Terms of Service

1. Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to AmericanAutoListings.com (referred to as "AmericanAutoListings," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using our U.S.-based vehicle listing platform (including browsing listings as an unregistered user or creating an account as a registered user), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). Please read these Terms carefully. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you should not use our website or services. Using the site in any way (even just browsing) signifies your acceptance of these Terms. We may update these Terms from time to time, and will indicate the "Last Updated" date above. Your continued use of AmericanAutoListings after any changes means you accept the revised Terms. It is your responsibility to review the Terms periodically for updates.

2. Eligibility and Account Registration

You must be at least 18 years old to create or use an account on AmericanAutoListings, whether as a buyer, a private seller, or a member of a dealership. To create or manage listings or to pay for any of our services, you must also be the age of legal majority in your state (if that is older than 18) and capable of entering into binding contracts. By creating an account, you represent that you meet these requirements. We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to hold an account, and if we learn that an account holder is under 18 we will close the account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration (e.g., your first name, city, state, phone number, and any other required details). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account login credentials — including any dealer API keys — and for all activities that occur under your account. Keep your credentials secure and notify us immediately at our support contact (see Section 16) if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. We reserve the right to refuse service, suspend, or terminate accounts at our discretion, especially for violations of these Terms.

You may register using an email and password or via Google Sign-In (OAuth 2.0). Email verification is required to fully activate your account. You agree not to create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or abuse platform features.

3. Our Services and Platform Role

AmericanAutoListings provides an online platform that connects private vehicle sellers and dealerships with potential buyers. We operate as a vehicle listing and information service, not as a broker, dealer, or party to the actual vehicle transactions. Our platform includes:

• Vehicle Listings: Private sellers and dealerships can post vehicle listings with details, photos, and videos. Buyers can browse, search, filter, and contact sellers.
• Dealer Listings: Licensed dealerships with an active subscription have their vehicle listings published on AmericanAutoListings for a monthly fee based on the number of vehicles listed. Dealerships place and manage those listings through our dashboard, including individual listing creation, CSV bulk upload, API push integration, and automated API pull (feed) syncing. Dealerships must additionally sign our Dealer Agreement before their listings are published; the Dealer Agreement is incorporated into these Terms for dealership accounts.
• Buyer Tools: Registered buyers can save favorite listings, set up search preferences, and communicate with sellers through our built-in messaging system. Favoriting a listing shows its seller your first name and last initial, never your email address or phone number; messaging a seller shares your name and what you write so they can respond to you, as described in our Privacy Policy.
• Community Features: We publish automotive newsletters and host information about community events (car shows, meetups) for enthusiasts. These are managed by AmericanAutoListings staff.
• Analytics: Sellers and dealers have access to listing performance data (views, clicks, and message activity) through their dashboards.
• No Sale Ownership: AmericanAutoListings does not buy, sell, or own any vehicles listed on the site. We are not a party to any purchase or sale that originates from our platform. Any contract for the sale of a vehicle is solely between the seller and the buyer.
• Transactions Off-Platform: All negotiations, vehicle inspections, payments for vehicles, and ownership transfers occur directly between buyers and sellers — typically offline. AmericanAutoListings is not involved in vehicle payment, title transfer, or delivery. We do not escrow funds or facilitate vehicle financing. All vehicle sales are conducted at the parties' own risk, and we make no guarantees or warranties regarding any vehicle listed on our site.

Because we are not involved in actual vehicle transactions, AmericanAutoListings will not mediate disputes between buyers and sellers. Any disputes regarding the condition, quality, safety, legality, or title of a vehicle are solely between the buyer and seller. We strongly encourage users to verify vehicle information independently and exercise caution in all transactions.

