Returns and refunds

Last updated: 30 October 2026

We check fitment against your engine code or VIN before you pay, so most units are right first time. If something does need to come back, this policy explains exactly how returns, exchanges and refunds work. It applies to every order placed with Home of Engine & Transmissions, whether you order online, by WhatsApp, by phone or by email.

Returns at a glance

1. Your rights under South African law

This policy adds to your legal rights and never reduces them. In particular:

• Cooling-off (ECTA section 44): for purchases concluded online or by electronic means, including WhatsApp and email, you may cancel within 7 days of receiving the unit without giving a reason and without penalty. The only cost you carry is the direct cost of returning the unit. We refund everything you paid, including the original delivery charge.
• Defective goods (Consumer Protection Act section 56): if a unit is defective, unsafe or not what was described, you may return it within 6 months of delivery and choose a repair, a replacement or a refund. We carry the cost and risk of the return.

Where the law gives you a better outcome than this policy, the law applies.

2. Change-of-mind returns

If we supplied the correct unit and you no longer need it, you can return it within 14 days of delivery or collection, provided that:

• the unit has not been fitted to a vehicle, started or run;
• it has not been stripped, opened, modified or painted, and our inspection markings and code tags are intact;
• it comes back in the same condition, with every ancillary and accessory that was supplied with it;
• it is crated or secured on a pallet so it can travel safely; and
• you can show your invoice or another proof of purchase.

Days 1 to 7: no restocking fee. You pay only the direct cost of returning the unit, and we refund the full price and the original delivery charge.

Days 8 to 14: a 15% restocking fee is deducted from the refund to cover inspection, re-crating and handling. The original delivery charge is not refunded, and you pay for the return courier. If the refund is reversed to a card, a further 3% card processing fee is deducted.

Units sourced or imported specially for your order are covered by the 7-day cooling-off right above, but cannot be returned for change of mind after that.

3. Defective, damaged or incorrect units

If a unit arrives damaged, has a fault, or is not the unit you ordered, contact us as soon as possible. For transport damage, note it on the courier’s delivery document and send us photos, ideally within 48 hours.

• Return shipping is free. We book and pay for the collection.
• No restocking fee, card fee or other deduction applies.
• Faults reported within 7 days of delivery get a priority exchange for an equivalent unit. If no equivalent unit is in stock, we refund you in full, including the original delivery charge.
• Faults reported after 7 days are handled under our Warranty Policy and your Consumer Protection Act rights. You may still choose a repair, replacement or refund for a defective unit within 6 months of delivery.
• Do not strip or open the unit before reporting the fault. We may need to inspect it to confirm the cause.

4. Exchanges

You can exchange a unit for a different one within the 14-day return window. The unit you send back must meet the conditions in section 2. If the new unit costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, we refund the difference. Restocking and return-shipping rules follow section 2 for change-of-mind exchanges and section 3 for defective or incorrect units.

5. How to start a return

1. Contact us on WhatsApp +27 (0)67 163 9326 or email sales@homeofengineworld.co.za within the return window. Include your invoice number, the reason for the return and photos of the unit.
2. We reply within one working day with a return reference and confirm whether a refund, exchange or repair applies.
3. Choose your return method. We book a courier collection from your address, or you drop the unit off at our headquarters at Wilgeboom Plot 153, Potchefstroom, North West, 2531, by appointment.
4. Crate or strap the unit to a pallet and mark it with your return reference.
5. We inspect the unit when it arrives and email you the outcome.

Please do not send a unit back without a return reference. Unannounced deliveries can be delayed or refused at our gate.

6. Refunds

• Approved refunds are paid within 7 to 14 working days after we receive and inspect the unit, and never later than 30 days after you cancelled.
• Refunds go back to the original payment method: EFT to the bank account you paid from, or a reversal to the card you used. We do not give cash refunds.
• Your bank may take a few extra working days to show the payment.
• Labour charged by a third-party workshop for fitting or removal is not refundable by us, except where the law says otherwise.

7. Items that cannot be returned for change of mind

• Units that have been fitted to a vehicle, started or run.
• Units that have been stripped, opened or modified, or whose inspection markings or code tags have been removed.
• Units damaged after delivery through misuse, poor storage or incorrect handling.
• Units returned without the ancillaries and accessories they were supplied with.
• Special-order and imported-to-order units, once the 7-day cooling-off period has passed.

These exclusions never limit your rights for defective or incorrectly supplied units.

8. Orders delivered outside South Africa

For SADC deliveries the same return window and conditions apply. Return freight, customs duties, import taxes and clearing fees on change-of-mind returns are paid by you. For defective or incorrect units we cover the return freight to Potchefstroom.

9. Contact

Questions about a return, exchange or refund? WhatsApp or call +27 (0)67 163 9326 or email sales@homeofengineworld.co.za, Monday to Friday. See also our Shipping and Delivery, Warranty and Terms and Conditions pages.