Terms & Conditions

The sales agreement is governed by the Law, by the special provisions on the front of the sales agreement and by these general terms and conditions, which the buyer acknowledges having read.

These general terms and conditions can also be downloaded in PDF format by the buyer or sent to them free of charge upon written request.

Depending on the buyer's situation (whether or not a consumer), certain clauses of these general terms may not apply to them. These general terms and conditions apply to every reservation or order placed with the seller, regardless of whether the order is placed directly at the seller's premises, or via the website www.vgautomotive.be, by telephone, by fax, or via any other user interface made available by the seller or a partner of the seller.

The buyer is deemed to accept these general terms and conditions by the mere fact of their reservation or order.

Insofar as these general terms and conditions have also been drawn up in a language other than Dutch, the Dutch text shall always prevail in case of discrepancies.

An agreement with the Seller consists of general terms and conditions and special terms and conditions. These special terms and conditions serve as a supplement to these general terms and conditions. In case of conflict, the special terms and conditions shall take precedence over the general terms and conditions.

VG Automotive BV is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under company number 0801.390.937, with its registered office at 2381 Weelde, Weeldestraat 92, trading under the trade name "VG Automotive BV".

Only these general terms and conditions apply to the order of products and services offered by the seller. All other provisions or conditions, including those stated on the buyer's order form, are hereby excluded and the buyer waives them by accepting these general terms and conditions. As stated in article 1.7, certain services of the seller may be linked to special terms and conditions. The seller may adjust these general and special terms and conditions at any time. However, the conditions applicable at the time of an order for goods and services offered by the seller shall continue to apply to the execution of those services, until the next order placed by the buyer.

The buyer always orders the services provided by the seller in their own name and for their own account and cannot rely on exceptions (in law or in fact) related to a mandate or power of attorney granted by one or more third parties, to postpone, suspend or cease the performance of their obligations towards the seller.

Where applicable, financing shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions relating to consumer credit as set out in Book VII, Title 4, Chapter 1 of the Economic Law Code, and in particular article VII.83 regarding the possibility of withdrawing from the agreement.

If the buyer needs to rely on credit, this will be noted on the order form. If the credit is not obtained, the purchase is deemed not to have existed and the buyer is entitled to a refund of any advance paid under the following condition:

The buyer shall notify the seller by registered letter within 8 calendar days after signing the order form of the credit refusal. The buyer shall attach at least two certificates from credit institutions that refuse to grant the credit. Only refusal of market-conforming credits will be accepted.

In the absence of proof thereof within the above-mentioned period, the seller shall be entitled to a fixed compensation of 20% of the agreed price, with a minimum of EUR 2,000.00.

The delivery period is stated on the order form but is purely indicative and not binding, unless the buyer is a consumer within the meaning of article 1.2.

If the buyer refuses to accept the car against full payment, the seller shall send the buyer a registered notice of default to fulfil their obligations within ten days of the dispatch of the registered letter.

In the absence of satisfaction, the seller may either demand performance of the agreement or consider the contract immediately and by operation of law as dissolved. In case of dissolution of the sale, the seller shall be entitled to a fixed compensation of 20% of the agreed price with a minimum of EUR 2,000.00.

The seller shall in no case be liable for late delivery if such delay is due to the buyer, force majeure, hardship or any delay by third parties in supplying the extra services chosen by the buyer, such as, without this list being exhaustive: the registration and insurance of the vehicle, the supply of a new license plate, the fitting of optional rims, the conversion of a vehicle to a light commercial vehicle.

In the event of late delivery entirely attributable to the seller, a new delivery date shall be agreed upon, entirely at the seller's expense. If within 5 working days the buyer is not contacted by the seller to set a new delivery date, the seller shall owe a fixed compensation of EUR 250.00 to the buyer.

If no specific delivery period is stated on the order form, delivery shall take place within 30 days of the order, unless the buyer and seller agree otherwise.

If the buyer does not take delivery of the ordered product at the agreed delivery date and the cause is not attributable to the seller or force majeure, the seller is entitled to charge storage costs from the said delivery date until the day of actual delivery, at a rate of EUR 10.00 per day, with a minimum of EUR 250.00, regardless of the provision contained in article 4.1.

By way of derogation from article 1583 of the Civil Code, it is expressly agreed and accepted by the buyer that the seller remains the owner of the product until full payment of the agreed price in principal and any interest and costs. As long as the seller has reserved ownership of the sold product under these general terms and conditions, the buyer may not dispose of it, either by sale, lending, pledging or in any other way. The buyer is obliged to immediately inform the seller if a third party asserts rights to the sold vehicle.

