Terms of Service

1. Who we are

Car Log (the “Service”) is provided by:

In these Terms “Car Log”, “we” and “us” mean the business named above.

2. Who can use Car Log

You must be at least 18 and able to enter into a binding agreement. If you use Car Log for a business, you confirm that you have authority to bind that business, and “you” includes it. Car Log is intended for use in South Africa.

3. What Car Log does

Car Log is a vehicle logbook and history platform. Depending on your account type, it lets you:

• track fuel, services, odometer readings and costs, and see charts and reports;
• keep a travel logbook for SARS record-keeping;
• create a shareable, verified vehicle history report;
• have a registered mechanic log a service for your vehicle, which you confirm;
• request parts quotes and book services with local businesses;
• transfer a vehicle’s record to a buyer; and
• for businesses, receive customer requests and use dashboards, reports and reminders.

Owners, mechanics, parts suppliers and dealers are independent of Car Log. We connect them, but we are not a party to what they agree, and we do not supply the parts, repairs or vehicles they sell.

4. Your account and signing in

• Passwordless sign-in. You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email address or, where we offer it, by SMS to a South African cell number verified on your account.
• Keep your details current. Give us accurate information and keep your email address and cell number up to date. We ask you to add both, and we may remind you at each sign-in until you do.
• Protect your email and phone. Anyone who controls them can sign in as you. Never share a code. You are responsible for activity under your account, and we are not liable for loss caused by your failure to secure your email account or phone.
• One number, one account. A cell number can be verified on only one account. If your number is reissued or you lose access to it or your email, contact us. We will confirm your identity before changing anything, and we may refuse SMS sign-in if we suspect misuse.

5. Free and paid features

Tracking your own vehicles is free, up to the vehicle limits shown in the app for your account type. Some features are paid, such as verified reports and business plans (for example Mechanic Pro, the Dealer plan, Fleet Owner and Parts Supplier Priority). Current prices are shown on our website and at checkout, and the price shown at checkout is the price you pay.

Prices are in South African Rand. Car Log is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added to them. We may run promotions, such as free verified reports for a launch period. Promotions can change or end, and ending one does not affect anything you already paid for.

We may also give you complimentary access to a paid plan for a fixed period. It has no cash value and ends automatically on its end date. If you already have a paid subscription, your billing pauses for that period and resumes afterwards.

6. Payments, subscriptions and cancellation

• How you pay. Payments are processed by PayFast on its own pages. Car Log does not see or store your full card number.
• Subscriptions renew monthly on the same day until you cancel, and you authorise recurring payments when you subscribe. We email you a reminder before each renewal and send an invoice and receipt for each payment. They are also available in Settings.
• Cancelling. You can cancel a subscription at any time in the app. It stays active until the end of the period you have paid for, and no further payments are taken.
• Missed payments. If a renewal payment does not go through, we may lock the paid features until it is resolved.
• Price changes. We will give you at least 30 days’ notice before a price change affects your subscription, and you may cancel before it starts.
• Refunds. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
• Disputes. If you think a charge is wrong, please contact us before raising it with your bank so we can fix it quickly.

7. Your data and content

• You own it. You keep all rights to the information you enter. You give us permission to store, process and display it to operate the Service as you direct, including creating reports and sharing information as described in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
• Accuracy is your responsibility. Enter true information. Do not put other people’s personal information in free-text fields that appear on reports.
• Anonymised statistics. We may use your data in anonymised, combined form (for example community averages for fuel consumption by engine type). These contain nothing that identifies you.

8. Verified reports and sharing

• What a report is. A verified report presents the history logged in Car Log for a vehicle. Entries logged by a registered mechanic and confirmed by the owner carry a “Mechanic Confirmed” tag.
• What it is not. A report is not an inspection, valuation, roadworthy certificate, or guarantee of a vehicle’s condition, mileage, history or ownership. We do not inspect vehicles and cannot independently verify odometer readings or work described. Buyers should always inspect a vehicle themselves.
• Sharing. Anyone with the link can view the report, without signing in, while sharing is on. You can turn sharing off at any time. A paid report can be shared and regenerated within its access window (currently 30 days from purchase).
• Honest use. Do not create or share a report that you know is misleading, and do not use a report or badge to misrepresent a vehicle.

9. Services logged by a mechanic

A registered mechanic can log a service for your vehicle. You receive an email to confirm or reject it. Nothing is added to your history until you confirm, and an entry you do not respond to expires after 14 days. By confirming, you agree that the mechanic may contact you about future service reminders, and every reminder includes a one-click opt-out. Mechanics are responsible for the accuracy of what they log. Car Log is not responsible for the work a mechanic does or for the way they describe it.

10. Bookings and parts quotes

• Bookings. When you request a booking, we send your request and contact details to the mechanic. The mechanic may confirm, propose another date or decline. Any agreement is between you and the mechanic, not Car Log, and payment for work is arranged directly with them.
• Quotes. When you request a quote, we send it to registered suppliers or mechanics whose service area covers your postal code. They may contact you directly, and you are under no obligation to accept. We do not endorse, guarantee or take responsibility for the price, quality, delivery or suitability of any part or service.
• Your details are shared. By making a request you agree that we send your name, contact details, vehicle identifiers and request to those businesses, as described in our Privacy Policy.

