limited to the parts and/or items identified on the Inspection Report. Pre-Purchase Inspections do not involve dismantling or disturbing of any structure, assembly, component or internal mechanism.

The appointed vehicle inspector will carry out an inspection and road test of the vehicle and will complete a Report showing the areas of the vehicle which have been checked. There are certain parts of the vehicle which will not be looked at and you should read the terms and conditions carefully to understand what will and what will not be checked. Reports will be completed by the inspector and presented to the customer on completion of the inspection. Items which are listed on the Report, but which are not reasonably accessible on the checked vehicle will not be inspected. In such circumstances the inspector will be under no obligation to inspect and/or report on the part/item in question and will mark the relevant section of the Report accordingly.

Exclusions
Without prejudice to clauses 1 and 2 above, please note that amongst the items not checked are:

• Oil and fuel consumption.
• Source of oil leaks.
• We cannot predict the life expectancy of exhaust systems, clutches or dual mass flywheels.
• Brake fluid for contamination. Brake fluid will deteriorate over a period of time and we advise that it be replaced as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
• Operation of cassette, compact disc players, TV/DVD/Satellite Navigation systems, Bluetooth or other in car entertainment.*
• Sound or radio reception and alarm systems.*
• Cylinder compression, vehicle electrics and electronics by the use of specific diagnostic equipment.
• The accuracy of in-car computer systems (for example, but in no way restricted to, computers used for route finding, fuel efficiency or otherwise).
• Exhaust emissions, using gas analysing equipment, catalytic converters, LPG systems.
• Air conditioning efficiency* by the use of specific diagnostic equipment.
• The habitation area of Motorhomes – The electrical systems and appliances, water fittings and appliances, gas fitting and appliances will not be checked. These are beyond the scope of the inspection. It is strongly advised that these are tested and checked by a suitably qualified person prior to purchase. The body/caravan area will not be checked for water ingress or dampness. You are advised that a damp meter reading should be taken prior to purchase.
• Vehicle Technical Systems – Many vehicles are fitted or equipped with automatic or computerized operating systems, which may be controlled by microprocessors. These include engine management systems, fuel systems, ignition systems, air conditioning systems, lambda controlled systems, stereo radio, cassettes, amplifiers, compact discs (single and multi), TV/DVD, Satellite Navigation, active and self levelling suspensions, gearboxes, turbo-chargers and superchargers, anti lock braking systems, four wheel drive and electronic lockable differential units, traction control, alarm and immobilizer systems, catalytic exhaust systems and variable camshaft timing systems. Within the scope of the service it is not possible to check fully the detailed operation of these systems due to the many variations in features and operating modes and it is not possible to confirm that these systems are functioning fully to the manufacturers design specifications. As a result the inspector is unable to confirm the detailed operation of any of these systems other than giving an overall view and opinion on the performances generally inspected or checked. Therefore, we cannot be held in any way liable or responsible for the failure of any of these systems to perform to the specification as designed by the manufacturer.
• Non-standard accessories as a result of personal modifications or otherwise.

*These items may be turned on and off only as part of the inspection and will not otherwise be checked.

Furthermore the service cannot provide a guarantee that the passenger or luggage compartments are watertight. The service does not provide any indication of any faults which might have become apparent had the vehicle been driven in excess of the speed reached or the distance travelled during any road test carried out during the service. The service does not give any guarantee that all or any of the components of the vehicle are original components or replacement components, which have been manufactured by the manufacturer of the vehicle. The service does not guarantee that the vehicle would pass an NCT test. If the vehicle has less than 3 months NCT left we strongly recommend that an NCT test be carried out prior to purchase. The service does not provide for the inspection of any parts and components or areas of the vehicle, which are not reasonably visible or accessible to the inspector at the time of the inspection. The Inspection does not guarantee authenticity of the vehicle Registration Certificate, the mileage, the NCT certificate, the VIN Number, the Engine Number, the Registered Number or the vehicle service history. The Inspection does not check for any recall notices and you are recommended to check with the vehicle manufacturer that the vehicle has not been subject to such notice.

