Terms of Service

Draft notice. This document is a working draft prepared before counsel review. It is published so sellers can see what we intend to agree to. Bracketed items are open points. It will be replaced by a reviewed version, with a new version number and effective date, before the first vehicle is accepted for intake.

1. Who we are

Go to Hammer ("Go to Hammer", "we", "us") is an auction-preparation and certification shop located in Northeast Ohio and operated by Chris Gurko. [Legal entity name, form, and registered address to be inserted on formation.]

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a contract between you and Go to Hammer. They apply to gotohammer.com and its related domains (the "Site"), your account, the AI valuation, and any inspection, preparation, or certification work we do on your vehicle. Where you send a vehicle to us, the Intake Agreement also applies. Where we issue a certification, the Certification Terms also apply. If those documents conflict with these Terms on the subject they cover, they control.

By creating an account, requesting a valuation, or sending us a vehicle, you accept these Terms.

2. What we do, and what we do not do

We do: estimate what a vehicle is likely to sell for at auction, inspect vehicles, quote and perform (or subcontract) preparation work, photograph and document vehicles, and issue a written Go to Hammer Certified statement describing what we found and what we did.

We do not:

• run auctions, accept bids, or operate a marketplace of any kind;
• buy, consign, broker, or sell your vehicle;
• take title to your vehicle, hold title as security, or act as your agent for the sale;
• list your vehicle on any auction venue. You list it, under your own account, on whichever venue you choose;
• guarantee any sale price, reserve, or that the vehicle will sell at all.

Go to Hammer is not an auction house, a motor vehicle dealer, or a broker. Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, Mecum, and any other venue are independent businesses with their own terms, fees, and listing rules. We have no affiliation with them unless we say so in writing.

3. Your account

You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. You must give us accurate information and keep it current. You are responsible for everything done under your account and for keeping your password private. Tell us promptly at hello@gotohammer.com if you believe your account has been used without permission.

Card on file. A valid payment card on file is required before we produce a valuation. Adding a card authorizes us to charge the valuation fee when the valuation is delivered, and, if you later approve estimate lines, to charge the amounts you approve as described in Section 6. We use Stripe to hold and process card details; we never see or store your full card number.

4. Vehicle information and photos

When you enter a VIN, mileage, history, known issues, modifications, or upload photos, you represent that the information is accurate to the best of your knowledge and that you own the vehicle or are authorized by the owner to act for it.

You keep ownership of the photos and information you provide. You grant Go to Hammer a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, process, and display them in order to provide the services, including sending them to the AI provider that produces your valuation, showing them to our staff, and including them in your estimate, job record, and certification. Anonymized data (for example, model, year, mileage band, condition read, and eventual hammer price) may be used to improve our valuations. We do not sell your photos or personal information. See the Privacy Policy.

5. The AI valuation

The valuation is produced by a large language model from the VIN decode, your photos, the details you enter, and comparable sold results. It gives an estimated hammer range per venue, a condition read, a list of preparation items with rough cost and estimated uplift, a venue recommendation, and a sell-as-is or prep-first call.

The valuation is an opinion for your planning. It is not an appraisal for insurance, lending, tax, estate, or legal purposes. It is not a guarantee of any price. Auction results depend on the venue, timing, reserve, listing quality, and bidder mood on the day, none of which we control. Comparable sales may be incomplete or may not reflect current demand. The AI can be wrong about condition from photographs. Use the valuation as one input to your own decision.

Fee. The valuation fee is shown on the Pricing page and on the request screen before you confirm. It is charged when the valuation is delivered to your account. If you later approve a preparation estimate for the same vehicle, the fee is credited in full against that job. Because the valuation is a bespoke digital deliverable, it is non-refundable once delivered, except where the law gives you a right we cannot exclude or where we fail to deliver it at all.

6. Sending your vehicle, estimates, and approvals

Send it to us. Requesting intake is a request, not a booking. We confirm by email with a proposed date. Intake happens under the Intake Agreement, which you accept in your account before we receive the vehicle.

Inspection and estimate. After a hands-on inspection we send an itemized estimate to your account. Each line has a description, a price, an expected effect on value, and whether we recommend it. Prices on an estimate are valid for 30 days from the date sent unless a line says otherwise.

Approval is per line. We do no chargeable work on a line you have not approved in your account. Declining a line is fine and has no effect on lines you approved. If the inspection or the work turns up something new, we issue a change order that follows the same approve-per-line path.

Payment. Approved lines are charged to your card on file as follows: [a deposit of 50 % of approved parts and subcontracted work when you approve; progress charges at milestones shown in the job; the balance before the vehicle is released]. Each charge is itemized in your account. Failed charges pause work until resolved. Storage fees may apply under the Intake Agreement if a vehicle is not collected after completion.

Subcontracted work. Paint, upholstery, machine work, and similar may be done by independent shops we select. We remain your point of contact and responsible for the estimate.

7. Certification

On completion of an approved job, or on request after an inspection, we may issue a Go to Hammer Certified statement. It is an inspection and work record at a point in time. It is not a warranty, guarantee, or insurance of any kind. What it contains, how it may be used, and its limits are set out in the Certification Terms. Every certification is reviewed by a designated reviewer before release, and we may decline to issue one.

8. Your listing

You are responsible for your auction listing: its accuracy, the reserve you set, the venue's fees, disclosures the venue or law requires, and answering bidders. You may attach or link the certification as described in the Certification Terms. You must not edit it or quote it out of context. Anything we draft for you (for example, a listing description) is a draft; you review and submit it yourself and remain responsible for it.

9. Acceptable use

Do not use the Site to submit vehicles you do not own or control, to submit false information, to scrape or copy the Site, to interfere with its operation, or to attempt to access other sellers' data. We may suspend or close accounts that do.

10. Disclaimers

Except as expressly stated in a certification or an approved estimate line, the Site and services are provided "as is". To the fullest extent permitted by law we disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that a valuation is accurate, that a prepared vehicle will reach any price, or that the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Go to Hammer's total liability arising out of or relating to the Site, a valuation, or the services in any 12-month period is limited to the amounts you paid us in that period, except for liability for damage to your vehicle while in our custody, which is governed by the Intake Agreement and our garage-keepers coverage. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits or lost sale proceeds, even if advised of their possibility. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limits; in that case these limits apply to the extent allowed.

12. Indemnity

You will defend and indemnify Go to Hammer against third-party claims arising from information you provided that was false, from your listing, or from your breach of these Terms, including claims by auction bidders or buyers based on your listing or your representations.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before starting any formal proceeding you agree to contact us and give us 30 days to resolve the matter informally. Any dispute not resolved informally will be brought in the state or federal courts located in [Summit County], Ohio, and you consent to their jurisdiction. [Counsel: consider small-claims carve-out and arbitration.]

14. Changes

We may revise these Terms. Each version has a number and effective date shown at the top. Material changes are announced by email to account holders at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date is acceptance. The version in force when you approved an estimate line continues to govern that line.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms: use the contact form or write to hello@gotohammer.com. [Postal address to be inserted on formation.]