Terms of Sale

These are the terms on which MOTOR CITY ARCHIVE sells cars. They apply to every vehicle we sell, whether you buy it on the floor in Detroit, over the phone, or from another state, unless we have agreed something different with you in writing on your invoice.

What these terms cover

They cover the sale of a vehicle and the things that go with it: taking a deposit, taking payment, transferring the title, arranging delivery, and submitting a financing application on your behalf. Nothing beyond that is part of the sale. We are a dealership — we sell vehicles and handle the transaction around them.

Where these terms and a signed invoice disagree, the invoice wins for that sale. Nothing in these terms takes away a right you have under Michigan law that cannot be waived.

Price, tax and delivery costs

The price published on the listing is the price. On top of it you pay your own state's sales tax, title and registration fees, and any transport you have agreed with us. Nothing else is added at the desk.

• The price is in US dollars and is the figure on the listing at the time you agree to buy.
• Your state's tax, title and registration charges are set by your state, not by us, and are your responsibility.
• Transport is quoted separately and only becomes payable once you have agreed it in writing.

Deposits and holding a car

A deposit holds a car for you for up to fourteen days, and we take the listing down while it is held. Ask us for the amount and the dates and we will confirm both in writing before you send anything.

• If the car does not match its listing, the deposit is refunded in full — including when the mismatch only becomes clear on inspection or on delivery.
• A deposit does not transfer ownership. Title passes only when the sale is completed and paid for.
• If the fourteen days pass and the sale has not completed, the car goes back on the floor.

Payment

We accept a bank wire or certified funds. We do not accept personal cheques.

Wire fraud is common in car sales, so read this part twice. Before you send any money, call the number on ourcontact page and read the account details back to us. We will never ask you to send money to an account whose details differ from the ones on your invoice, and we will never change those details by email or text message. If an instruction to pay arrives that does not match your invoice, stop and call us.

Title, paperwork and registration

We handle the transfer of title and prepare the bill of sale. We will tell you what documents you are getting, in whose name, and when. You are responsible for registering the car in your own state and for the tax and fees your state charges for that.

If you are buying from outside the United States, we prepare the export documentation. Tell us before you buy so we can put the right papers in the car.

Condition and as-described sales

Cars are sold as described in the listing. The listing states the faults we know about — including the ones that cost us money to admit. A classic car is a used car of considerable age: parts wear, seals seep, and things that worked last month can stop working this month.

We welcome an inspection by your own specialist, or by one we can recommend locally. Send them, and we will make the car available and stay out of the way. Ask for extra photographs of anything you want to see before you commit, and we will send them.

Beyond the seven-day return below, a car is sold as it stands, with the faults the listing describes.

Returns within seven days

If the car does not match its listing, tell us within seven days of delivery and return it to us. We refund the purchase price. The seven days start on the day the car is delivered to you.

• This covers a car that is not what the listing said it was.
• It does not cover a change of mind about colour, spec or engine size.
• It does not cover damage that happened after delivery, or mileage added after delivery.
• Call us before the car moves, so we can agree how it comes back.

Storage and abandonment

If you have bought a car and it is not collected within fourteen days of the sale being completed, we may charge for storage from that day on. We will tell you in writing before any storage charge starts, and we will tell you the rate at that point.

If the car is still with us sixty days after the sale, we may treat it as abandoned and move, store or dispose of it. We will write to you at the contact details you gave us before we do.

Financing

Financing is provided by third-party lenders. Approval, rates, terms and any fees are theirs, not ours, and we cannot promise that an application will be approved. We charge no fee for submitting an application, and we do not see your credit file. The lender's agreement is the contract that binds you on the money side; read it. Start on the financing page.

Shipping and delivery

Delivery is carried out by licensed third-party carriers. A quote or an estimate is not binding — it is based on distance and trailer type and can move. The binding figure is the one on your written invoice, and the written invoice governs. Details of the service are on the delivery page.

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, our liability for any claim arising out of a sale is limited to the purchase price you paid us for the car. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits, the cost of parts, or storage you arranged elsewhere.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, and nothing here removes the seven-day return described above.

Governing law, venue and changes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. If a dispute cannot be settled by talking to us first, it will be brought in the state or federal courts sitting in Wayne County, Michigan, and both sides agree to that venue.

We may update these terms. The version published on this page at the time you buy is the version that applies to your purchase, and the date at the top of the page shows when it last changed. Questions about any of this: call the number on the contact page.