4. User Obligations and Prohibited Conduct

When using AmericanAutoListings, you agree to the following rules:

• Provide Truthful Information: All information you submit — whether in a listing, profile, or message — must be truthful, accurate, current, and not misleading. You are responsible for updating your listing if information changes (e.g., if the vehicle is sold or no longer available).
• Legal Right to Sell: By listing a vehicle, you represent that you are the lawful owner or have the legal right to sell it. Dealers must hold all required licenses and comply with applicable dealership regulations.
• Appropriate Use: You agree not to use the platform for any fraudulent, unlawful, or abusive purpose.
• Prohibited Activities include, but are not limited to:
  • Posting stolen property or vehicles you have no legal right to sell.
  • Posting content that is illegal, defamatory, harassing, threatening, or discriminatory.
  • Violating third-party intellectual property rights.
  • Using bots, scrapers, or automated tools to collect data from the platform without our written permission.
  • Attempting to interfere with site functionality or security, including deploying malware or attempting to overload servers.
  • Abusing API access: sending excessive requests, attempting to bypass rate limits, sharing API keys with unauthorized parties, or reverse engineering platform endpoints.
  • Engaging in spam or unsolicited advertising to users via our messaging system.
  • Impersonating any person, dealership, or organization.
  • Creating multiple accounts to circumvent suspension or listing limits.
• Sexual Content and Child Safety: AmericanAutoListings is a vehicle marketplace, and the following are prohibited everywhere on the platform, including in photos, videos, logos, listing text, and messages, with no exceptions for any type of account:
  • Sexual or nude content of any kind.
  • Child sexual abuse material, and any content that sexualizes a minor.
  • Intimate images of a person shared without that person's consent, including images that have been computer-generated or digitally altered to depict a real person.
  • Using the platform to contact, solicit, or exploit a minor.
• Communications: Any messages between buyers and sellers must be genuine and related to a vehicle listing. No scams, spam, or off-platform solicitation.
• Content Standards: All descriptions, photos, and pricing must be accurate and legally yours to post. You grant us a license to display this content on the platform (see Section 5).
• Dealer Staff: Dealership administrators are responsible for all actions taken by staff members added to their account. Ensure that dealership staff comply with these Terms.

Screening of Uploaded Media: Photos, videos, and logos uploaded to AmericanAutoListings, including those received through dealer inventory tools, are checked by automated systems that look for prohibited content and, once we have access to a service for it, compare images against known child sexual abuse material (see Section 9). Media that fails these checks is not published or is removed. If our checks are temporarily unavailable, an upload may be refused until they are working again, and you may try again later. Automated checks are not perfect: passing them does not mean that content complies with these Terms, and we may review, hide, or remove any content at any time.

Reporting to Authorities and Preservation: When we become aware of apparent child sexual exploitation on our platform, we report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), as federal law requires. NCMEC may make these reports available to law enforcement. We preserve the reported content and related account information for as long as the law requires, and may also share information with law enforcement when the law requires or permits it. We remove intimate images shared without consent when we receive a valid removal request, within 48 hours as federal law requires. You can report content to us at any time using the Report Content page.

Enforcement: If we believe you have violated this Section 4, we may, without notice, remove or hide your content, suspend your ability to upload media, suspend or terminate your account, and refuse future registrations from you. We treat any violation involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, or intimate images shared without consent, as grounds for immediate termination.

5. Listing Content and Intellectual Property Rights

By posting a vehicle listing or any content on AmericanAutoListings, you retain ownership of your content, but you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, copy, display, distribute, and prepare derivative works of your content in connection with operating and promoting the platform. This license ends when you remove your content or delete your account, except to the extent your content has been shared with others or is in backup systems.

Your responsibilities regarding content: You represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights to post the content you submit — for example, that you took or own the photos, hold the rights to any video, and that listing descriptions are your own or used with permission. We do not permit copyrighted materials belonging to others to be posted without authorization. If you believe content on our site infringes your intellectual property, please submit a DMCA notice (see our DMCA Policy). Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

All intellectual property rights in the AmericanAutoListings website and services — including our logos, design, layout, software code, and collective content — are owned by us or our licensors. These Terms do not grant you any rights to use the AmericanAutoListings name, logo, or branding.

