Auto Advocate Customer Service Agreement
The Simple Version
You are hiring Auto Advocate to help you understand, prepare for, evaluate, or navigate a vehicle transaction.
Our job is to give you experienced, independent guidance so you can make a better-informed decision.
Exactly what we do for you depends on the Auto Advocate service you purchase. We will explain what is included before you pay.
We believe you should know three things before hiring us:
- ◆We work for you.
- ◆You remain in control of every decision.
- ◆We cannot guarantee what a dealership, lender, manufacturer, service-contract provider, or other third party will agree to do.
The rest of this agreement explains those points in more detail.
1. Who you are hiring
By purchasing an Auto Advocate service, you are engaging Auto Advocate ("AA," "we," "us," or "our") to provide the services described for the package you selected.
You are our client.
Our role is to provide information, analysis, preparation, advocacy, and/or assistance according to the service purchased.
Auto Advocate is not the dealership selling you the vehicle and does not take ownership of the vehicle being purchased or traded.
Unless expressly stated otherwise for a particular transaction or service, Auto Advocate is not the lender financing your vehicle and does not make lending or credit-approval decisions.
You remain the purchaser or prospective purchaser and make all final decisions.
2. What you are purchasing
Your service includes only the work described in the package you selected at the time of purchase.
Auto Advocate currently offers different levels of assistance, which may include services such as vehicle and market research; trade-in analysis; vehicle-history and valuation information; review of vehicle pricing and fees; identification of applicable incentives or financing considerations; preparation before visiting a dealership; review of dealership proposals or paperwork; live or scheduled advocacy and coaching; post-purchase deal review; and other services specifically identified in the package purchased.
Some services require an appointment. Others involve research, document review, valuation work, or assistance while a transaction is occurring.
The description displayed for your purchased service is incorporated into this agreement.
Purchasing one Auto Advocate service does not automatically include services offered under another package.
If you need additional assistance, we will tell you before performing work that requires an additional purchase or fee.
3. Our promise to you
Auto Advocate will perform the service you purchased in good faith and with the goal of protecting your interests in the vehicle transaction.
Everything we do is guided by our core principles: Honesty. Integrity. Transparency.
We call them HIT, and they apply to how we deal with you as well as how we interact with dealerships, lenders, providers, and other parties involved in a transaction.
We will explain the numbers as clearly as we can; identify concerns we believe deserve your attention; tell you when we believe an offer is reasonable; tell you when we believe you should ask additional questions; tell you when we believe walking away deserves serious consideration; distinguish known facts from estimates or opinions whenever reasonably possible; and disclose any material relationship that could reasonably affect your evaluation of our recommendation.
We will not knowingly misrepresent information to you, a dealership, lender, provider, or other party.
Sometimes protecting your interests means telling you something you may not want to hear. We will do that too.
4. You make the final decision
Auto Advocate advises. You decide.
We may tell you that we believe a vehicle, trade value, financing arrangement, fee, protection product, or overall transaction is good, bad, questionable, or worth reconsidering.
That recommendation is not a command and does not transfer responsibility for the final purchasing decision to Auto Advocate.
You decide whether to purchase a vehicle; trade a vehicle; accept or reject an offer; finance a purchase; select a lender; purchase or decline optional products; sign a contract; leave a dealership; or proceed with any transaction.
Never sign a document you do not understand or that contains numbers or terms different from what you intended to accept.
If something changes before you sign, tell your Advocate.
5. What we cannot guarantee
The automotive marketplace changes constantly.
For that reason, Auto Advocate cannot guarantee that a particular vehicle will remain available; a particular purchase price; a particular trade value; a specific discount or amount of savings; dealership participation or cooperation; lender approval; an interest rate or financing term; manufacturer incentives or eligibility; vehicle condition; future vehicle value; approval or availability of protection products; that a dealership will honor an earlier verbal statement; or that every transaction will ultimately be completed.
Market values, inventory, incentives, interest rates, lender decisions, dealership decisions, and vehicle availability can change.
