ASSEMBLY, No. 3725
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 22, 2014
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblywoman ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Mazzeo, Assemblywoman Lampitt and Assemblyman Wilson
SYNOPSIS
Requires dealership to notify buyers of recalls on used motor vehicles for sale.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee on October 2, 2014, with amendments.
An Act concerning recalls on used motor vehicles for sale and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. 1a.1 It shall be an unlawful practice pursuant to P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) for a dealer to sell or transfer a used motor vehicle without first contacting or accessing information provided by the vehicle manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine if there are any outstanding recalls on the 1specific1 vehicle which have not been corrected or addressed. In the event that such a recall is discovered, the dealer shall 1[provide the information about the recall to] inform1 a prospective purchaser 1about the recall, and whether the recall work for that particular vehicle was resolved, if known,1 prior to finalizing the sale of the used motor vehicle.
1b. There shall be an irrebuttable presumption that a dealer had no knowledge of the existence of a prior recall on a used vehicle if that dealer accessed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Internet website and, after the dealer input the specific vehicle identification number, the website indicated that no open recall existed for the particular used vehicle. This subsection shall not:
(1) create any legal duty upon a dealer related to the accuracy, errors, or omissions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website; or
(2) require a dealer to provide the prospective purchaser with any recall information that may be added to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Internet website, after the dealer has printed a copy of the recall information and provided it to the prospective purchaser of the used vehicle.
c.1 As used in this section, “dealer” means 1[the same as defined pursuant to R.S.39:10-2] a person who is actively engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging new or used motor vehicles at retail. For the purposes of this definition, “at retail” shall not include wholesale sales, sales between dealers, and sales to owners or operators of motor vehicle junk businesses or motor vehicle junk yards, as defined in R.S.39:11-2, or any other persons or entities engaged in the business of dismantling, destroying or recycling motor vehicles1.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.