6. Fees and Payments

Browsing listings on AmericanAutoListings is free for all users. Fees apply to sellers and dealers as follows:

Private Seller Listing Fees:

• After creating a listing, private sellers must complete payment before the listing is publicly visible on the site.
• We offer two listing tiers — Standard and Featured — each with a different price and level of visibility and media allowance. Fees are displayed at checkout.
• Listings are active for 30 days from the date of payment. You may relist from your dashboard to keep your listing live after it expires.
• You may upgrade a Standard listing to Featured (paying the difference) or downgrade a Featured listing to Standard (receiving a refund of the difference) at any time from your dashboard.
• All listing fees are non-refundable unless otherwise specified in our Refund Policy.

Dealer Subscription Fees:

• Dealerships subscribe monthly to maintain an active inventory of listings. The subscription fee is calculated from the number of vehicles listed, at a per-vehicle rate that decreases as inventory grows.
• Per-vehicle rates, applied as graduated bands — each rate applies only to the vehicles within its band:
  • 1–30 listings: $4.97 per vehicle, per month
  • 31–60 listings: $3.33 per vehicle, per month
  • 61–200 listings: $2.50 per vehicle, per month
  • 201–400 listings: $2.00 per vehicle, per month
  • 401–800 listings: $1.50 per vehicle, per month
  • 801+ listings: $1.13 per vehicle, per month
• A minimum monthly fee of $59 applies regardless of listing count. Your fee will never exceed the amount payable at your Listing Ceiling.
• Fees do not include applicable sales tax; where sales tax applies, it is added to your invoice.
• Dealer subscriptions are billed monthly in advance via Stripe and renew automatically. The monthly fee is calculated from the average number of vehicles listed per day over the billing period that has just ended, at the published per-vehicle rates, subject to a monthly minimum. When a dealer subscription ends, one final invoice may be issued for the difference if the final period averaged more vehicles than it was billed for, as set out in the Dealer Agreement. You can change your listing ceiling from your dealer dashboard, and manage payment details or cancel from the Stripe Customer Portal.
• If a subscription payment fails or the subscription is canceled, all dealer listings will be deactivated and removed from public search at the end of the billing period. Listing data is preserved and can be reactivated upon renewal.
• If a bulk upload or API sync would cause your active listing count to exceed your Listing Ceiling, the excess listings will not be published until you raise your ceiling or remove existing listings.

Video Playback Allowance: Each listing with a video includes a playback allowance that renews every 30 days, counted from the date the listing was created. The allowance is measured approximately (for example, a play may be counted as a full viewing even if the viewer stops early). If a listing uses its allowance before the 30 days are up, video playback for that listing may pause until the next period begins. The listing itself, its photos and its other details stay live and are not affected. We notify the seller when a listing has used about 80% of its allowance. Allowance amounts are set by us and may change.

Payment Processing: We use Stripe as our third-party payment processor. Your payment details are submitted directly to Stripe on their secure platform. We do not store your full credit card information. For failed payments, we reserve the right to deactivate listings or services until resolved. All fees are quoted in U.S. dollars. If we change our pricing, we will notify users in advance. Continued use of the service after a pricing change constitutes acceptance.

7. Placing Dealer Listings: Inventory Tools and API Usage

Dealers with an active subscription may place and update their listings through four inventory upload methods. These tools are provided as part of your listing subscription and are not sold separately. By using them, you agree to the following:

• Individual Listing Creation: Create individual listings manually through the dashboard. All listing content must comply with Section 4 of these Terms.
• CSV / Bulk Upload: Upload inventory via CSV or ZIP file. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of your uploaded data. Uploads that would exceed your subscription's listing cap will be truncated at the cap limit.
• API Push: Your system sends inventory data to our API endpoint using a Bearer token generated from your dealer dashboard. You are responsible for keeping your API key secure. You may revoke and regenerate your API key at any time. You agree not to share your API key with unauthorized parties, not to send malicious or malformed data, and not to intentionally overload our API with excessive requests.
• API Pull (Feed): You provide a feed URL and optional authentication credentials, and we retrieve inventory on a schedule (daily or weekly). Feed credentials are encrypted at rest. You are responsible for maintaining a valid, accessible feed URL. We are not liable for sync failures caused by feed unavailability, authentication changes, or malformed feed data.

