LD 322
pg. 1
LD 322 Title Page An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicle Franchise Laws Page 2 of 2
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LR 1945
Item 1

 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

 
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1176, first ¶, as amended by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A,
§16 and affected by §153 and Pt. C, §15, is further amended to
read:

 
If a motor vehicle franchisor requires or permits a motor
vehicle franchisee to perform labor or provide parts in
satisfaction of a warranty created by the franchisor, the
franchisor shall properly and promptly fulfill its warranty
obligations, in the case of motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds
gross vehicle weight rating, shall adequately and fairly
compensate the franchisee for any parts so provided and, in the
case of all other motor vehicles, shall reimburse the franchisee
for any parts so provided at the retail rate customarily charged
by that franchisee for the same parts when not provided in
satisfaction of a warranty. A franchisor may not otherwise
recover its cost for reimbursing a franchisee for parts and labor
pursuant to this section by any means. Further, the franchisor
shall reimburse the franchisee for any labor so performed at the
retail rate customarily charged by that franchisee for the same
labor when not performed in satisfaction of a warranty; provided
that the franchisee's rate for labor not performed in
satisfaction of a warranty is routinely posted in a place
conspicuous to its service customer. A franchisor is not
required to pay the price charged by the dealer to retail
customers for parts of systems, appliances, furnishings,
accessories and fixtures of a motor home as defined in Title 29-
A, section 101, subsection 40 that are designed, used and
maintained primarily for nonvehicular residential purposes. Any
claim made by a franchisee for compensation for parts provided or
for reimbursement for labor performed in satisfaction of a
warranty must be paid within 30 days of its approval. All the
claims must be either approved or disapproved within 30 days of
their receipt. When any such claim is disapproved, the franchisee
that submitted it must be notified in writing of its disapproval
within that period, together with the specific reasons for its
disapproval. No franchisor may, by agreement, by restriction upon
reimbursement, or otherwise, restrict the nature or extent of
labor performed or parts provided so that such restriction
impairs the franchisee's ability to satisfy a warranty created by
the franchisor by performing labor in a professional manner or by
providing parts required in accordance with generally accepted
standards.

 
SUMMARY

 
This bill provides that a motor vehicle franchisor may not
recover the costs incurred in reimbursing a franchisee for


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