Our responsibility is to perform the Auto Advocate service you purchased, not to guarantee the actions of independent third parties.
6. Information you provide to us
Our work depends heavily on the information you provide.
You agree to provide accurate and complete information to the best of your knowledge, including information about the vehicle, trade, mileage, condition, financing, dealership proposal, and documents relevant to the service purchased.
For trade evaluations, be honest about vehicle condition.
Photos should reasonably represent the actual condition of the vehicle.
If material information is missing, inaccurate, outdated, or withheld, our analysis may change.
If dealership numbers change, send us the updated information.
7. Documents, photos, technology and third-party information
Depending on the service purchased, Auto Advocate may review or obtain information from third-party sources such as vehicle-history reports, valuation resources, market listings, manufacturer information, dealership documents, financing documents, or other automotive data.
Third-party information can contain errors, omissions, delays, or estimates.
Auto Advocate will use reasonable care when interpreting this information but cannot guarantee the accuracy of information created or supplied by third parties.
Photos and documents submitted to Auto Advocate may be reviewed using technology and automated tools, including artificial intelligence, to organize information, perform calculations, identify possible issues, compare information, or assist our Advocates.
Unless you specifically request otherwise, the analysis and recommendations provided to you will be reviewed by a human Auto Advocate before being delivered to you.
Technology assists our Advocates. It does not replace the human judgment that is part of the Auto Advocate service.
8. Communicating with dealerships and other parties
Some Auto Advocate services may involve communicating with dealerships or other parties regarding your potential transaction.
When permitted by applicable law and necessary to perform the service you purchased, you authorize Auto Advocate to communicate regarding your transaction on your behalf.
State laws differ.
In some states, the law may limit the activities Auto Advocate can perform directly with a dealership or other party in connection with a vehicle purchase.
When applicable law restricts Auto Advocate from directly performing a particular activity, we may instead advise you about the transaction, analyze information you receive, prepare you for the conversation, and tell you what we believe you should ask, say, verify, or consider.
For example, Oklahoma law contains restrictions concerning compensated brokering of new motor vehicle transactions. Auto Advocate structures its services in Oklahoma to comply with applicable Oklahoma law, including 47 O.S. section 579.1, as applicable.
A state-specific limitation does not mean we stop advocating for you. It may change how we are legally permitted to provide that advocacy.
You remain responsible for reviewing and signing your final purchase, financing, lease, trade, protection-product, or other agreements.
Auto Advocate cannot sign a vehicle purchase or financing agreement on your behalf unless separately authorized in writing and permitted by applicable law.
9. Independence and business relationships
At this time, Auto Advocate does not have compensation arrangements with dealerships that influence where we recommend a customer purchase a vehicle.
Our customer is our client.
If Auto Advocate establishes a material business or compensation relationship in the future with a dealership, lender, provider, or other party involved in a transaction we recommend to you, we will disclose that relationship when required and when it could reasonably matter to your decision.
You will not be required to use a particular dealership merely because Auto Advocate has a relationship with that business.
Our recommendation should be based on what we reasonably believe serves your interests, not on which dealership pays us the most.
10. Financing and protection products
Auto Advocate may help you understand or compare financing, GAP, vehicle service contracts, warranties, maintenance plans, protection products, or similar products.
Unless expressly identified otherwise, Auto Advocate is not the lender.
Approval, pricing, eligibility, coverage, exclusions, cancellation rights, and other terms are controlled by the actual lender, administrator, insurer, provider, contract, or applicable law.
Always review the actual contract before purchasing a financial or protection product.
11. When our work begins
Different Auto Advocate services begin at different points.
For purposes of cancellations and refunds, "work begins" when Auto Advocate begins substantive work specifically for your purchased service.
Depending on the service, that could include ordering or obtaining paid reports; researching your specific vehicle or market; performing trade valuation work; reviewing your submitted documents; preparing your Buyer Brief or other analysis; contacting dealerships; preparing dealership strategy; beginning scheduled consultation or coaching; beginning live Lot Coach assistance; or activating Skip-the-Line priority service.
