Chapter
165
2007 -- H 5198 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/30/07
A N A C T
RELATING
TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - WARRANTIES
Introduced
By: Representatives Menard, Petrarca, Ucci, Winfield, and Melo
Date
Introduced: January 25, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
31-5.2-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-5.2 entitled "Consumer
Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Warranties" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
31-5.2-1.
Definitions. -- The following words and phrases, for the purposes of
this
chapter, have the following meanings:
(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: (i) 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,
except that it shall not include a motorized
camper as defined in section 31-1-3; or (ii)
a municipality, municipal agency or fire district
owned or leased fire department motorized
apparatus which has not been significantly altered in
such a manner to cause a breach of the
manufacturer’s warranty.
(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.
(11) "Motor
vehicle arbitration board" means the board to be established by the
department of attorney general as set forth in
section 31-5.2-7.1, which board shall replace the
consumers' council automobile dispute settlement
panel.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00636/SUB A/2
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