We reserve the right to suspend or revoke API access for any account that abuses our API systems, sends prohibited content, or violates these Terms. We may implement additional rate limits or access controls at any time to protect platform stability.

8. Platform Limitations and Disclaimers

• No Guarantee of Listing Accuracy: Vehicle descriptions, prices, and details are provided by sellers. We do not guarantee that any listing or content is 100% accurate, complete, or up-to-date. VIN and license plate data obtained from third-party APIs is provided for reference only and may contain inaccuracies. Verify all vehicle information directly with the seller before completing a purchase.
• Listings at Your Own Risk: Any reliance on listings or information on AmericanAutoListings is at your own risk. We provide the platform "as is" without warranties of any kind.
• No Warranty on Vehicles or Transactions: AmericanAutoListings makes no representations or guarantees regarding any vehicle listed for sale. All vehicles are offered "as is" by the seller, without any warranty from AmericanAutoListings. We specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
• Site Availability: We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the site. Downtime or technical malfunctions may occur and we are not liable for resulting inconvenience or loss.
• Community Content: Newsletters and event information published on our Community pages are for informational purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of community content and are not responsible for third-party events.
• No Manufacturer Affiliation: Vehicle makes and models shown in our marketing images, banners, and illustrations are for illustration only. AmericanAutoListings is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any vehicle manufacturer. Manufacturer names and vehicle designs belong to their respective owners, and their appearance on the platform does not imply any partnership or approval.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

Our platform integrates with third-party services to function. By using AmericanAutoListings, you acknowledge and agree to the involvement of the following third parties:

• Stripe: Handles all payment processing and subscription management. Subject to Stripe's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
• Google Maps API: Powers location-based listing search and map display. Subject to Google's Terms of Service.
• Google OAuth: Enables "Sign in with Google." If you use this feature, Google's Terms and Privacy Policy apply to the OAuth flow.
• Google Cloud Storage and Video Transcoder: Store and process listing images and videos. Content uploaded to our platform is stored on Google Cloud infrastructure.
• Microsoft Azure: Hosts our database and application servers. User data is stored on Azure infrastructure in the United States.
• Microsoft Azure AI Content Safety and Microsoft PhotoDNA: Check uploaded images for prohibited content, as described in Section 4. Azure AI Content Safety receives the image itself. For PhotoDNA, which compares images against known child sexual abuse material, we compute a mathematical fingerprint of the image on our own servers and send only that fingerprint; the image never leaves our systems. In neither case are account details shared.
• Mailgun: Delivers transactional emails (verification, password reset, listing reminders). Your email address is passed to Mailgun solely for delivery purposes.
• RapidAPI / VIN Decoding: Receives VIN or license plate numbers to return vehicle information during listing creation. No personal account data is shared.
• Redis: Manages session caching, authentication token state, and upload progress. Hosted on Azure.

We do not control these third-party services and are not liable for their actions. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies and terms of service.

10. Privacy and Data Usage

Your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy explains our data practices in full. By using the site, you agree to its terms. Key points: we collect only what is needed to operate the service; we do not sell your personal information; we share data only with necessary service providers; and you may request deletion of your data at any time. Review the full Privacy Policy for details.

