Terms of Service

NewRide is an online marketplace that connects private sellers and Registered Motor Vehicle Traders (RMVTs) with buyers. We are not a party to any agreement for the sale of a vehicle, we do not take possession of or title to any vehicle, we are not the seller's or the buyer's agent, and we do not act as an auctioneer under the Auctioneers Act 2013.

A contract for the sale of a vehicle is made directly between the buyer and the seller. Placing the winning bid in an auction (once any reserve is met) or selecting “Buy now” creates a binding contract between you and the other party. NewRide records that a sale has occurred but has no legal power to enforce it — payment, paperwork and pickup are arranged between buyer and seller.

NewRide never handles vehicle payments. We do not accept payment for a vehicle, hold deposits, or operate escrow, and we offer no payment-protection, refund or dispute-payment scheme. The Service is not a form of insurance, a guarantee or a product warranty, and using NewRide does not affect your right to take a dispute to the Disputes Tribunal or the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. (Fees for optional platform features — listing upgrades and dealer subscriptions — are paid to NewRide itself and are described in the Fees section.)

We provide tools to help you list, find, and message about vehicles, but we do not guarantee that any listing is accurate, that a vehicle exists or is as described, or that any buyer, seller or dealer is trustworthy or able to complete a transaction.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current information, to keep your credentials secure, and to be responsible for all activity under your account. You may not transfer your account or impersonate another person or business.

You are responsible for the accuracy of any listing you create. You must not post information, photographs or claims that are false, misleading or deceptive (Fair Trading Act 1986), and you must ensure the details shown relate to the correct vehicle.

You may only list a vehicle you possess and are legally entitled to sell. Selling vehicles in trade without being a Registered Motor Vehicle Trader is an offence (Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, s 10) — as a benchmark, selling six or more vehicles in a year usually means you are in trade and must be registered. If you are unsure, see our help article on selling privately vs in trade.

If you are an RMVT, you must comply with the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 and the Consumer Information Standard: an accurate, complete Consumer Information Notice (CIN) must be displayed in a prominent position on the online listing and provided to the buyer (Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, ss 14–15; Consumer Information Standards (Used Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2008). In-trade sellers must not use “as is”-style disclaimers or suggest the Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply — it does, including for online auctions.

Fuel-economy and CO₂ information must be displayed for vehicles offered on the website where the data is available (Energy Efficiency (Vehicle Energy Economy Labelling) Regulations 2007, reg 7). This applies to private sellers as well as traders; NewRide displays the registry-sourced label data automatically when a plate lookup provides it.

You must disclose in the listing whether there is money owing on the vehicle (a registered security interest — Personal Property Securities Act 1999, Part 5). If the vehicle was imported from Australia as a statutory write off, you must disclose this using the wording: “This vehicle was imported from Australia as a statutory write off. Buyers should ensure they fully understand the history of the vehicle before purchase.”

One listing per vehicle. Prices are in NZD and, for in-trade sellers, GST-inclusive. The main photo must show the actual vehicle for sale.

Publishing means you intend to sell. In an auction you are committed to sell to the highest bidder once your reserve is met, and an auction may not be withdrawn simply because the reserve was not reached; an accepted Buy now or offer likewise binds you to complete the sale.

Listings are created by sellers and may be inaccurate or out of date. Before purchasing, you should inspect the vehicle in person and independently verify the registration details, whether money is owing on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), and that a current WOF is valid.

Private sellers sell 'as is, where is'. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 does not apply to a genuine private sale, and there is no statutory cooling-off period. Vehicles sold by an RMVT are sold 'in trade', so the Consumer Guarantees Act applies — including when you buy through an online auction (Consumer Guarantees Amendment Act 2013). The trader's CIN and statutory guarantees are available to you.

Money owing: a vehicle bought with a registered security interest can be repossessed — even from an innocent buyer (Personal Property Securities Act 1999, Part 5). Check the PPSR before you buy.

NewRide does not facilitate vehicle payments, deposits or escrow. We will never ask you to send money for a vehicle, and no one at NewRide will ever contact you asking for payment to release, ship or “clear” a vehicle. Never pay a deposit before inspecting the vehicle and verifying the seller. (This does not cover fees for optional platform features like listing upgrades and subscriptions, which NewRide charges for itself.)

Any repayment figure shown on the Service is an illustrative estimate only and is not a quote, an offer of credit, or financial advice. NewRide is not a lender or a credit broker and is not licensed or registered to provide credit under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. Any finance is arranged directly between you and a third-party lender on that lender's own terms.

