SECTION
31-5.2-1
§ 31-5.2-1
Definitions. – As used in this chapter:
(1) "Consumer"
means a buyer, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle, any
person to whom that motor vehicle is transferred for the same purposes
during the duration of any express or implied warranty applicable to that
motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of that warranty
to enforce its obligations.
(2) "Dealer"
means any person engaged in the business of selling, offering to sell,
soliciting, or advertising the sale of new motor vehicles.
(3) "Lease price" means the aggregate of:
(i) Lessor's actual purchase costs.
(ii) Collateral charges, if applicable.
(iii) Any fee paid to another to obtain the
lease.
(iv) Any insurance or other costs expended by
the lessor for the benefit of the lessee.
(v) An amount equal to state and local sales
taxes not otherwise included as collateral charges, paid by the lessor
when the vehicle was initially purchased.
(vi) An amount equal to five percent (5%) of
the lessor's actual purchase costs.
(4) "Lessee"
means any consumer who leases a motor vehicle for one year or more
pursuant to a written lease agreement which provides that the lessee is
responsible for repairs to such motor vehicle or any consumer who leases a
motor vehicle pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement.
(5) "Lessee cost"
means the aggregate deposit and rental payments previously paid to the
lessor for the leased vehicle.
(6) "Lessor"
means a person who holds title to a motor vehicle leased to a lessee under
a written lease agreement or who holds the lessor's rights under such
agreement.
(7) "Manufacturer"
means any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or trust,
resident or nonresident, which is engaged in the business of manufacturing
or assembling new motor vehicles, or which is engaged in the business of
importing new motor vehicles which are manufactured or assembled outside
of the United States.
(8) "Motor vehicle"
or "vehicle" means an automobile, truck,
motorcycle, or van having a registered gross vehicle weight of less than
ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.), sold, leased, or replaced by a dealer
or manufacturer after May 11, 1984, except that it shall not include a
motorized camper as defined in § 31-1-3(q).
(9) "Nonconformity"
means any specific or generic defect or malfunction, or any concurrent
combination of such defects or malfunctions, that substantially impairs
the use, market value, or safety of a motor vehicle.
(10) "Term of
protection" means one year or fifteen thousand (15,000) miles of
use from the date of original delivery of a new motor vehicle to the
consumer, whichever comes first; or, in the case of a replacement vehicle
provided by a manufacturer to a consumer under this chapter, one year or
fifteen thousand (15,000) miles from the date of delivery to the consumer
of that replacement vehicle, whichever comes first.
SECTION
31-5.2-2
§ 31-5.2-2 Manufacturers' obligation to
fulfill warranties. – If a motor vehicle does not conform to any
applicable express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to,
the implied warranty of merchantability as defined in § 6A-2-314 and the
implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose as defined in §
6A-2-315, and the consumer or lessee reports the nonconformity to the
manufacturer of the vehicle, its agent, or its authorized dealer or lessor
during the term of protection, the manufacturer, its agent or its
authorized dealer shall effect such repairs as are necessary to conform
the vehicle to the warranty, notwithstanding the fact that those repairs
are made after the expiration of the term.
SECTION
31-5.2-3
§ 31-5.2-3 Replacement of nonconforming
vehicle. – (a) If the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized
dealer or lessor does not conform the motor vehicle to any applicable
express or implied warranty by curing any nonconformity after a reasonable
number of attempts, the manufacturer shall accept return of the vehicle
from the consumer or lessee and, at the consumer's or lessee's option,
refund the full contract price or lease price of the vehicle including all
credits and allowances for any trade-in vehicle, less a reasonable
allowance for use, or replace it with a comparable new motor vehicle in
good working order.
(2) A manufacturer replacing a motor vehicle
shall have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of return of the motor
vehicle under the provisions of this chapter to deliver a comparable motor
vehicle. If, within that thirty (30) days, no comparable motor vehicle has
been delivered, the manufacturer shall refund the full contract price or
lease price less a reasonable allowance for use.
(3) In instances in which a vehicle is
replaced by a manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter, the
manufacturer shall reimburse the consumer or lessee for any fees for the
transfer of registration or any sales tax incurred by the consumer or
lessee as a result of that replacement.