11. Termination and Account Cancellation

You may stop using our services at any time. To delete your account, use the Account Settings page in your dashboard or contact us. Account deletion will remove your active listings. Some data may be retained as described in our Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts for any violation of these Terms, without notice where the violation involves the prohibited content described in Section 4. Account deletion does not remove content or records we are required by law to preserve. While content or records connected to an account or dealership must be preserved by law, or a safety review involving it is still open, we may delay deleting the account or dealership until that requirement ends or the review is closed. Sections that should survive termination (including intellectual property rights, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnification) will remain in effect.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

AmericanAutoListings is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. We disclaim all warranties (express, implied, or statutory), including those of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee uptime, transaction success, or that listings will meet your expectations. If you are dissatisfied, your sole remedy is to stop using the site.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, AmericanAutoListings and its affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the platform, including but not limited to losses from vehicle transactions, failed API syncs, listing downtime, or disputes with other users. Total liability is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid to us in the last six months. By using the site, you release us from any claims related to disputes with other users or third parties.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless AmericanAutoListings and its affiliates from any claims, liabilities, damages, or costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: your use of the platform; your violation of these Terms; content you submit (including listing descriptions, photos, or CSV/API data); your vehicle transactions; or infringement of any third-party rights. We reserve the right to assume exclusive defense of any matter subject to indemnification at your expense.

15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of New York, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes must be brought in courts located in New York, NY, unless otherwise required by applicable law. You waive the right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration against AmericanAutoListings. We reserve the right to require binding arbitration for certain disputes as permitted by law.

16. Contact Information and Notices

AmericanAutoListings is operated by American Auto Listings LLC, a New York limited liability company.

• Email: support@americanautolistings.com
• DMCA / Copyright / Legal: dmca@americanautolistings.com
• Mail: American Auto Listings LLC, 407 E Main St, Ste 17, PO Box 14, Port Jefferson, NY 11777

Notice to California Users: You may contact the CA Department of Consumer Affairs at 1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834 or call (800) 952-5210.

17. Miscellaneous

• Entire Agreement: These Terms, our Privacy Policy, and any service-specific agreements constitute the full agreement between you and us.
• Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder of these Terms continues in full effect.
• Waiver: Our failure to enforce any provision does not waive our right to do so in the future. Any waiver must be in writing.
• Assignment: You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent. We may assign our rights in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• No Agency: These Terms do not create an agency, partnership, or employment relationship between you and AmericanAutoListings.
• Headings: Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

By using AmericanAutoListings, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms of Service. Thank you for using AmericanAutoListings!

18. Revision History

Each entry below records the date a revised version of these Terms was published and what changed. This history is provided for convenience; the version in effect is the one whose date appears at the top of this page, and we retain every earlier version in our records.

• October 16, 2026 — Added this Revision History, and the date at the top of the Terms is now stated as the effective date of the version. No change to the substance of the Terms.
• October 11, 2026 — Dealer subscriptions described as the publication of a dealership’s vehicle listings as advertisements for a monthly fee, with the inventory tools provided as part of that subscription rather than sold separately (Sections 3 and 7).
• October 8, 2026 — Added the statement that vehicle makes and models shown in our marketing images are for illustration only and that we are not affiliated with any manufacturer (Section 8).
• October 6, 2026 — Fees stated as exclusive of sales tax, which is added to the invoice where it applies; the video playback allowance for listings with a video described (Section 6).
• October 3, 2026 — Every account holder must be 18 or older (Section 2); sexual content, child sexual abuse material and intimate images shared without consent prohibited, with automated screening of uploads and reporting to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (Section 4); Microsoft Azure AI Content Safety and Microsoft PhotoDNA named as the screening providers, PhotoDNA receiving only a fingerprint computed on our server; account deletion may be delayed while records must be preserved by law or a safety review is open (Section 11).
• September 18, 2026 — The dealer monthly fee is calculated from the average number of vehicles listed per day over the billing period that has just ended, with one final invoice for any difference when a subscription ends (Section 6).
• September 16, 2026 — Favoriting a listing shows its seller only the buyer’s first name and last initial, never an email address or phone number (Section 3).
• September 10, 2026 — The operator named as American Auto Listings LLC, a New York limited liability company, with its mailing address and phone number (Section 16).
• August 29, 2026 — Flat subscription tiers replaced by per-vehicle pricing in graduated bands, with a dealer-set Listing Ceiling and a monthly minimum (Sections 6 and 7).
• July 3, 2026 — Terms rewritten for AmericanAutoListings.com ahead of launch.
• April 9, 2025 — First version published.