CHAPTER 617
H.P. 1689 - L.D. 2395
An Act Concerning Disclosure Requirements Under the Used Car Information Laws
Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the used car information laws have in the past required dealers to disclose to consumers if a used car had suffered substantial collision damage costing more than $1,500 to repair; and
Whereas, a law enacted this past legislative session indirectly increased the used car information laws disclosure limit to $3,000; and
Whereas, consumers could be significantly injured if they agree to purchase a used car without being told that it had suffered collision damage of up to $3,000; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1475, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §16, is amended to read:
3. Written statement. A dealer shall obtain from the seller of a used motor vehicle a written statement containing the following information:
A. The make, model, model year and any identification or serial numbers of the motor vehicle;
B. The name and address of the seller, the principal use to which the motor vehicle was put by the seller, such as personal transportation, police car, daily rental car, taxi or other descriptive term;
C. A statement identifying any and all mechanical defects known to the seller at the time of sale; and
D. A statement identifying the type of damage, if any, that the vehicle has sustained, such as fire, water or substantial collision damage, if such information is known to the seller.
Any dealer who offers for sale to consumers a repossessed vehicle that has been obtained by the dealer through any transaction other than a retail sale is not subject to the provisions of this subsection.
The seller of the used motor vehicle shall sign and date this written statement and the dealer who buys the vehicle shall maintain a record of it for 2 years following the sale of the motor vehicle.
As used in subsection 2-A and this subsection, "substantial collision damage" means any damage to a motor vehicle from a collision when the costs of repair of that damage, at the time of repair, including replacement of mechanical and body parts, exceeded by 3 times the amount of damage that would at the time of the collision have required a report of the collision to a law enforcement agency under the provisions of Title 29-A, section 2251 exceed $2,000.
Sec. 2. 24-A MRSA §2916-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1987, c. 261, is further amended to read:
2. Accidents. When a named insured or any other person who operates a motor vehicle insured under the policy is individually or are aggregately involved in 2 or more vehicle accidents while operating a motor vehicle insured under the policy, resulting in either personal injury or property damage in excess of $500 the amount defined as a reportable accident under Title 29-A, section 2251, subsection 1. For the purpose of this subsection any of the following occurrences involving a motor vehicle operated by a named insured or such other person shall is not be considered an accident when:
A. The motor vehicle was struck from the rear;
B. The motor vehicle was struck while parked;
C. Only the operator of another motor vehicle involved in the accident was convicted of a crime, offense or violation contributing to the accident; or
D. The named insured or other operator of the motor vehicle insured under the policy or the insurer thereof of the policy, was reimbursed by or on behalf of, a person responsible for the accident or has a judgment against that person.
When more than one motor vehicle in a household is insured by the same insurer, the number of accidents which that would permit nonrenewal shall must, for the aggregate, be increased by one for each additional motor vehicle insured.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect 30 days after approval.
Effective May 3, 2000.
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