S2478

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. a. 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 specific vehicle which have not been corrected or addressed. In the event that such a recall is discovered, the dealer shall inform a prospective purchaser about the recall, and whether the recall work for that particular vehicle was resolved, if known, prior to finalizing the sale of the used motor vehicle.

b. There shall be an irrebuttable presumption that a dealer had no knowledge of the existence of a prior recall on a used motor 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 motor 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 motor vehicle.

c. As used in this section, “dealer” means 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 vehicles.

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires a car dealer to provide information to any potential buyer of a used motor vehicle with outstanding recalls.

The bill makes it an unlawful practice under P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) for a dealer to sell a used vehicle without first contacting, or accessing information provided by, the vehicle manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to determine if there are any recalls on the used vehicle which have not been corrected or addressed. In the event that a recall is discovered, the dealer would inform the prospective purchaser about the recall, and whether the recall work for that particular vehicle was resolved, if known, prior to finalizing the sale of the vehicle.

Additionally, the bill provides that there is an irrebuttable presumption that a dealer has no knowledge of the existence of a prior recall on a used vehicle if that dealer accessed the NHTSA website and, after the dealer input the specific vehicle identification number (VIN), the website indicated that no open recall existed for that particular vehicle. This provision would not: (1) create any legal duty upon a dealer related to the accuracy, errors, or omissions of the NHTSA website; or (2) require a dealer to provide the prospective purchaser with any recall information that may be added to the NHTSA website, after the dealer prints a copy of the recall information and provides it to the prospective purchaser of the used vehicle.

The bill defines a motor vehicle “dealer” as 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 the bill, “at retail” does not include wholesale sales, sales between dealers, and sales to owners or operators of motor vehicle junk businesses or motor vehicle junk yards, or any other persons or entities engaged in the business of dismantling, destroying, or recycling motor vehicles.