The Inspection can only describe and/or identify defects actually found and/or which are reasonably capable of being found upon external visual consideration of the vehicle at the time of inspection. We cannot be held and are not responsible for any latent defects which are later discovered. We cannot advise of defects if we cannot see them, or they are not apparent during inspection of the vehicle concerned. In particular please note that (without limiting the possibility to such vehicles) vehicles over 5 years old, those that have a high mileage or which have been subjected to abnormal use may have latent defects. While such defects may, in appropriate circumstances, give rise to a claim against a vehicle supplier, they fall outside the scope of our Reports and our Reports are provided on this basis.
Please note that vehicles over 10 years old may contain serious internal, structural or mechanical defects and/or hidden corrosion, which is not detectable from external, visual assessment. These types of vehicle may prove to be less reliable and need more frequent repairs/servicing than more modern vehicles. Whilst every care has been taken to identify potential problems, these and other disadvantages in owning such a vehicle must be accepted by the Customer.

If there is no documentary evidence of recent engine cam belt replacement, we recommend that the cam belt is checked or replaced prior to purchase.
If the subject vehicle does not have recent service history or the service history has not been seen by the inspector at the time of the inspection, then we recommend that a service in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications be undertaken, prior to purchase. This may highlight other defects giving rise to repairs, which were not apparent on an external visual inspection.

Please note that the life expectancy of an exhaust or clutch system is uncertain and difficult to predict. Without prejudice to the forgoing clauses above, the fact that such items have not been identified as faulty on the Report does not, and should not be taken to imply that such a system will have a continuing life expectancy from the time of our check.

Road Testing
Road testing is carried out within the immediate area of the vehicle check. If, due to circumstances outside of our reasonable control, the vehicle is an un-roadworthy condition, the vehicle contains no oil and/or petrol and therefore a road test cannot be carried out at the time of inspection the original fee shall remain fully payable and an additional fee will be payable for any subsequent road test we are asked to undertake. The Customer is required to confirm to us that the vehicle requiring an Inspection has a current NCT certificate. We will not be obliged to carry out a test drive if the Customer is unable to confirm that the vehicle concerned has a valid NCT. The carrying out of a test drive does not mean that we have seen a valid NCT certificate.

Obtaining Necessary Permissions
It is the Customer’s responsibility to, and the Customer must, ensure that proper provision is made (including the obtaining of any necessary permission) for our check to be carried out on garage premises or on an off-road site.

Fees & Cancellations
All fees and charges must be paid by credit/debit card at the time of booking.

We reserve the right to refuse to inspect or Report on any vehicle which appears to our engineer not to be of standard production (for example, but not limited to, kit cars), which have been modified or which have not been in regular use. In such circumstances we shall be entitled to refuse to carry out the Inspection.

If an Inspection is cancelled and the cost refunded we reserve the right to charge an abortive cancellation fee of €50 in lieu of the Car History Check report included with the original booking and an administrative fee.

Complaints
In the event of a complaint or dissatisfaction please contact support(at)motorcheck.ie or 01-4407200. We should be given the opportunity to re-inspect the vehicle and may need to do so to deal with the complaint.

No repairs should be affected or any parts replaced on any vehicle, which is the subject of a complaint before the vehicle has been re-inspected by us. Should emergency repairs be required to make any vehicle safe and which is then later to be the subject of a complaint to us then you must ensure that a complaint is made to us within a reasonable time after discovering the problem and that any faulty or worn parts which may have needed to be replaced are retained for future re-examination by us. We will not, under any circumstances, be responsible for the cost of any repairs carried out without our previous agreement in writing.

We reserve the right to re-inspect any vehicle at our own expense should it be considered necessary to deal with any complaint and an unbiased second opinion will be provided.

