2005 Maine Code - §1475 — Disclosure of information

      1. Written disclosure statement. No dealer may sell, negotiate the sale of, offer for sale or transfer any used motor vehicle, including any used motor vehicle transferred to another dealer, unless the dealer affixes to the vehicle a conspicuous written statement containing the information required by subsection 2-A.[1991, c. 824, Pt. A, §16 (amd).]
      2. Required contents of disclosure statement.[1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §2 (rp).]
      2-A. Required contents of disclosure statement. The statement required by subsection 1 must contain a complete description of the motor vehicle to be sold, including, but not limited to:
   
A. The make, model, model year and any identification or serial numbers of the motor vehicle; [1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3 (new).]    
B. The dealer's duty to disclose promptly the name and address of the previous owner of the motor vehicle, or dealer, upon the request of any person, the principal use to which the motor vehicle was put by that owner such as personal transportation, police car, daily rental car, taxi or other descriptive term, and the type of sale or other means by which the person acquired the motor vehicle, such as trade-in, sheriff's sale, repossession, auction or other descriptive term, to the extent that such information is reasonably available to the person; [1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3 (new).]    
C. A statement identifying any and all mechanical defects known to the dealer at the time of sale; [1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3 (new).]    
D. A statement identifying the type of damage, if any, that the vehicle has sustained, such as fire, water or substantial collision damage, if that information is known to the dealer; [1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3 (new).]    
E. A statement, if applicable, that implied warranties with respect to the vehicle are excluded or modified. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to affect the requirements of Title 11, section 2-316; [1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3 (new).]    
F. A statement, if applicable, disclosing that the vehicle was returned to the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer, for its nonconformity with express warranties. The statement must identify the nature of the nonconformities; [1995, c. 269, §2 (amd).]    
G. If the vehicle is repossessed, a statement identifying this fact; and [1995, c. 269, §2 (amd).]    
H. The dealer's duty to disclose conspicuously in writing the dealer's policy in relation to the return of deposits received from any person. A dealer shall require that a person making a deposit sign the form on which the disclosure appears. [1995, c. 269, §3 (new).]

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles may adopt rules related to this section, including, but not limited to, rules establishing uniform disclosure forms and stickers. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles may include in any rule establishing uniform disclosure forms and stickers any information that the Federal Trade Commission requires to be disclosed on a sticker pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule, 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 455, except that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles may not include in any uniform disclosure form or sticker information from the Federal Trade Commission rule that conflicts in any manner with the information required by this section.

Any dealer who offers for sale to the consuming public a repossessed vehicle that has been obtained by the dealer through any transaction other than a retail sale and who meets the warranty and disclosure requirements of section 1474 and subsection 1 and this subsection has no other liability under this chapter, except for any additional warranties negotiated between the dealer and the consumer.

The dealer must require the buyer to sign and date the disclosure statement, provide the buyer with a copy of the signed and dated statement and maintain a copy of the signed and dated statement for 3 years following the sale of the vehicle.
[1995, c. 188, §1 (amd); c. 269, §§2, 3 (amd).]
      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; [1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §16 (rpr).]    
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; [1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §16 (rpr).]    
C. A statement identifying any and all mechanical defects known to the seller at the time of sale; and [1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §16 (rpr).]    
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. [1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §16 (rpr).]

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.

A dealer is not subject to the provisions of this subsection if that dealer offers for sale to consumers a used motor vehicle that has been obtained by the dealer through an auction located outside the State at which buyers are limited to licensed dealers and the seller of the used motor vehicle is neither a resident of this State nor a dealer licensed in this State, if the dealer clearly discloses on the written disclosure statement required by subsections 1 and 2-A that the vehicle was acquired at an out-of-state auction and that historical information regarding mechanical defects and substantial damage is not available.

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, exceed $2,000.
[2003, c. 240, §1 (amd).]
      4. Lemon law buybacks. If a vehicle has been the subject of a complaint pursuant to chapter 203-A or any state's new motor vehicle lemon law that protects consumers from motor vehicles that do not conform to all manufacturer express warranties and that complaint was either filed in court or accepted for state-certified arbitration and the manufacturer subsequently purchased back the vehicle, either as the result of a court or arbitration order or voluntary settlement:
   
A. The dealer must disclose this fact, if known, when disclosing any defects pursuant to subsection 2-A; and [1993, c. 112, §3 (new).]    
B. The manufacturer must disclose this fact when selling the vehicle to a dealer and completing the statement required by subsection 3. [1993, c. 112, §3 (new).] [1993, c. 112, §3 (new).]
      5. Extended service warranty arbitration location. An extended service warranty that was sold in this State for a motor vehicle registered in this State that includes a clause indicating that arbitration is required must require the location of the arbitration to be in this State.[2005, c. 476, §3 (new).]

Section History:

PL 1975,  Ch. 770,   §57 (NEW).
PL 1981,  Ch. 296,   §1-4 (AMD).
PL 1983,  Ch. 311,   §1-3 (AMD).
PL 1985,  Ch. 265,   §1-3 (AMD).
PL 1985,  Ch. 429,   §5 (AMD).
PL 1987,  Ch. 136,   § (AMD).
PL 1987,  Ch. 593,   § (AMD).
PL 1989,  Ch. 198,   §2 (AMD).
PL 1989,  Ch. 684,   §2-5 (AMD).
PL 1989,  Ch. 878,   §F2,3 (AMD).
PL 1991,  Ch. 62,   §1,2 (AMD).
PL 1991,  Ch. 824,   §A16 (AMD).
PL 1991,  Ch. 837,   §A25 (AMD).
PL 1993,  Ch. 112,   §2,3 (AMD).
PL 1995,  Ch. 65,   §A153,C15 (AFF).
PL 1995,  Ch. 65,   §A21 (AMD).
PL 1995,  Ch. 188,   §1,2 (AMD).
PL 1995,  Ch. 269,   §2,3 (AMD).
PL 1995,  Ch. 625,   §A16 (AMD).
PL 1999,  Ch. 617,   §1 (AMD).
PL 2003,  Ch. 240,   §1 (AMD).
PL 2005,  Ch. 476,   §3 (AMD).