The transfer of ownership takes place at the time of payment of the total purchase price. All risks are borne by the buyer once they take delivery of the vehicle.

If the buyer is a consumer within the meaning of the Economic Law Code as described in article 1.2, they have the right, within a period of 14 days starting the day after the conclusion of the purchase, to dissolve it without giving any reason, provided the sale took place at a distance.

Delivery of the vehicle takes place at the seller's registered office, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

The consumer enjoys a conformity guarantee in accordance with the provisions of articles 1649 bis to 1649octies of the Civil Code. By way of derogation from article 1649quater, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code, this period is 1 year for second-hand goods.

The seller is liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity that exists at the time of delivery of the goods and that manifests itself within a period of one year from the said delivery. This warranty does not apply when a good is purchased for professional use or professional purposes. (Consumer: any natural person who makes a purchase that is not part of a commercial or professional activity.)

The one-year period referred to in the first paragraph is suspended during the period required for the repair or replacement of the good or in case of negotiations between the seller and the consumer with a view to an amicable settlement. This negotiation ends as soon as one of the parties expressly takes the position of not being liable for the problem or defect at hand. An amicable expert assessment of the vehicle does not suspend the aforementioned period.

The consumer shall inform the seller of the lack of conformity no later than one month from the finding or the moment when the lack of conformity could reasonably have been established. The consumer's legal action expires after one year from the day on which they established or could reasonably have established the lack of conformity.

If a lack of conformity manifests itself within six months of delivery of the good, then until proven otherwise, it is presumed that this defect existed at the time of delivery, unless this presumption is incompatible with the nature of the good or with the nature of the lack of conformity.

If the buyer establishes a lack of conformity more than six months after delivery, they must prove that the defect already existed at the time of delivery. Only then will the seller remedy the defect. By this we mean a reasonable balance between the solution and the characteristics of the vehicle (age, mileage, etc.). Making the vehicle 'conforming' again is not the same as renewing it.

In addition to any damages, the consumer has the right to demand from the seller who is bound by the guarantee, either the repair or replacement of the good, or an appropriate reduction in price or the dissolution of the agreement. However, account shall be taken of the aggravation of damage resulting from the use of the good by the consumer after the moment when they established or should have established the lack of conformity. The buyer has a duty to mitigate damages.

In the first instance, the consumer has the right to demand from the seller the free repair or free replacement of the good, unless this is impossible or disproportionate.

The repair may be carried out with new or second-hand parts. A contribution from the buyer towards the repair costs may be considered when new parts are used.

Warranty interventions must be carried out in the seller's workshop or in one of their approved workshops. The buyer may, with the prior written consent of the seller, have the repairs carried out in another workshop.

Every repair or replacement must be carried out within a reasonable time and without serious inconvenience to the buyer.

The warranty does not cover maintenance, adjustment, tightening and tuning necessary for normal use of the vehicle, nor the parts and components that are normally replaced during the maintenance services prescribed by the manufacturer. The warranty does not cover normal wear and tear of the vehicle.

It also assumes that the defect is not due to abnormal or faulty use of the vehicle or poor maintenance by the buyer. The buyer is deemed to maintain their vehicle according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Regarding hybrid vehicles, the warranty is subject to correct use and maintenance of the vehicle and regular charging of the battery.

It is also not applicable when the vehicle has been converted or used in competition or rallies.

The buyer shall do everything necessary to prevent the damage from worsening, possibly by not using the vehicle. The buyer has a duty to mitigate damages.

The liability of the seller for damage caused by a defect in the sold good is governed by common law.

Visible defects are accepted by the buyer upon delivery and acceptance of the purchased good.

The warranty exists only between the seller and the buyer. It cannot be transferred to a new buyer if the vehicle is resold.

The seller shall in no case be liable for indirect damage, consequential damage, or loss of profit or opportunities.

If diagnosis of a vehicle shows that the damage to be repaired is not covered by the one-year warranty, the owner of the vehicle shall bear the costs of said diagnosis, as also mentioned in article 8.

Repairs at the buyer's expense must be the subject of a detailed estimate provided to the buyer. The customer is informed in advance if the estimate is subject to a fee. If so, the cost of the estimate is refunded when the buyer has the vehicle repaired by the seller.

The estimate contains at least the following information: date, validity period, mileage, description and duration of the work to be performed, the cost of labor and parts and the warranty. The invoice contains, apart from the validity period, the same information as the estimate.

The warranty referred to above also amounts to one year in the case of repairs and covers both the work and the parts that were replaced.

