Prohibited & Restricted Parts Policy
Incorporated into the Terms of Use (Section 8).
1. Scope and Application
This Prohibited & Restricted Parts Policy (this "Policy") forms part of the Terms of Use and is binding on all Users. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Policy have the meanings given to them in the Terms of Use.
Each User is solely responsible for ensuring that every Item it lists, sells, buys, ships, imports, exports, installs, or uses is lawful in the User's jurisdiction and in the jurisdiction of any counterparty or delivery destination. GarageFind may prohibit, remove, restrict, or decline to facilitate any Item or Listing that GarageFind determines, in its sole discretion, may create legal, safety, fraud, intellectual-property, regulatory, reputational, operational, payment-processing, carrier, or user-protection risk, whether or not the Item is expressly listed in this Policy.
The categories below are illustrative and not exhaustive. The absence of a specific Item, brand, part number, term, or use case from this Policy does not mean that the Item is permitted, lawful, safe, suitable, or eligible for listing or transaction through the Services.
GarageFind may, with or without notice, remove any Listing, decline any transaction, restrict access to features, suspend or terminate any account, report suspected unlawful activity to law enforcement and regulators, and preserve related records. This Policy applies to both transaction rails and to all Listing text, images, titles, and messages.
GarageFind is not the seller, buyer, importer, exporter, manufacturer, distributor, installer, inspector, appraiser, certifier, or guarantor of any Item. Any screening, review, request for documentation, removal, approval, delay, report, or enforcement action by GarageFind is voluntary platform-risk management and does not create any duty to monitor, inspect, verify, certify, police, or guarantee any Listing, Item, User, transaction, communication, shipment, installation, or use.
GarageFind does not provide legal advice. The categories and legal references in this Policy are a compliance starting point and not a legal opinion.
2. Prohibited Items
The following Items may not be listed, sold, or facilitated through the Services.
2.1 Airbags and SRS components
This category comprises all airbags, inflators, and supplemental restraint system (SRS) components -- including seat-belt pretensioners, crash sensors, and control modules -- whether new, used, genuine, aftermarket, OEM, counterfeit, nonfunctional, previously-deployed, or subject to an open safety recall; and any device that causes a vehicle's diagnostic system to fail to indicate a missing, nonfunctional, counterfeit, or recalled airbag. GarageFind prohibits all airbag and SRS Listings. A genuine, never-deployed OEM module, though it may be lawful to sell in some states, is prohibited under this Policy.
Basis: The sale or installation of counterfeit and nonfunctional airbags is prohibited under the statutes of a growing number of states (including California, New York, Texas, Florida, Ohio, and New Jersey, several of which now extend to previously-deployed airbags). Recalled airbag inflators are regulated as hazardous waste under federal law, and their reuse is treated as sham recycling. GarageFind extends beyond the legal minimum to a full prohibition as a risk determination: deployment status and authenticity cannot be verified at the point of listing, and the failure mode is catastrophic.
2.2 Catalytic converters
This category comprises any standalone catalytic converter offered as a converter, whether new, used, salvaged, reconditioned, aftermarket, or removed, including new CARB-certified units. GarageFind prohibits all standalone catalytic converter Listings at launch.
A complete exhaust component -- such as a downpipe, mid-pipe, or cat-back exhaust -- that includes and retains a functioning catalytic converter is not a standalone converter and is permitted, subject to Section 2.3.
Basis: California prohibits the sale, advertisement, or installation of any used catalytic converter; Maine and other states impose comparable prohibitions; and numerous states impose ownership-documentation requirements arising from converter-theft legislation. On a national marketplace, a used converter Listing would be unlawful in respect of a material portion of the buyer base. GarageFind prohibits standalone converter Listings entirely at launch as a risk determination, notwithstanding that certain new CARB-certified units are lawful in some jurisdictions.
2.3 Emissions defeat devices, delete kits, and emissions-defeating tunes
This category comprises any hardware or software whose principal effect is to bypass, defeat, or disable an emissions control, including EGR, DPF, and SCR delete kits, oxygen-sensor defeats, catless or "test pipe" components offered to delete catalytic converters, block-off plates, and any ECU tune, flash, or piggyback device that removes or disables an emissions control or readiness monitor.
Basis: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section 7524) makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, or install such a part where the person knows or should know of its use. This exposure attaches to the seller and to the platform and therefore cannot be discharged by an as-is disclaimer. EPA maintains a standing enforcement initiative in this area, with settlements including COBB Tuning (approximately USD 2.9 million, 2024), Premier Performance (approximately USD 3 million), and Punch It Performance, and has pursued eBay as a platform.
A representation that an Item is for "off-road" or "competition" use only does not render it permissible. EPA has rejected such characterizations as a safe harbor, and there is no lawful pathway to convert a registered on-road vehicle into a tampering-exempt competition vehicle. GarageFind treats such characterizations as an indicator of a prohibited Item rather than as a defense.
Permitted: emissions-neutral performance parts, including suspension, brake, intake, and exhaust components that retain all catalysts and do not disable monitors; and tunes or parts that carry a valid CARB Executive Order.
2.4 Parts subject to an open safety recall
Any part subject to an open NHTSA or manufacturer safety recall, and any part that a reasonable seller would know to be recalled.
2.5 Counterfeit, trademark-infringing, and falsely-represented-OEM parts
Counterfeit or trademark-infringing parts, replicas represented as genuine, and parts represented as "OEM" or "genuine" that are not.
2.6 Stolen parts and parts without provable ownership
Stolen parts, parts bearing removed, altered, or obscured serial numbers or VIN-traceable identifiers, and high-theft components offered without proof of lawful ownership.