Matters Outside of Our Reasonable Control
We shall not be liable for any delay in performing, or any failure to carry out an Inspection to the extent that such delay or failure results from events or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Exclusion of Liability for Loss
We will not be liable for any loss or damage in circumstances where:
such loss or damage is not a reasonably foreseeable result of any such breach (loss or damage is foreseeable where it could be contemplated by you and us at the time the vehicle is inspected); such loss or damage was not caused by a breach by us, our employees or agents; such losses are business losses or losses to customers who are not consumers; any increase in loss or damage results from breach by you of any term of this contract. Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude or restrict our liability for negligence resulting in death or personal injury or any other liability which cannot be lawfully excluded or restricted.

Pre-Purchase Inspections are supplied solely for the use of the Customer and are not for the use of, or to be relied upon by, any third party and the Customer shall be responsible for advising any such third party accordingly. However in certain circumstances We reserve the right to disclose details of the report, (whether in whole or in part,) to a third party such as the vendor.

Report Advice

You should contact MotorCheck in advance of discussing any adverse findings within the Report with the vendor. After MotorCheck has verified any findings you are strongly advised to discuss the verified findings within the Report with the vendor PRIOR to making any decision to purchase the vehicle. If you have not viewed the vehicle personally, you must satisfy yourself of the vehicle’s cosmetic appearance, specification and suitability for your needs and expectations by viewing and driving the vehicle yourself, prior to making your purchasing decision.

Limitation of Liability

MotorCheck shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever, and in particular MotorCheck shall not be liable for any special, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages, or damages for lost profits, business interruption, loss of revenue, or loss of use, arising out of or related to this Site, the Content or the Materials, whether such damages arise in contract, negligence, tort, under statute, in equity, at law, or otherwise, even if MotorCheck has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

MotorCheck cannot, at any time, accept responsibility for any losses, injuries, inconvenience or expenses caused due to any data supplied via our website or appearing on our reports or Force Majeure including but not limited to government action or restraint, war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, strikes, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood, delays, weather conditions or the threat of any of these or any other event beyond its control.

Data Guarantee

The Guarantee set out in the Appendix to this Agreement shall be incorporated into this Agreement and MotorCheck and the Customer shall comply with the obligations imposed thereby.
The Guarantee shall constitute the only basis of a claim by the Customer against MotorCheck.
The Customer shall not have a claim against MotorCheck in the event that it fails to comply with its obligations under the Guarantee or if it fails to comply with the claims procedure set out therein.
The Guarantee constitutes the total and maximum liability of MotorCheck to the Customer and any liability not provided for by the Guarantee shall be excluded.

No right to Cancel

When making an enquiry at our Website, by telephone or via SMS, you agree that you have no right to cancel the Contract after we have received and commenced processing your Enquiry.

Use of your Personal Data

You consent that MotorCheck may collect, use, disclose and retain your personal data, which you have provided and share it with third party organisations through which MotorCheck carries out it’s marketing, for providing marketing material, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 – 2003 and our privacy, data protection and cookie policy. If you wish to contact us about the use of your data please direct your enquiry to dpo(at)motorcheck.ie.

How we use your personal data is detailed in our Privacy Policy.

When you consent to receiving marketing notices from MotorCheck, we may share your personal data and/or Cookies for personalization of ads delivered via Google Ads and this data may be used in line with Google’s Privacy & Terms.

MotorCheck provides a free VRT Calculation lookup service as an additional service separate from its paid car history check services. If you use the free VRT Calculator service you consent to your name, email address and phone contact details being shared with a MotorCheck approved motor dealer for the purposes of a MotorCheck approved motor dealer making contact with you regarding the vehicle that you are making a VRT calculation for.

