§481J-6 - Failure to honor warranty.
§481J-6 Failure to honor warranty. (a) If the dealer or its agent fails to correct a defect or malfunction as required by the warranty specified in section 481J-2 after a reasonable period of time, the dealer shall accept return of the used motor vehicle from the consumer and refund the full purchase price, including general excise tax, less a reasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal wear or usage, and with an adjustment for any modifications which either increase or decrease the market value of the vehicle. A reasonable allowance for use shall be fifteen cents for each mile the used motor vehicle has been operated between its sale and its return.
(b) It shall be presumed that a dealer has had a reasonable opportunity to correct a defect or malfunction in a used motor vehicle if the dealer fails to repair the same defect or malfunction within three attempts, or if the used motor vehicle is out of service for more than a cumulative total of ten business days after the consumer has returned it to the dealer for repair.
(c) A used motor vehicle shall not be considered out of service for purposes of the ten-business-day period described in subsection (b) for any day in which a part necessary to repair a defect or malfunction complained of is not in the dealer's possession; provided that the dealer has ordered the part by reasonable means on the same day on which the dealer knew or should have known that the part was necessary, except that in no event shall a part's unavailability operate to toll the ten-business-day period for more than twenty-one days. The applicable warranty period shall be extended by the number of days a part is unavailable.
(d) In determining the purchase price to be refunded, the purchase price shall be deemed equal to the sum of the actual cash difference paid for the used motor vehicle, plus return of any vehicles traded in at the time of purchase. If the dealer elects to not return any vehicles traded in by the consumer, or is unable to return such vehicles in substantially the same condition as received from the consumer, the dealer shall pay the consumer the wholesale value of any such traded-in vehicles as listed in the National Automobile Dealers' Association Used Car Guide, or such other guide as may be specified in rules adopted by the director of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91, as adjusted for mileage, improvements, and any major physical or mechanical defects in the vehicle at the time of trade-in.
(e) The dealer selling the used motor vehicle shall deliver to the consumer a written notice either attached to or within the contract of sale containing conspicuous language indicating that if the consumer should be entitled to a refund pursuant to this section, the value of any vehicle traded in by the consumer will be determined by the method described in subsection (d), rather than the value listed in the sales contract.
(f) Refunds shall be made to the consumer and lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear on the records of ownership kept by the county director of finance.
(g) Alternatively, the dealer may elect to offer to replace the used motor vehicle with a comparably priced vehicle, with such adjustment in price as the parties may agree to. The consumer shall not be obligated to accept a replacement vehicle, but may instead elect to receive the refund provided under this section. [L 1994, c 224, pt of §1; am L 2008, c 19, §25]