Warranty and returns

Our warranty and returns terms are short on purpose. Three months on used engines, gearboxes and cylinder heads, twelve months on brand-new factory-sealed units, seven days to return an unopened part, and a written list of what is in and what is out.

Everything below applies from the invoice date, not from the fitment date, so do not sit on a unit for two months before booking it in.

What the warranty covers

Internal mechanical failure. On an engine that means the block, crank, bearings, pistons, rings and valve seats. On a gearbox it means gears, shafts, bearings and synchros. On a cylinder head it means the casting and the seats.

If one of those fails inside the warranty period on a unit fitted by a qualified workshop, we replace it with equivalent stock where we have it, or refund the purchase price where we do not. That is the whole remedy and it is the one we will actually perform.

The period runs three months from the invoice date on used engines, used gearboxes and cylinder heads, and twelve months from the invoice date on new factory-sealed engines and gearboxes. Alloy rims and tool boxes carry the seven-day return terms below rather than a mechanical warranty.

What the warranty excludes

Ancillaries and wear items, because they wear on their own schedule and usually were not ours to begin with. That means alternators, starters, turbos, aircon pumps, injectors, sensors, ECUs, wiring looms, clutch kits, flywheels, torque converters, mounts, belts, hoses and gaskets.

Also excluded: any unit not fitted by a qualified workshop, any unit fitted without addressing the fault that killed the original, and any unit run without the correct oil, coolant or fluid. An engine that overheats because the radiator was never replaced is not a warranty claim.

Consequential loss is excluded as well – towing, labour, hire cars, lost earnings. We cover the part. That is standard across the used-parts trade in South Africa and we would rather state it plainly than let you discover it during a claim. Your broader rights as a consumer sit with the National Consumer Commission.

How to claim

Three things, in this order. Stop using the vehicle, because running a failing unit turns a warranty claim into a scrap heap. Get the workshop to write up what failed and how they diagnosed it. Then send us that, your original invoice and the fitment invoice on WhatsApp or email.

The fitment invoice is the only document people usually do not have, so keep it somewhere you will find it. It is what proves the unit went in properly, and without it there is no claim to assess.

We respond within two working days. Where we need the unit back to inspect it, we arrange and pay for the collection. Where we can settle it on the paperwork, we do.

Returns on unopened parts

Seven days from delivery on an unopened, unfitted part in its original packaging. Tell us before you send anything back, because an unannounced pallet arriving at the yard is how returns get lost.

Once a unit has been opened, mounted or fitted, the warranty terms apply instead of a return. That is not us being difficult – a fitted engine cannot be resold as untouched stock, and pretending otherwise would mean the next buyer gets something described wrongly.

Return shipping is for your account unless the part we sent does not match the invoice, in which case it is for ours. If we got it wrong, we fix it at our cost – that is what the free fitment check exists to prevent.

Questions about warranty and returns

Does the warranty transfer if I sell the car?

No. The cover sits with the buyer named on the invoice and does not transfer with the vehicle.

Can I fit it myself?

You can, but it voids the warranty. The terms require a qualified workshop and an invoice to prove it. An RMI-accredited workshop is the safest route.

What if the part does not fit?

Send the VIN and code before you pay and it will not come to that. If we supplied the wrong unit against a confirmed VIN, we collect it, refund or replace it, and pay the freight both ways.

Is the warranty different on new stock?

Yes – twelve months instead of three, on the same internal-mechanical-failure basis, with the same requirement for professional fitment.

Do I get a tax invoice?

Every sale, without asking. All prices on the site include 15% VAT.

Still have a question the terms do not answer? Ask us before you buy, or read the questions we get every day.

Why the warranty terms are written this way

Every line in this warranty exists because of something that actually happened. The professional-fitment requirement is there because most failures we have ever assessed came back to the install rather than the part. The ancillaries exclusion is there because an alternator that dies in month two was already old when it arrived.

The consequential-loss exclusion is the one people like least, and we understand why. We cover the part because that is what we sold and priced. A yard that promised to cover your towing, labour and hire car would have to charge considerably more for every unit to fund it, and most buyers would rather have the lower price.

What we will not do is write terms so narrow that nothing ever qualifies. Internal mechanical failure on a unit we tested, fitted properly, inside the period – that is a claim, and we settle it.

What counts as a warranty claim, and what does not

Four examples, drawn from the kinds of calls we take.

A claim: a used engine fitted by a workshop develops a bottom-end knock in week six, the workshop diagnoses a spun bearing, and you have both invoices. We replace or refund.

A claim: a gearbox jumps out of third under load two months in, professionally fitted, invoice on hand. Internal mechanical failure, covered.

Not a claim: the engine overheats and warps the head because the radiator that killed the original unit was never replaced. The failure is real but the cause is outside the part.

Not a claim: a turbo fails in month two. Turbos are an excluded ancillary, stated on every listing and on this page, because they wear on their own schedule.

If you are unsure which side of the line you are on, send the workshop’s diagnosis and we will tell you straight rather than making you guess. Read the testing page for what we check before a unit is ever sold, and the FAQ for the questions that come up most.

About Torque Yard

Torque Yard is a used-parts yard at 27 Pearce Street, on the corner of Tecoma Street, in Berea, East London. We strip low-damage running vehicles and sell the engines, gearboxes, cylinder heads and rims that still work, to workshops and to private buyers, across South Africa and into the neighbouring countries.

The warranty and returns terms on this page are the ones we actually apply. They are short, the exclusions are listed, and nothing in them is designed to make a legitimate claim impossible.

Ten makes and 139 models are on the shelf at any time, weighted towards what actually works for a living here: Toyota, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Mazda, VW, BMW and Mercedes. Bakkie and taxi units carry most of the turnover, with a steady run of hatchback, sedan and German stock behind them.

What every part on this site comes with

Four things, on every unit, whether it costs R4,000 or R90,000.

• A test before it was listed. Run, compression and leak-down on an engine; every gear on a gearbox; pressure-tested cold and hot on a head. The process is written up here.
• The code on your invoice. Read off the casting, recorded against the stock number, so a fitment argument takes one message instead of three phone calls.
• A free fitment check before you pay. Send a VIN and a photograph and we confirm or decline the same working day.
• A written warranty. Three months on used stock, twelve on new sealed units, with the exclusions listed rather than buried. Terms here.

Prices include 15% VAT and every sale is invoiced. Payment is EFT or card, a 50% deposit holds a unit while a workshop books you in, and orders over R25,000 ship free inside South Africa. Fitting should be done by a qualified workshop – an RMI-accredited workshop gives you the invoice the warranty needs.

None of that is unusual in a well-run yard. What is unusual is putting it in writing on a public page, where a customer can hold us to it, rather than describing it differently to each caller depending on how the conversation is going. If we ever fall short of what is written here, say so and we will fix it.

Where to go next

If you know the part, search the catalogue by engine code – it is faster than browsing by model. If you are still deciding, the FAQ answers most of what people ask before they buy, and the delivery page tells you what it costs to get a unit to your door.

And if you would rather just ask a person: WhatsApp 068 694 1332 with your VIN, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 or Saturday morning. Full contact details and directions are here. Someone who has actually handled the warranty and returns will answer you.