You must not use the Service to break the law — including the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, and trademark law — to mislead or defraud any person, to post unlawful, abusive, harassing, infringing or deceptive content, to send unsolicited commercial messages, to scrape or overload the Service, or to attempt to access systems or data you are not authorised to access.

You must keep all negotiations and contact details on the Service where scam-screening and record-keeping apply, and must not use the Service to solicit off-platform payment.

You retain ownership of content you post (such as listing details and photographs), but you grant NewRide a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, reproduce and process that content solely to operate and improve the Service. You warrant that you have the rights to any content you post and that it does not infringe the rights of any third party.

We do not pre-screen every listing or message. We may review, redact, suspend or remove content, and we use automated scam-screening on messages. You acknowledge that screening is not foolproof and is not a guarantee that content is safe, lawful or accurate.

Act on your trades: respond to messages from the other party within two working days; as a buyer, pay within seven days of receiving the seller's payment details; as a seller, make the vehicle available for collection promptly once it is paid for.

In-trade sellers carry extra duties — responding promptly, honouring advertised prices, and meeting RMVT obligations (including the CIN) and complying with the Consumer Guarantees Act. Repeatedly failing this code may see your listings removed or your account suspended.

After a completed sale, buyers and sellers can leave each other a review within the 14-day review window. Reviews must be factual, about the specific trade, and free of personal information or defamatory statements — a defamatory statement is one that tends to lower a person in the estimation of right-thinking people (Defamation Act 1992).

We may remove reviews that breach these rules, that we reasonably believe are false or retaliatory, or where removal is required by law.

NewRide has no legal power to enforce a sale or make anyone pay. If a trade goes wrong, first try to resolve it directly with the other member.

If that fails: the Disputes Tribunal hears claims up to $30,000, and the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal (MVDT) hears claims about vehicles bought from an RMVT (Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003, Part 4). If you need the other member's details to make a Tribunal claim, we release them only against a signed statutory declaration used solely for that claim, and we notify the member whose details are released. We may decline a request where no contract was formed. See our help article on disputes for the step-by-step process.

If a vehicle is stolen, contact the Police first. Harmful content can be reported to us and to Netsafe (the approved agency under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015). Complaints about NewRide itself can be made to the Commerce Commission (fair trading) or the Advertising Standards Authority (advertising).

The Service may link to dealer websites and other third-party sites, and may display content provided by third parties. Those sites and their operators are independent of NewRide, and we are not responsible for their content, products, services, privacy practices or conduct. Dealerships listed on the Service are independent businesses and are not our agents or representatives.

There are no listing or success fees for private sellers. Paid features (such as seller upgrades and dealer subscriptions) and lead metering are charged as described at the point of purchase and processed by our payment provider. Paid fees are non-refundable except where required by law or as stated at the point of purchase.

Dealer subscriptions: by listing as a dealer you confirm you are a Registered Motor Vehicle Trader and authorise NewRide to search the Motor Vehicle Traders Register to verify and re-check your RMVT status. We give at least two weeks' notice (by email to your account address) before any fee change takes effect. We may suspend a dealer account for breach of these terms or of trading law. You own your listing content; by listing it you indemnify NewRide against claims arising from it.

We send transactional emails (account security, messages about your listings and trades) as part of the service. Alert emails (such as price-drop and saved-search alerts) are commercial messages: we send them only with your consent, which you give by turning an alert on, or where consent is properly inferred, we identify ourselves accurately in every message, and each includes a working unsubscribe that we action within five working days (Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, ss 9–10). You can change your preferences at any time under Notifications in your account.

The Service, including its design, text, graphics, logos and software, is owned by or licensed to NewRide and is protected by New Zealand and international law. You may not copy, redistribute or create derivative works from the Service except to use it as permitted by these terms.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis, and NewRide gives no warranty or representation that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that any listing or information is accurate, complete or current.

To the maximum extent permitted by law (and excluding liability that cannot be excluded under the Fair Trading Act 1986 or any other law), NewRide is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage, or for any loss of profit, loss of bargain or loss of data, arising out of or in connection with the Service or any transaction you enter into with another user.

You agree to indemnify NewRide against any claim, loss, damage or expense (including reasonable legal costs) arising from your breach of these terms, your misuse of the Service, your listing or user content, or any transaction you enter into with another user, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

We may update these terms from time to time. We give at least two weeks' notice (by notice on the site or by email) before a significant change takes effect, and the 'last updated' date at the top of this page reflects the most recent change. Your continued use of the Service after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, or remove content, where we reasonably believe you have breached these terms, broken the law, or where we consider it necessary to protect the Service or other users. You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time.

These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. You and NewRide submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.