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General Terms and Conditions

Only the German version of these General Terms and Conditions is legally binding. Translations into other languages are non-binding and are provided for informational purposes only.

  1. General terms and conditions

    1. KW automotive GmbH (hereinafter referred to as the seller) sells and delivers exclusively in accordance with the following terms and conditions of sale and delivery. Our terms and conditions of sale and delivery shall be deemed to have been recognised by the customer/buyer when ordering or accepting delivery. Any other general terms and conditions of our customers are hereby expressly rejected. These are only valid if we expressly agree to their validity in writing. For reasons of legal certainty, declarations, promises and deviating agreements are only binding on merchants if they are concluded in writing.
    2. These General Terms and Conditions shall apply from 01.01.2010. With their publication, all our previous terms and conditions of sale and delivery shall lose their validity.
    3. A customer who enters into a contractual relationship with us as an entrepreneur within the meaning of Section 14 (1) BGB must inform us immediately before concluding a new contract if he is no longer an entrepreneur within the meaning of Section 14 (1) BGB or does not wish to conclude the contract within the scope of his commercial or independent professional activity.
  2. Offer and conclusion of contract

    1. Our written offers are subject to change. The sending of our price lists, catalogues, brochures etc. does not oblige us to deliver.
    2. The customer's order is a binding offer. The vendor can accept this offer at its discretion within two weeks by confirming the order or by sending the ordered goods.
    3. We reserve the right to make minor changes or deviations, in particular those which do not impair usability, without prior notification, as well as to use other materials. In the event of errors in the catalogue, price lists, brochures, offers, order slips, invoices and other declarations relating to minor quality, quantity and weight tolerances, for example, we shall be entitled to make corrections and, if necessary, issue subsequent charges and/or credit notes without prior notification. The vendor accepts no liability for printing errors.
  3. Delivery

    1. We are authorised to make partial deliveries.
    2. An obligation to meet agreed delivery deadlines shall only be assumed on condition that operations are uninterrupted; in particular cases of force majeure and other disruptive events affecting the vendor, its suppliers or transport companies, for example operational or traffic disruptions, fire, flooding, labour, energy or raw material shortages, strikes, lockouts, official measures, shall release the vendor from the obligation to deliver on time and shall also give it the right to suspend its delivery without granting compensation and without the obligation to make subsequent deliveries. Claims for damages arising from delays in delivery or suspension of delivery are excluded, unless they are based on intent or gross negligence. The buyer retains the statutory right of cancellation.
    3. The filing of insolvency or composition proceedings, the submission or application for the submission of an affidavit of assets, the occurrence of significant payment difficulties or a change of ownership of the buyer's company in connection with payment difficulties shall entitle the seller to immediately suspend delivery without further obligations and to refuse to fulfil current contracts, unless the customer provides security in the amount of the relevant purchase price prior to the seller's own performance.If the security is not provided by the customer after a two-week period has been set, we are authorised to withdraw from the purchase contract and can also release ourselves from further delivery obligations to the respective customer.
  4. Warranty and complaints

    1. Complaints due to obvious defects, including recognisable defects in the case of orders between merchants, must be notified to the seller in writing without delay, but at the latest within one calendar week of acceptance. If this is not done, claims against us due to these defects are excluded. The timely dispatch of the written notification of defects is sufficient.
    2. Unless longer warranty periods have been agreed with the Buyer for individual products, the warranty period shall be two years from delivery of the goods in the case of new goods and one year from delivery of the goods in the case of used goods.
    3. If the delivered goods are defective, the seller shall initially have the right to subsequent fulfilment in the form of rectification of the defect or delivery of a defect-free item; only if subsequent fulfilment repeatedly fails shall the customer be entitled to the other warranty rights such as withdrawal or reduction of the purchase price. The seller is entitled to refuse subsequent fulfilment if this would involve disproportionate costs for the seller.
    4. The warranty is excluded under the following circumstances:
      - In the case of goods that have been modified or processed by a third party or defects have been rectified without the Seller's consent, unless the Customer proves that the defect is not attributable to the modification, processing or defect;
      - If the installation of goods is carried out outside an authorised specialist workshop, unless the buyer proves that the defect is not the result of the installation.
      - If statutory installation and handling instructions or those issued by us or our suppliers are not followed.
      - In the case of goods that were installed despite recognisable defects or incomplete or incorrect delivery
    5. The return of the defective goods must always be registered. The seller shall issue a processing number which must be clearly visible on the outside of the consignment when it is returned. The customer must ensure adequate packaging. No warranty can be accepted for goods that are damaged during return shipment due to inadequate packaging. The seller shall arrange for the goods to be returned via its parcel service or the buyer shall deliver the goods carriage paid.
  5. Liability

    Our liability - irrespective of the legal grounds - is limited to damages caused by us or our vicarious agents intentionally or through gross negligence. Our liability and that of our legal representatives, vicarious agents and employees is excluded for damage caused by slight negligence, unless material contractual obligations are breached or damage is caused by injury to life, limb or health. In cases of slight negligence, our liability shall be limited to the amount of damages typical for comparable transactions of this type that were foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded or at the latest when the breach of duty was committed.