We obtain and hold vehicle and associated data from many sources, including vehicle owners finance companies, insurers, motor dealers, manufacturers & traders. This data is used to protect both those making searches and the owners of vehicles on MotorCheck’s database. For that reason, you agree and consent to us disclosing relevant information about you (including your name, address and details of your usage of MotorCheck’s services) to any person to whom we consider that it would be expedient to do so, for the sole purposes of preventing, detecting or discouraging crime, for the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or for the recovery of stolen vehicles or other property. Without limiting the foregoing, you expressly agree and consent to us disclosing any such information about you to:-
(a) a person claiming to be owner of a vehicle against which you have submitted an Enquiry; or
(b) the police or other law enforcement authorities.
Furthermore you consent to our use, within our database and reports, of any data about your vehicle or other vehicles which you have submitted to us which we consider to be an important material fact about the vehicle.

Your use of the Information

The Information we provide to you is for your own personal use. Accordingly you must not sell, supply or otherwise disclose the Information to any third party, but you may supply free of charge a printed copy of the Information to any potential purchaser or the seller of a vehicle to which the Information relates (in the course of negotiating the purchase or sale of the vehicle) provided that the Information is in the form supplied by us (without amendment to any of the contents). For the aviodance of doubt MotorCheck relies on data supplied by third parties and gives no warranty as to the accuracy of this data. MotorCheck shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of or related to this Site, the Content or the Materials provided within a report.

Governing Law

The information contained on, and your use of, this website and these Terms & Conditions shall be governed by the laws of the Republic Of Ireland, and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts in relation to any matter arising under or in connection with your use of this website or its contents.

Report Updates

You may update the “optional details” fields contained in a report free of charge for a period of 31 days after a report has been purchased. All other elements of a report outside of the pre-defined “optional details” including the finance check part of the report may not be updated free of charge during the 31 day period.

Refund Policy

Payment in advance must be furnished before you can access a MotorCheck report. No refund is available if you pay in advance and the MotorCheck Report is delivered to you by computer screen, email, fax, post or SMS.

If you fail to receive your MotorCheck report, please call +353 1 4407200 quoting the reg number of the vehicle you checked. If for any reason we are unable to provide you with your report via computer screen, email, fax, post or SMS within a reasonable time period you may request a refund.

A full refund is available if you pay in advance for a MotorCheck report and Cancel the service within the terms of our cancellation policy as outlined below.

If you have paid for a MotorCheck Report in advance, but you wish to cancel your request and provided a MotorCheck Report has not been successfully generated by our systems and you have not accessed the Report requested, you shall have the right to cancel at any time during the period of 7 Days from the date on which you paid for the MotorCheck Report in advance. It will be deemed that you have accessed the report if the report if the report was successfully generated by MotorCheck and a link to the report was sent to you via email or SMS. If a link to the report was not received by you MotorCheck reserve the right to resend the link to you within office hours having been notified that a link was not received.

To exercise your right to cancel you must e-mail us at cancel(at)motorcheck.ie with the subject matter stated as “Cancellation” within the 7 Working Day period as outlined above with your request to cancel the service.

Where a MotorCheck service has been cancelled in the way described above, there will be no obligation for us to provide you with the MotorCheck report initially requested and any payment received by us from you in respect of the cancelled MotorCheck Report shall be refunded to your debit or credit card (whichever card details you provided us with) no later than 30 days after receipt of your request to cancel.

Copyright

All rights, including copyright, in the content of these web pages and all database rights in our database of vehicles, are owned or controlled for these purposes by us.

All trade marks, names, and logos are the proprietary marks of us or of our associated companies. Marks identifying third parties are owned or licensed by those third parties or their associated companies. Nothing in these terms and conditions in any way confers on you any licence or right under any trade marks, names or logos.

Except as expressly permitted by these terms and conditions, you may not copy, reproduce, redistribute, download, republish, transmit, display, adapt, alter, create derivative works from or otherwise extract or re-utilise any of the contents of the Website.

In particular, you must not cache any of the contents for access by third parties nor mirror or frame any of the content of the Website nor incorporate it into another website without our express written permission.