(ii) In instances in which a vehicle which
was financed by the manufacturer or its subsidiary or agent is replaced
under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer, subsidiary, or
agent shall not require the consumer or lessee to enter into any
refinancing agreement with an interest rate or other financial terms which
are less favorable to the consumer or lessee than those stated in the
original financing agreement.
(iii) In instances in which a refund is
tendered under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer shall also
reimburse the consumer or lessee for incidental costs including sales tax,
registration fee, finance charges, and any cost of nonremovable options
added by an authorized dealer or lessor.
(4) Refunds shall be made to the consumer or
lessee and to the lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear.
(5) A reasonable allowance for use shall be
obtained by multiplying the total contract price or lessee cost of the
vehicle by a fraction having as its denominator one hundred thousand
(100,000) and having as its numerator the number of miles that the vehicle
traveled prior to the consumer's first report of the nonconformity to the
manufacturer, its agent, or its dealer or lessor plus the number of miles
that it traveled during any subsequent period when the vehicle was not out
of service by reason of repair.
(6) A consumer or lessee shall have the
option of retaining the use of any vehicle returned under the provisions
of this chapter until such time as the consumer or lessee has been
tendered a full refund or replacement vehicle acceptable to the consumer
or lessee. The use of any vehicle retained by a consumer or lessee after
its return to a manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter shall,
in instances in which a refund is tendered, be reflected in the above
mentioned reasonable allowance for use.
(b) If applicable, refunds shall be made to
the lessor and lessee as their interests may appear on the records of
ownership as follows: the lessee shall receive the lessee cost and the
lessor shall receive the lease price less the aggregate deposit and rental
payments previously paid to the lessor for the leased vehicle. If it is
determined that the lessee is entitled to a refund pursuant to this
chapter, the consumer's lease agreement with the lessor shall be
terminated upon payment of the refund and no penalty for early termination
shall be assessed.
SECTION
31-5.2-4
§ 31-5.2-4 Affirmative defenses. – It
is an affirmative defense to any claim under this section:
(1) that an alleged nonconformity does not
substantially impair the use, market value, or safety of the vehicle, or
(2) that a nonconformity is the result of
abuse, neglect, or unauthorized substantial modification or alteration of
the vehicle by the consumer or lessee.
SECTION
31-5.2-5
§ 31-5.2-5 Time allowed for correction of
nonconformity. – (a) A reasonable number of attempts shall be
presumed to have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to any
applicable express or implied warranties if:
(1) the same nonconformity has been subject
to repair four (4) or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or
authorized dealers or lessors within the term of protection, but the
nonconformity continues to exist or the nonconformity has recurred within
the term of protection, or
(2) the vehicle is out of service by reason
of the repair of any nonconformity for a cumulative total of thirty (30)
or more calendar days during the term of protection; provided, however,
that the manufacturer shall be afforded one additional opportunity, not to
exceed seven (7) calendar days, to cure any nonconformity arising during
the term of protection, notwithstanding the fact that the additional
opportunity to cure commences after the term of protection.
(b) The additional opportunity to cure shall
commence on the day the manufacturer first knows or should have known that
the limits specified in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) have been met or
exceeded. The term of protection, the thirty (30) calendar day period
specified in subsection (a)(2) and the additional opportunity to cure
shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are
not available to the consumer or lessee as a direct result of a war,
invasion, fire, flood or other natural disaster. The term of protection,
the thirty (30) calendar day period and the additional opportunity to cure
shall also be extended by that period of time during which repair services
are not available as a direct result of a strike; provided, however, that
the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer or lessor makes
provision for the free use of a vehicle of comparable year and size by any
consumer or lessee whose vehicle is out of service by reason of repair
during a strike. The burden shall be on the manufacturer to show that any
event claimed as a reason for an extension under the provisions of this
section was the direct cause for the failure of the manufacturer, its
agent or lessor, or its authorized dealer to cure any nonconformity during
the time of that event. Extensions for concurrent events shall not be
cumulative.
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