Kansas Statutes 50-645. Motor vehicle warranties; definitions; consumer rights and remedies; enforcement by attorney general
(a) As used in this act:
(1) “Consumer” means the original purchaser or lessee, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle; and
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 50-645
- Consumer: means an individual, husband and wife, sole proprietor, or family partnership who seeks or acquires property or services for personal, family, household, business or agricultural purposes. See Kansas Statutes 50-624
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures or assembles assistive devices and agents of that person, including an importer, a distributor, factory branch, distributor branch and any warrantors of the manufacturer's assistive device, but does not include an assistive device dealer. See Kansas Statutes 50-696
- Nonconformity: means a condition or defect that substantially impairs the use, value or safety of an assistive device, and that is covered by an express warranty applicable to the assistive device or to a component of the assistive device, but does not include a condition or defect that is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification or alteration of the assistive device by a consumer. See Kansas Statutes 50-696
- Services: includes :
(1) Work, labor and other personal services;
(2) privileges with respect to transportation, hotel and restaurant accommodations, education, entertainment, recreation, physical culture, hospital accommodations, funerals and cemetery accommodations; and
(3) any other act performed for a consumer by a supplier. See Kansas Statutes 50-624
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
(2) “motor vehicle” means a new motor vehicle which is sold or leased in this state, and which is registered for a gross weight of 12,000 pounds or less, and does not include the customized parts of motor vehicles which have been added or modified by second stage manufacturers, first stage converters or second stage converters as defined in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-2401, and amendments thereto.
(b) If a motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer during the term of any warranties or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to such warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of any such term or such one-year period.
(c) If the manufacturer, or its agents or authorized dealers, are unable to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle under warranty or accept return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase or lease price including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer’s use of the vehicle as calculated from the most recent edition of Your Driving Costs, published by the American automobile association. Refunds shall be made to the consumer, and lienholder if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer and any previous consumer prior to the first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, agent or dealer and during any subsequent period when the vehicle is not out of service by reason of repair. It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under this act that:
(1) An alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair such use and value; or
(2) a nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer.
(d) If the manufacturer receives actual notice of the nonconformity, it shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable warranties, if:
(1) The same nonconformity which substantially impairs the use and value of the motor vehicle to the consumer has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers within the term of any warranty or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, but such nonconformity continues to exist;
(2) the vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days during such term or period, whichever is the earlier date; or
(3) there have been 10 or more attempts to repair any nonconformities which substantially impair the use and value of the motor vehicle to the consumer and such attempts to repair have been attempts by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers.
The term of any warranty, such one-year period and such thirty-day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or other natural disaster.
(e) If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies in all respects with the provisions of title 16, code of federal regulations, part 703, as from time to time amended, the provisions of subsection (c) concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure.
(f) The attorney general shall have jurisdiction to enforce this section.