Terms of Use
Draft — pending legal review. This text explains how Going Once Cars will work. It is not final and may change before launch.
These terms apply when you use the Going Once Cars website and apps to buy or sell a car. Please read them together with our Auction Rules and Privacy Policy.
1. Who we are
Going Once Cars (“GOC”, “we”, “us”) runs an online auction marketplace for used cars in the Balkans. Operator: Going Once Cars, 66 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA, United Kingdom (company registration number to be added). You can contact us at legal@goingoncecars.com.
2. Our role
We are not the seller of the cars. Verified private sellers and dealers list their own cars. We run the auction, collect the winning buyer's payment, hold it until the handover, prepare the sale contract and pay the seller. The sale contract for each car is between the buyer and the seller.
3. Your account
You must be at least 18 and legally able to enter into contracts. You may have one account, in your own name (first and last name exactly as on your ID), with accurate details. You can sign up with your email address or with your Apple or Google account. To bid, buyers need an active yearly plan, a saved valid card and a verified ID. Sellers verify their ID, add a payout account in their own name and show that they own the car or are authorised to sell it. We verify IDs with our provider Didit: you photograph your ID document and take a short live selfie, a biometric check we only do with your consent; you can ask for a manual check by our team instead. Keep your login details safe: you are responsible for what happens in your account.
4. Bidding
Every bid is binding. If you are the highest bidder when the auction ends and the minimum price is reached (or the seller accepts your bid), you must buy the car. Auctions run for 1 to 7 days, as chosen by the seller, and a bid in the last 2 minutes adds 2 minutes. Our Auction Rules explain the details.
5. Buy Now and fixed-price listings
A seller may add a Buy Now price to an auction, or sell at a fixed price with no bidding. When you press Buy Now and confirm, you agree to buy the car at that price plus your buyer fee, and the car is reserved for you for 15 minutes while you pay by card; bank transfer is not available for Buy Now. If the payment does not go through in time, or you give the car back, the listing continues and nothing is charged. Three unpaid Buy Nows within 30 days pause Buy Now on your account (bidding is not affected). Our Auction Rules explain the details.
6. Buyer plans
To bid you need an active yearly plan, which you buy in your account on our website: Basic (€9.99 a year, buyer fee 5%) or Business (€49.99 a year, for car dealers and traders: buyer fee 3.5%, priority support and priority alerts). Basic starts with a 14-day free trial: a card is required, you can cancel at any time before the trial ends and you will not be charged, we email you a reminder before it ends, and there is one free trial per person. Business has no free trial. Prices include VAT. Payments are processed by Stripe. The plan renews automatically every year until you turn off renewal, which you can do at any time under “Manage plan and card”; the plan then stays active until the end of the year you paid for. The card you pay for the plan with is saved on your account as your bidding card. A plan is personal and may not be shared. This does not affect your rights as a consumer.
7. Paying for a car
The winner pays Going Once Cars, never the seller: the final price plus the buyer fee, by card or bank transfer, by 17:00 on the 3rd business day after the auction ends. Pay from a card or account in your own name; we never accept cash. You can cancel before paying, until the deadline, for a €50 cancellation fee charged to your saved card. If you don't pay on time, the sale is cancelled, a €50 cancellation fee is due (we try your saved card once, otherwise we send an invoice), and you get a non-payment strike that pauses bidding and buying until the fee is paid. A second unpaid car suspends your account from bidding and buying. The seller may offer the car to the next-highest bidder.
8. Pickup and handover
After you pay, you choose one of the pickup times we offer and receive a 6-character handover code. At the handover the seller checks your ID, you check the car, its keys and papers, you both sign the sale contract we prepare, and only then do you give the seller your code. Never share the code before that: Going Once Cars will never ask you for it. The car, its keys and the risk of loss or damage pass to you when the seller enters the code. The ownership transfer is completed as required by local law.
9. Selling a car
Describe the car honestly, including known damage, faults and the true mileage, and upload real photos of it. The car must be free of debts, liens and other claims unless the listing says otherwise. Keep it available and in the condition described until the handover, and don't sell it elsewhere while it is listed. We pay you the final price minus the €50 success fee by bank transfer, 1–2 business days after the handover.
10. Contact goes through GOC
Buyers and sellers do not contact each other. All messages go through Going Once Cars. Don't share phone numbers, email addresses or social media profiles, and don't arrange a sale or payment outside Going Once Cars.
11. Messages, emails and GOC Assistant
We contact you by push notification, in the app and by email. Messages about payments, sales, pickups, payouts, your ID check and your plan are always sent; you can turn off optional emails (such as outbid alerts and price drops) in the app under Profile → Notifications. When you write to GOC Support, GOC Assistant, an AI assistant, may answer first. It can make mistakes and can't make decisions about refunds, fees, claims or your account: only our team can. You can ask for a person at any time.
12. Condition of the car
Cars are used and are sold as described in the listing. Inspection reports are prepared by independent partner garages and describe the car on the day of the inspection; they are not a warranty. Read the listing and the report carefully before you bid.
13. Fees
Listing a car is free. Sellers pay a €50 success fee only when the car sells; we deduct it from the payout. To bid, buyers need a yearly plan (Basic €9.99 a year after a 14-day free trial, or Business €49.99 a year) and, if they win, pay a buyer fee of 5% (Basic) or 3.5% (Business) of the final price, at least €99. The rate of the plan you have when you win applies. Launch offer: the first 50 members who complete their account get a free 1-year Basic plan, and the first 30 cars sold pay no success fee. Inspection reports are coming later; we will publish their price first. We always show a fee before you agree to pay it.
14. What isn't allowed
Bidding on your own car or asking others to do so, placing bids you don't intend to honour, listing a car you are not entitled to sell, giving false information, sharing your account or plan with others, and any attempt to manipulate an auction or avoid our fees. We may remove listings, cancel bids and suspend or close accounts that break these terms.
15. Our responsibility
We work hard to keep Going Once Cars accurate and available, but we can't promise it will always be free of errors or interruptions. As far as the law allows, we are not responsible for a seller's description of their car or for losses we did not cause. Nothing in these terms limits the rights you have under consumer protection law.
16. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. If a change is important, we will tell you in the app or by email before it applies. Auctions that have already started continue under the terms that applied when they started.
17. Law and disputes
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory law of the country where you live. If something goes wrong, contact GOC Support in the app or write to us (buyers: buyer@goingoncecars.com, sellers: seller@goingoncecars.com, complaints and legal matters: legal@goingoncecars.com) and we will try to solve it with you. Using our complaints process doesn't stop you from going to court or to a consumer or data protection authority.
Questions about this document? Write to us at legal@goingoncecars.com.