11. Vehicle transfers

• You may only transfer a vehicle’s record if you have the right to do so. A transfer code lets the person who holds it claim the record, so share it only with the buyer.
• When the buyer accepts, the vehicle and its service and fuel history move to the buyer’s account. All service costs are permanently set to R0.00, and any sharing link stops working. This cannot be undone.
• Your own travel logbook entries stay with you, and we email you an export of them.
• A Car Log transfer moves the record in Car Log only. It does not transfer legal ownership or change the vehicle’s registration, which must be done in the way the law requires.

12. The SARS travel logbook

The travel logbook is a record-keeping tool. Reports and exports reflect only what has been entered, may not be complete, and are not tax, legal or financial advice or a guarantee that SARS will accept a claim. Car Log cannot verify the accuracy, completeness or business purpose of any entry. You are responsible for your entries, for understanding SARS requirements, and for keeping your records for as long as the law requires. Please speak to a tax practitioner if you are unsure. Trips added through a quick link stay pending until you approve them.

13. Emails, SMS and WhatsApp

We send service messages that you need, such as sign-in codes, confirmations, renewal notices and receipts. We send reminders and marketing only as described in our Privacy Policy, and you can opt out of them. Delivery of emails and SMS depends on networks and providers outside our control, so we cannot promise they will always arrive on time. You can also contact us on WhatsApp. We will never ask you for a password, sign-in code or card details in a chat, so never share them. Do not enter a cell number or email address that is not yours, and do not use Car Log to send messages to other people.

14. Rules for everyone

You agree not to:

• enter false or misleading data, or try to manipulate community averages or reports;
• use Car Log for anything unlawful, or to harass or spam anyone;
• request sign-in codes, SMS or emails for numbers or addresses that are not yours, or make automated or bulk requests;
• scrape Car Log, or copy shared reports in bulk;
• probe, disrupt or try to break into Car Log or another person’s account; or
• resell or misrepresent the Service or a Car Log Verified report or badge.

15. Extra rules for mechanics, parts suppliers and dealers

• Give accurate business information and keep it current.
• Only log work that was actually done for that vehicle, and do not log services for people who have not asked for it.
• Use customers’ contact details from a quote, booking or confirmed service only to respond to that request and, for confirmed customers who have not opted out, to send service reminders. Do not use them for unrelated marketing without the customer’s consent. You are responsible for complying with POPIA for information you receive through Car Log.
• Honour opt-out requests straight away.
• You are responsible for your own invoicing, tax and legal obligations. A job card generated by Car Log is a record of work done and is not a tax invoice.
• Dealers may use a Car Log Verified badge only for vehicles that have a current report, and may not misrepresent what it means.
• Some plans give businesses earlier access to customer requests. Receiving a request does not oblige you to respond, and Car Log does not guarantee any amount of leads.

16. Our intellectual property

Car Log, its software, design, name and logo belong to us or our licensors. We give you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service for its intended purpose. If you send us feedback, we may use it without owing you anything.

17. Availability and changes to the Service

We work to keep Car Log running and accurate, but we cannot promise it will always be available or error-free. We may change, add or remove features. If we remove a paid feature you are using, we will tell you and treat any prepaid period fairly.

18. Suspension and ending

You may stop using Car Log and delete your account at any time (please cancel any paid subscription first). We may suspend or end your access if you seriously or repeatedly break these Terms, misuse the Service or put others at risk, or if the law requires it. Where it is reasonable to do so, we will warn you first and give you a chance to fix the problem. Sections that by their nature should continue, such as those on liability, intellectual property and disputes, continue after your account ends.

19. Our responsibility and its limits

We work with reasonable skill and care, but Car Log is a tool that depends on information entered by people and on third parties. To the extent the law allows:

• we are not responsible for vehicle damage, missed services, purchase decisions, tax outcomes or other losses that result from relying on information, reminders, reports or calculations in Car Log;
• we are not responsible for the actions, work, prices or advice of mechanics, suppliers, dealers, buyers, sellers or other users;
• we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profit or opportunity; and
• our total liability to you for any claim about a paid service is limited to the amount you paid us for it in the 12 months before the claim arose.

Your legal rights stay. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability, or any right you have, that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, or liability for our gross negligence or fraud. If you are a consumer, you are entitled to the protections those laws give you.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will give you at least 30 days’ notice by email or in the app, and update the date and version above. If you do not agree to a change, you may stop using the Service and delete your account before it takes effect.

21. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. If you have a complaint, please contact us first at help@carlog.co.za and we will try to resolve it promptly. Nothing prevents you from approaching the National Consumer Commission, the Information Regulator, or a South African court.

22. Contact us

Questions about these Terms: help@carlog.co.za, or message us on WhatsApp: Message us on WhatsApp.