The buyer is obliged to pay the costs associated with making a diagnosis, if it appears that the damage to the vehicle is not covered by the one-year warranty.

Where applicable, the buyer shall also reimburse the towing costs, if the buyer has made use thereof.

In the event that VG Automotive BV carries out repair work on a vehicle, outside the warranty and against payment, it has a right of retention on the vehicle in question, until full payment of the repair costs, whether or not increased by compensation and/or default interest.

Without prejudice to the application of the provisions relating to consumer credit as set out in Book VII, Title 4, Chapter 1 of the Economic Law Code, the Seller may not request payment of an advance of more than 15% of the sale price of the vehicle. By way of derogation, either for a special order or with the agreement of the Buyer, the advance may be set at a different percentage.

The full price or the balance is paid at the time of delivery, unless expressly agreed otherwise. If not, interest is due by operation of law and without notice of default on the amount owed at 1.5% per month.

The vehicle remains the property of the seller until the price is fully paid. If the seller has not received payment 10 days after sending a registered letter, it may dissolve the sale by registered letter addressed to the buyer.

In that case, the buyer owes the seller a compensation corresponding to the damage incurred and amounting to at least 20% of the agreed price with a minimum of EUR 2,000.00.

Invoices may not be transferred or set off, unless with the prior written consent of the seller. If the buyer is a consumer, the buyer may set off the amounts they owe to the seller against the amounts the seller owes them.

In accordance with the provisions of the Financial Collateral Act of 15 December 2004, the Seller and the Buyer automatically and by operation of law set off and settle all currently existing and future debts against each other. This means that in the permanent relationship between the Seller and the Buyer, only the largest claim remains as a balance after the aforementioned automatic settlement. This set-off shall in any case be enforceable against the receiver and the other concurrent creditors, who therefore cannot oppose the set-off carried out.

If the order form mentions the trade-in of a vehicle belonging to the buyer, the trade-in is dependent on the delivery of the vehicle that is the subject of this sale, as well as proof that the seller is the owner of the vehicle to be traded in, that they can freely dispose of it and that all obligations regarding any financing have been fulfilled.

The trade-in value of the vehicle to be traded in, agreed upon at the time of ordering the vehicle, is definitive insofar as the condition of the vehicle belonging to the buyer, at the time of its delivery by the seller, corresponds, apart from minor non-essential details, with its description on the order form or in an attached document.

The seller's obligations are limited to the obligations imposed by the regulations under the law of 1 September 2004. The seller can never be held liable insofar as it has performed its services in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

Any complaint regarding services performed by the seller must be submitted in writing, in detail and by registered mail to the seller within five (5) days after the damage was discovered by the Customer or should reasonably have been discovered by the Customer and in any case within a maximum period of one (1) year after the delivery of the services, on pain of forfeiture for the Customer to claim any remedy. The procedure for complaints and objections is available upon written request from the Customer. If it appears that the seller, after having been informed in writing, has in any way made errors in the execution of its services, or has sold a defective vehicle, for which it is liable on the basis of these general terms and conditions, the seller shall, within a reasonable period after being informed, perform these services again at its own expense. The seller's liability is in any case always limited to the repair of foreseeable, direct and personal damage, excluding all indirect or immaterial damage such as, but not limited to, lost income and profits, loss of customers, loss of contracts, additional costs. In all cases, the seller's liability is limited to the amount of the invoice excluding VAT.

If the seller would be prevented from delivering, performing or completing any of the vehicles or services for which the agreement was concluded, due to any event, for reasons beyond its control, including – without this list being exhaustive – natural disasters, war, terrorist activities, social unrest, pandemics, the inability to obtain permits, licenses or registrations, government decisions, illness, death or resignation of the employee charged with the seller's service, or the buyer's failure to fulfil their contractual obligations, the seller is released from its contractual obligations.

Should one or more provisions of these general terms and conditions be declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, this shall not affect or diminish the validity, legality or enforceability of the other provisions.

The buyer must always carry a valid driving license and all other required legal onboard documents when using the product on public roads. The buyer must always comply with applicable legislation. The seller is in no way liable for this.

All agreements to which these general terms and conditions apply, as well as all other agreements arising therefrom, are exclusively governed by Belgian law.

In any dispute regarding the validity, interpretation or execution of agreements to which these general terms and conditions apply, as well as all other agreements arising therefrom, an amicable settlement shall be sought. If a party considers that no amicable settlement can be reached, the parties expressly agree that all disputes concerning agreements to which these general terms and conditions apply, as well as all other agreements arising therefrom, shall fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Courts of Antwerp.