Terms of Service
Effective Date: January 15, 2025
Welcome to Carma
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Carma, a platform designed to help car buyers share deal data and negotiate better prices. Carma Inc. ("Carma," "we," "us," or "our") operates the Carma platform and provides this service to car buyers.
By accessing or using Carma, including our mobile application, website, and related services (collectively, the "Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our Services.
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS, INCLUDING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE.
Eligibility and Account Requirements
Age Requirement
You must be at least 18 years old to use Carma. By using our Services, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.
Account Creation
To access certain features, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update this information as necessary.
Account Security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You must immediately notify us at support@joincarma.io of any unauthorized access or security breaches.
Community Deal Data Sharing
Your Deal Contributions
Carma is a community-driven platform. By submitting deal information, you agree that:
- The deal information you provide is accurate and based on actual transactions
- You have the right to share this information
- Your deal data (excluding personal identifiers) may be shared with the Carma community
- Your contributions help build your Carma score and community reputation
User-Contributed Data Disclaimer
IMPORTANT: Deal data on Carma is contributed by community members and has not been independently verified by Carma. While we strive to maintain data quality, we make no guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any user-contributed information.
YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING ALL DEAL INFORMATION BEFORE MAKING ANY PURCHASING DECISIONS. This includes verifying prices, fees, terms, and all other transaction details directly with dealers and relevant parties.
No Guarantee of Results
Carma provides deal data and AI-powered insights for informational purposes only. We do not guarantee that:
- You will achieve any particular price or deal terms
- Comparable deals reflect current market conditions
- AI recommendations will result in successful negotiations
- Any specific dealer will honor prices from comparable deals
- Market conditions, inventory, or pricing will remain consistent
Image and Content Contributions
License Grant
By uploading images, photos, documents, or other content ("User Content") to Carma, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable license to use, display, reproduce, modify, and distribute your User Content in connection with operating and improving our Services.
Your Representations
When uploading User Content, you represent and warrant that:
- You own or have the necessary rights to the content
- The content does not infringe on any third party's intellectual property or privacy rights
- The content does not contain malicious code, viruses, or harmful material
- The content complies with all applicable laws and these Terms
- Any personal information of third parties has been redacted or you have consent to share it
Content Moderation
We reserve the right to review, remove, or refuse to display any User Content at our sole discretion, including content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines.
Community Guidelines and Prohibited Uses
You agree to use Carma responsibly and in compliance with our Community Guidelines. The following activities are strictly prohibited:
- Submitting false, misleading, or fabricated deal information
- Creating fake accounts or misrepresenting your identity
- Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users
- Spamming or posting promotional content without authorization
- Attempting to manipulate Carma scores or community metrics
- Scraping, harvesting, or collecting user data without permission
- Using automated tools to access the Services in violation of our policies
- Interfering with the operation of the Services or circumventing security measures
- Impersonating dealers, manufacturers, or other entities
- Posting content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable
- Using the Services for any commercial purpose without our written consent
- Violating any applicable laws or regulations
Account Suspension and Termination
Violations
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account, remove your content, and restrict your access to the Services at any time, without prior notice, for any reason, including but not limited to:
- Violation of these Terms or Community Guidelines
- Submission of false or misleading deal information
- Harassment or abuse of other users
- Fraudulent or illegal activity
- Repeated complaints from other users
- Any conduct that we determine, in our sole discretion, is harmful to the community
Effect of Termination
Upon termination, your right to use the Services will immediately cease. We may retain your anonymized deal contributions to maintain the integrity of community data. You may request deletion of your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Appeals
If you believe your account was suspended or terminated in error, you may contact us at support@joincarma.io to request a review.
Carma Score System
The Carma score measures your contribution to the community. By sharing deals and engaging positively with the platform, you build your score and may unlock access to additional features and community data. Scores are calculated based on the quality and quantity of your contributions, as determined by our algorithms.
We reserve the right to adjust, reset, or recalculate Carma scores at any time, including in cases of suspected manipulation or policy violations.
Intellectual Property
The Services, including all content, features, and functionality (excluding User Content), are owned by Carma and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services without our written permission.
"Carma," the Carma logo, "CarmaScore," and related marks are trademarks of Carma Inc.
Disclaimers
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CARMA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
- IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT
- ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE
- ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR COMPLETENESS OF USER-CONTRIBUTED DEAL DATA
- ANY WARRANTY THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED
- ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE RESULTS YOU MAY OBTAIN FROM USING THE SERVICES
CARMA IS NOT A LICENSED DEALER, BROKER, OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. WE DO NOT BUY, SELL, OR NEGOTIATE VEHICLE PURCHASES ON YOUR BEHALF. ALL NEGOTIATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND THE RELEVANT DEALERS OR SELLERS.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CARMA AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:
- ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES
- ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, BUSINESS, OR GOODWILL
- ANY LOSS RESULTING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON DEAL DATA OR AI RECOMMENDATIONS
- ANY LOSS RESULTING FROM FAILED NEGOTIATIONS OR MISSED DEALS
- ANY LOSS RESULTING FROM INACCURATE USER-CONTRIBUTED INFORMATION
- ANY LOSS RESULTING FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT
- ANY LOSS EXCEEDING THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO CARMA IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Carma and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with:
- Your use of the Services
- Your User Content
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your violation of any third party's rights
- Any disputes between you and dealers or other users
Dispute Resolution
Informal Resolution
Before filing any legal claim, you agree to try to resolve any dispute informally by contacting us at support@joincarma.io. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 60 days.
Binding Arbitration
If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and Carma agree to resolve any disputes through binding arbitration rather than in court, except that either party may bring claims in small claims court if eligible.
Arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will take place in California or another mutually agreed location.
Class Action Waiver
YOU AND CARMA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Changes to Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Terms on our platform and updating the effective date. For significant changes, we may also notify you via email or in-app notification.
Your continued use of the Services after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the new Terms, you must stop using the Services.
General Provisions
- Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Carma.
- Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
- Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
- Assignment: You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign our rights and obligations at any time.
- Notices: We may provide notices to you via email, in-app notification, or by posting on our website.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at:
Carma Inc.
Palo Alto, CA