Terms of Service

These terms are a contract between you (or the company you represent) and OtoIndex Inc. (“OtoIndex”, “we”, “us”). They apply to the website at vinspeclookup.com, the free sandbox, and the OtoIndex Car Data API (together, the “Service”).

By using the Service you accept these terms. If you are using it on behalf of a company, you confirm you have authority to bind that company. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

A signed order form or enterprise agreement takes precedence over these terms wherever the two conflict.

The sandbox lets anyone call the read endpoints without a key. It is for evaluation: trying the API, reading response shapes, and building a prototype. It is rate-limited per IP address, may return reference sample data when the live backend is unavailable, and can change or be withdrawn at any time without notice.

Do not build production traffic on the sandbox, script around its rate limit, or use it to bulk-extract data. If you need real volume, request a key.

• Keys are issued to a named person or company. You are responsible for everything done with your key, including by anyone you share it with.
• Keep keys secret: server-side, never in client-side code or public repositories. If a key leaks, revoke it and tell us.
• Each key carries a plan, a rate limit, and a monthly quota. Requests beyond them are rejected or billed as overage per your plan.
• We may suspend a key that is being abused, is unpaid, or is putting the Service at risk.

While your account is in good standing, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the data the API returns inside your own product or internal systems: to build quotes, display specifications, schedule maintenance, price parts, and similar uses.

You may not:

• Resell, sublicense, or redistribute the data as a dataset, or offer a service whose primary function is to pass our data through to third parties.
• Cache or store responses beyond what your product reasonably needs to function (a 24-hour cache is fine).
• Use the data to build or train a competing vehicle-data product.
• Remove or obscure attribution where an enterprise agreement requires it.

We and our licensors keep all rights in the data, the API, the documentation, and the OtoIndex name and marks. You keep all rights in your product and in anything you send us. If you send us data through an enrichment endpoint, you grant us the right to use it to grow and improve the dataset.

Do not use the Service to:

• Identify, locate, or profile an individual person, including from a VIN or service history.
• Break the law, infringe anyone's rights, or evade a sanction.
• Probe, scan, or overload the Service, or bypass authentication, rate limits, or the sandbox's guardrails.
• Misrepresent who you are or who you are acting for.

We work hard to make every number right, and every value carries a data-layer indicator so you can see where it came from. But vehicle data is compiled from many sources, vehicles are modified, and OEMs revise their specifications. The data is provided as reference information, not as a substitute for the manufacturer's service documentation or a qualified technician's judgement.

Fluid capacities, torque values, and labor times must be verified before being relied on for work that could affect vehicle safety. Empirical labor times are statistical measurements from completed jobs, not a promise of how long any particular job will take.

• /v1 endpoints are stable. We will not remove fields or change their meaning within v1; we may add fields, and clients must ignore fields they do not recognise.
• /v0 endpoints are preview. Their shape may change with notice on the changelog. We do not recommend depending on them for anything you cannot adjust quickly.
• When we retire a version, we will announce it at least 90 days ahead and keep it running for that period.

We aim for the API to be available at all times, but the Service is provided without a guaranteed uptime unless your plan includes a service-level agreement. We may take it down for maintenance, and we will try to do so with notice and outside peak hours.

Paid plans are billed as described on the plan you choose: monthly in advance for the base plan, and in arrears for any overage. Prices are exclusive of taxes. Fees are non-refundable except where the law says otherwise or we have said so in writing.

We may change prices with at least 30 days' notice; the change applies from your next billing period. Unpaid invoices may result in suspension after notice.

You can stop using the Service at any time and ask us to close your account. We can suspend or terminate access if you breach these terms, if required by law, or with 30 days' notice for any other reason.

When the agreement ends, your licence to the data ends with it and you must stop using and delete cached responses within 30 days, except where a signed agreement provides otherwise. Sections on licence, liability, and governing law survive termination.

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS, THE SERVICE AND THE DATA ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE, HOWEVER CAUSED.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE IN ANY TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THAT PERIOD, OR ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100) IF YOU PAID NOTHING.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

You will defend and indemnify us against third-party claims arising from your product, your use of the data in breach of these terms, or your violation of law, including reasonable legal fees.

• Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Disputes will be brought in the state or federal courts located in New York, and both sides consent to that jurisdiction.
• Changes. We may update these terms; the effective date above will change and account holders will be emailed about material changes. Continued use after that date is acceptance.
• Whole agreement. These terms, the Privacy Policy, and any signed order form are the entire agreement between us about the Service.
• Severability and waiver. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. You may not assign these terms without our written consent; we may assign them to a successor of the business.

Questions about these terms: developer@otopair.com.