As used in this chapter, except when the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

1.    “Low-speed vehicle” means a four-wheeled vehicle that is able to attain a speed, upon a paved surface, of more than twenty miles per hour [32 kilometers per hour] in one mile [1.6 kilometers] and not more than twenty-five miles per hour [40 kilometers per hour] in one mile [1.6 kilometers] and may not exceed three thousand pounds [1360.77 kilograms] in weight when fully loaded with passengers and any cargo.

2.    “Motor vehicle” includes every vehicle that is self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, every trailer, semitrailer, park model trailer as defined in subsection 2 of section 57-55-10, off-highway vehicle, snowmobile, low-speed vehicle, and travel trailer for which a certificate of title is required to be obtained under chapter 39-05, but not including housetrailers or mobile homes. The term does not include an electric bicycle.

3.    “Off-highway vehicle” means off-highway vehicle as defined in section 39-29-01.

4.    “Person” includes any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, estate, business trust, receiver, or any other group or combination acting as a unit and the plural as well as the singular number.

5.    “Purchase price” means the total amount paid for the motor vehicle whether received in money or otherwise. The purchase price excludes the amount of a manufacturer’s incentive or discount that reduces the amount paid by the purchaser to the seller at the time of purchase and any charges or fees for auction services. If a motor vehicle or other tangible personal property that will be subject to a sales or use tax imposed by chapter 57-39.2 or 57-40.2 when sold or used is taken in trade as a credit or as part payment on a motor vehicle taxable under this chapter, the credit or trade-in value allowed by the person selling the motor vehicle shall be deducted from the total selling price to establish the purchase price of the vehicle being sold and the trade-in allowance allowed by the seller on a motor vehicle accepted as a trade-in shall constitute the purchase price of a motor vehicle accepted as a trade-in. If a motor vehicle is purchased by an owner who has had a motor vehicle stolen or totally destroyed, a credit or trade-in credit shall be allowed against one or more replacement motor vehicle purchases in a cumulative amount not to exceed the total amount the purchaser has been compensated by an insurance company for the loss plus the amount of the purchaser’s deductible at the time of the loss. For a leased vehicle that is stolen or totally destroyed, the credit may not exceed the total amount of motor vehicle excise tax paid. The purchaser must provide the director of the department of transportation with a notarized statement from the insurance company within three years from the date of issuance verifying the fact that the original vehicle was a total loss and stating the amount compensated by the insurance company for the loss and the amount of the purchaser’s deductible at the time of the loss. The statement from the insurance company must accompany the purchaser’s application for a certificate of title for the replacement vehicle. If the full amount of the credit under this subsection has not been used, the director of the department of transportation shall record on the face of the notarized statement the necessary information to identify the partial use of the credit and shall retain a copy and return the original to the purchaser. In instances in which a licensed motor vehicle dealer places into the dealer’s service a new vehicle for the purpose of renting, leasing, or dealership utility service, the reasonable value of the vehicle replaced shall be included as trade-in value provided the vehicle replaced has been subject to motor vehicle excise tax under section 57-40.3-02 and if the new vehicle is properly registered and licensed. “Purchase price” when the motor vehicle is acquired by gift or by any other transfer for a nominal or no monetary consideration also includes the average value of similar motor vehicles, established by standards and guides as determined by the director of the department of transportation.

“Purchase price” when a motor vehicle is manufactured by a person who registers it under the laws of this state means the manufactured cost of such motor vehicle and manufactured cost means the amount expended for materials, labor, and other properly allocable costs of manufacture except that, in the absence of actual expenditures for the manufacture of a part or all of the motor vehicle, manufactured cost means the reasonable value of the completed motor vehicle.

6.    “Purchaser” means any person owning or in possession of a motor vehicle who makes application to the director of the department of transportation for registration plates or a certificate of title for such vehicle.

7.    “Registrar” means the director of the department of transportation of this state as provided by section 24-02-01.3, and who shall act as the agent of the state tax commissioner in administering this chapter.

8.    “Sale”, “sells”, “selling”, “purchase”, “purchased”, or “acquired” includes any transfer of title or ownership of a motor vehicle by way of gift, exchange or barter, or by any other manner or by any other means whatsoever for or without consideration.

9. “Semitrailer” includes every vehicle of the trailer type so designed and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests upon or is carried by another motor vehicle and for which a certificate of title is required to be obtained pursuant to the provisions of chapter 39-05, except that it does not include a “housetrailer” or “mobile home”.

10.    “Snowmobile” means a self-propelled vehicle designed for travel on snow, ice, or a natural terrain and steered by skis or runners.

11.    “Trailer” includes every vehicle without motive power designed to carry property or passengers wholly on its own structure and to be drawn by a motor vehicle and for which a certificate of title is required to be obtained pursuant to the provisions of chapter 39-05, except that it does not include a “housetrailer” or “mobile home”.

12.    “Travel trailer” means a mobile home or housetrailer designed to be towed behind a motor vehicle for recreational purposes and providing temporary sleeping quarters for people.

13.    “Use” means the exercise by any person of any right or power over a motor vehicle incident to the ownership or possession of such a vehicle, except that it shall not include the sale or holding for sale of such a vehicle in the regular course of business.

14.    “Vehicle” includes every device in, upon, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, except devices moved by human power or animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.