Merely processing your payment or sending an automated confirmation does not, by itself, mean substantive work has begun.
12. Cancellations, rescheduling and refunds
Auto Advocate recognizes an important difference between rescheduling a service and canceling a service.
A customer who needs to move an appointment but still intends to use the purchased service is not necessarily canceling that service.
Rules concerning rescheduling, cancellations, no-shows, work already performed, third-party expenses, and refunds depend on the service purchased.
Our current Cancellation, Rescheduling and Refund Policy is incorporated into this agreement and is available before checkout.
We will not hide those rules in fine print.
As a general principle, a service may be eligible for refund when Auto Advocate has not yet begun substantive work.
Once substantive work has begun or Auto Advocate has incurred nonrecoverable costs specifically for your service, some or all of the payment may become nonrefundable as described in the applicable Refund Policy.
If Auto Advocate is unable to provide a service we accepted payment to perform, that situation will be handled separately from a customer voluntarily canceling after work has begun.
13. Appointments and response times
Some services include scheduled appointments, response-time commitments, priority handling, or estimated completion times.
Any specific service-level commitment displayed when you purchase the service becomes part of the service you purchased.
Response time and completion time are not necessarily the same thing.
For example, a promise that an Advocate will contact you within a stated period does not mean that the entire vehicle transaction will be completed within that period.
14. No legal, tax or accounting advice
Auto Advocate provides automotive transaction assistance and advocacy.
We are not acting as your attorney, accountant, or tax adviser.
If we identify something that appears to require legal, tax, regulatory, or other professional advice, we may recommend that you consult an appropriate licensed professional.
Auto Advocate does not determine whether a dealership or other party has violated the law.
15. Privacy and protecting your information
We may receive sensitive personal and financial information while helping you.
Auto Advocate will use customer information to provide the purchased service, operate our business, communicate with you, maintain records, and comply with applicable legal requirements.
We store personal information electronically for a maximum of 24 months. If you email us asking us to turn that information over to you or to remove it, we will do so.
We do not need every piece of personal information a dealership or lender may request.
Do not send Social Security numbers, passwords, complete payment-card information, banking credentials, or other highly sensitive information unless Auto Advocate specifically tells you that the information is required and provides an approved method for submitting it.
Something does not feel right? Stop.
Auto Advocate will not normally call, text, or email you unexpectedly and ask you to provide passwords, banking login credentials, complete credit-card information, or other highly sensitive information.
If anyone claiming to represent Auto Advocate asks you for information in a way that seems unusual:
- ◆Do not provide it.
- ◆End the communication and contact Auto Advocate directly using the telephone number published on our official website. Ask for Erik or Scott.
- ◆Do not call a number supplied by the person making the suspicious request.
16. Electronic communication
By providing your email address or telephone number, you authorize Auto Advocate to communicate with you regarding the service you purchased, subject to applicable law and your communication preferences.
Marketing communications, where applicable, will be handled separately from communications necessary to provide your purchased service.
17. Electronic acceptance
By checking the acceptance box and completing your purchase, you acknowledge that you had an opportunity to review this Customer Service Agreement; you understand the service you selected; you understand that Auto Advocate provides advocacy and assistance but you make the final vehicle-purchase decision; you understand that third-party results cannot be guaranteed; you agree to the applicable Cancellation, Rescheduling and Refund Policy; you agree to Auto Advocate's applicable Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy; and you agree that disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration as described in this agreement.
18. Binding arbitration
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Customer Service Agreement, the services purchased, or the breach thereof will be settled by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be held in McClain County, Oklahoma. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. Oklahoma law governs this agreement.
This is how Auto Advocate handles all disputes with customers. By checking the acceptance box and completing your purchase, you agree to this binding arbitration clause.
Our side of the deal
We are asking you to be honest with us, give us the information we need, and keep us informed when your situation changes.
In return, you should expect us to be honest with you, even when the answer is not what you hoped to hear.
Honesty. Integrity. Transparency.
That is not just what we expect from the automotive industry.
It is what you should expect from us.
That is what having an Advocate is supposed to mean.