  6. Return of goods

    1. Returns of goods require the Seller's prior consent and must be made within 12 months of the date of purchase, unless the Buyer effectively cancels the contract in accordance with these General Terms and Conditions of the Seller.
    3. All returned goods must always be sent to us carriage paid and must bear a clearly legible processing number assigned by us. The consignments must be complete and adequately packaged. After checking for condition and completeness, only goods free of defects will be credited for further settlement, with a deduction of up to 15% processing fee of the purchase price. If the aforementioned conditions are not met, the goods will either be repaired at our discretion at our expense or returned to the sender carriage forward, stating the reasons.
  7. Duty of care

    The customer must ensure that all modifications and conversions to the vehicle are entered in the vehicle documents (vehicle registration document and vehicle licence) in accordance with the statutory provisions when it is used on public roads. If necessary, the customer must present the vehicle to the responsible technical inspection organisation (TÜV). The buyer is responsible for the TÜV registration of converted vehicles or their parts.

  8. Retention of title

    The seller retains title to the goods sold by it as well as to all installed accessories and spare parts until full payment of the claims to which it is entitled under the contract. If the Buyer is a merchant and purchases the goods in the course of his business, the retention of title shall serve to secure all claims to which the Seller is entitled against the Buyer arising from the business relationship with him. In the event of breach of contract by the Buyer, in particular default in payment, the Seller shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract and demand the return of the goods subject to its retention of title.

    The Buyer may resell the goods in the ordinary course of business. The Buyer hereby assigns to the Seller the claims arising from the resale of the goods subject to retention of title, together with all ancillary rights. The buyer is authorised to collect these claims for the account of the seller as long as he duly meets his payment obligations to the seller. If the direct debit authorisation is revoked, the Buyer shall be obliged to provide the Seller with all information and documents required for collection.

    If the Buyer is a merchant and has purchased the goods subject to retention of title from the Seller in the course of his business, the Seller and his authorised representatives shall be entitled to enter the business premises of his customer, to inspect his documents to determine the claims assigned to the Seller and to take the documents necessary to assert the claims assigned to the Seller from his business papers or to make copies thereof.

    If the reserved goods are resold together with other goods not belonging to the Seller or invoiced together with services, the Buyer's claim against its customers shall be deemed assigned to the Seller only in the amount of the individual amount(s) including VAT that the Buyer has invoiced to its customer. If the Buyer does not differentiate between the Seller's reserved goods, other goods and/or services rendered in connection therewith when invoicing his customer, i.e. if he only invoices his customer a total price, the entire claim against his customer shall be deemed assigned to the Seller. The Buyer hereby assigns to the Seller all claims for compensation which it acquires against third parties in the event of any loss of or damage to the goods subject to retention of title. The claims for compensation serve as security for the seller. The provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

    If the value of all existing securities exceeds the Seller's claims against the Buyer by more than 10%, the Seller shall be obliged to release securities of its choice at the Customer's request. If the customer, for his part, sells goods under the extended reservation of title customary in the industry, the resulting claims shall be excluded from the assignment of security to us in the event of a collision with assignments of security in the movement of goods there, insofar as these are legitimately claimed now or in the future. In the event of seizure of the reserved goods by third parties, the purchaser must notify us immediately. Any pledging or transfer by way of security of these goods in favour of third parties is not permitted without the consent of the seller.

  9. Prices and terms of payment

    For new customers, despatch shall be against cash on delivery or payment in advance, unless a different method of payment has been agreed with the customer. The prices listed in the tables as "net purchase price" are net purchase prices excluding VAT. The prices listed as "VK incl. VAT" are non-binding recommended retail prices including VAT. Both prices exclude all additional costs, such as shipping costs, customs duties, insurance and packaging costs. If shipping costs are incurred because the customer wishes the goods to be shipped, the customer shall bear the shipping costs. Payments are to be made without deduction upon acceptance of the object of purchase, at the latest within one week after completion and delivery or sending of the invoice. Offsetting against disputed and not legally binding counterclaims is excluded. In the event of late payment, without prejudice to further rights, interest on arrears shall be charged at the rate actually incurred, but at least 5% p.a. above the respective base rate of the European Central Bank. The buyer reserves the right to prove a lower base interest rate, the seller a higher one.

  10. Instruction according to the Packaging Ordinance - VerpackV

    KW automotive GmbH hereby confirms that it fully complies with its obligations under the Packaging Ordinance in the version dated 1 April 2009. In particular, it has joined a system of nationwide take-back of sales packaging that accumulates with private end consumers (cf. Section 6 (3) VerpackV). All sales, secondary and transport packaging placed on the market by KW automotive within the scope of the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act is reported to our contractual partner (system operator), who fulfils the obligations under the Packaging Ordinance (recycling) for KW, in accordance with the requirements of the legislator.

  11. Place of jurisdiction and choice of law

    1. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the contracts between the seller and merchants as well as between the seller and persons who do not have their domicile or habitual residence within the scope of the German Code of Civil Procedure shall be the registered office of the seller.
    2. The legal relations between the Seller and the Buyer arising from or in connection with this contract shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
  12. Final provisions

    Should one or more provisions be invalid in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The ineffective provisions shall be replaced retroactively by a provision that is as similar in content as possible and comes closest to the purpose of the intended provision or, if this is not found, by the statutory provision.

    Fichtenberg, the 01.01.2026
    KW automotive GmbH