2.7 Otherwise unlawful Items
Any Item the sale, possession, shipment, import, or export of which is unlawful under applicable federal, state, or local law, or that the Seller is not authorized to sell.
3. Permitted Items; Sale As-Is and Assumption of Risk
Any Item not prohibited under Section 2 may be listed. This expressly includes used wear and safety-critical parts, including brake pads, rotors, calipers, and lines; used tires of any age; suspension, steering, and fuel-system components; wheels; and parts sourced from salvage or branded-title vehicles.
Such Items are sold as-is. GarageFind does not grade, inspect, certify, or warrant the condition, remaining service life, fitment, or suitability of any Item for street, off-road, or competition use, and the Buyer assumes all risk arising from the purchase, installation, and use of the Item, in accordance with Section 12 of the Terms of Use. Each Buyer should have any Item inspected and installed by a qualified professional.
Seller obligation to describe accurately. This obligation is not a quality standard imposed by GarageFind; it is the basis of the "not as described" mechanism under Purchase Protection. Each Seller must use images of the actual Item and must accurately describe its condition, known defects, and any collision or track history. Misrepresentation of an Item constitutes a "not as described" matter under Purchase Protection and a breach of the Terms of Use, independent of the Item's legality.
Seller certifications. By creating or maintaining a Listing, each Seller represents and certifies that the Item is lawful to advertise, sell, ship, import, export, transfer, and install; is not counterfeit, stolen, subject to an open safety recall, or misrepresented; is accurately described and photographed; and is offered only with any documentation, labels, warnings, certifications, or disclosures required by applicable law. Each Seller must promptly remove or update any Listing if the Seller learns that the Item may be prohibited, restricted, recalled, mislabeled, inaccurately described, or otherwise noncompliant.
Buyer certifications. By purchasing, reserving, contacting a Seller about, importing, exporting, installing, or using an Item, each Buyer represents and certifies that the Buyer is legally permitted to do so; will comply with all applicable laws, carrier requirements, and manufacturer instructions; will obtain any required inspection or professional installation; and assumes all risk relating to condition, fitment, legality, safety, payment, shipment, installation, and use.
Mandatory checkout acknowledgment. Each checkout requires the Buyer to affirmatively agree, through a single combined confirmation, to (a) the Terms of Use and the policies incorporated by reference, and (b) the acknowledgment that the Item is used and sold as-is, has not been inspected or certified by GarageFind, and that the Buyer accepts all risk of its purchase, installation, and use. The confirmation control is unselected by default, and the Buyer may not submit the order unless it is selected. This requirement applies to all checkouts and all categories. GarageFind records and retains each acceptance, including the accepting account, the date and time, and the version of the Terms of Use then in effect. This affirmative, per-transaction consent is what renders the Section 12 disclaimer of the Terms of Use enforceable.
Shipping compliance. Certain Items, including batteries, components containing residual fuel, pressurized components, and fluids, are lawful to sell but regulated to ship. The Seller must drain, declare, and ship such Items in compliance with applicable carrier and U.S. Department of Transportation hazardous-materials rules; shipment of undeclared hazardous materials is itself unlawful.
4. Documentation Requirements
GarageFind may require documentation, verification, certifications, photographs, serial numbers, proof of ownership, recall checks, CARB Executive Order information, shipping declarations, or other information before or after a Listing is published, before a transaction is completed, or after a report or dispute is received. GarageFind may impose, modify, or remove category-specific documentation, verification, or gating requirements at any time, with or without notice.
A User's submission of documentation does not require GarageFind to approve a Listing or transaction and does not constitute GarageFind's verification, certification, inspection, endorsement, or guarantee of the Item, User, documentation, legality, condition, ownership, authenticity, shipment, installation, or use.
5. Enforcement
A violation of this Policy may result in immediate removal of the Listing, cancellation of the transaction, suspension or termination of the account, forfeiture of selling privileges, reporting to law enforcement or regulators (including EPA, NHTSA, and state attorneys general), and retention of related records. A repeat or egregious violation, including any involving defeat devices, counterfeit or recalled airbags, counterfeit parts, or stolen parts, warrants termination upon the first instance.
Users may not evade or attempt to evade this Policy through coded terms, misspellings, euphemisms, image-only references, altered photographs, incomplete descriptions, private-message instructions, off-platform communications, category manipulation, relisting, or any other conduct intended to conceal, disguise, or facilitate a prohibited or restricted Item or transaction.
GarageFind may preserve, review, use, and disclose Listing content, account information, transaction records, communications, documentation, acknowledgments, and related records when GarageFind determines that doing so is required by law or reasonably necessary to enforce this Policy, protect users, protect GarageFind, respond to legal process, cooperate with regulators, law enforcement, payment processors, carriers, insurers, or rights holders, or investigate suspected fraud, theft, infringement, safety risk, or unlawful activity.
6. Reporting
Suspected prohibited Listings may be reported to trust@garage-find.com. GarageFind reviews reports and may remove content and act on accounts.
GarageFind's receipt, review, or response to a report does not require GarageFind to take any particular action and does not create a duty to monitor, investigate, remove, restore, approve, or preserve any Listing, User account, communication, transaction, or Item.
7. Relationship to Terms of Use
This Policy is incorporated into and forms part of the Terms of Use. If this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Use, the provision that is more specific to the applicable Item, Listing, transaction, or risk will control; provided that GarageFind may apply the provision that affords GarageFind broader discretion, stronger enforcement authority, or greater legal, safety, fraud, regulatory, or operational protection.
Cross-references
- Terms of Use Section 8 (summary), Section 12 (disclaimers and assumption of risk), Section 15 (suspension and termination)
- Purchase Protection Policy and Privacy Policy