(1) As used in this section:

(a) ‘Buyer’ means a person that purchases or leases a motor vehicle.

(b) ‘Final approval of funding’ means a lender’s irrevocable agreement to purchase a retail installment contract or lease agreement from a seller according to the exact terms that the seller and buyer have negotiated.

(c) ‘Lender’ means a person that purchases a retail installment contract or lease agreement for a motor vehicle.

(d) ‘Motor vehicle’ means a motor vehicle, as defined in ORS § 801.360, that is sold or leased in this state for personal, family or household purposes.

(e) ‘Seller’ means a person that holds a current, valid vehicle dealer certificate issued under ORS § 822.020.

(2) A seller may offer to sell or lease a motor vehicle to a buyer or prospective buyer under a retail installment contract or lease agreement that is subject to a lender’s agreement to purchase the retail installment contract or lease agreement into which the buyer enters.

(3) In any transaction described in subsection (2) of this section:

(a) If, within 14 days after a buyer takes possession of a motor vehicle, a lender does not agree to purchase a retail installment contract or lease agreement on the exact terms that the seller and the buyer negotiate and the seller does not receive final approval of funding from the lender, the seller shall return to the buyer all items of value the seller received from the buyer as part of the transaction; and

(b) If the seller has accepted a trade-in motor vehicle from the buyer, the seller may not sell or lease the buyer’s trade-in motor vehicle before the seller receives final approval of funding from the lender.

(4) In any transaction described in subsection (2) of this section, if the buyer has accepted a motor vehicle from the seller that is subject to a retail installment contract or lease agreement, and a lender does not agree to purchase the retail installment contract or lease agreement on the exact terms the seller and the buyer negotiated, the buyer shall return to the seller all items of value the buyer received from the seller as part of the transaction. The seller may charge the buyer only for amounts that the retail installment contract or lease agreement provides in writing that the seller may charge. The retail installment contract or lease agreement may provide only for these amounts:

(a) The fair market value of damage to, excessive wear and tear on or loss of the motor vehicle that occurs between the date the buyer takes possession of the motor vehicle and the date the buyer returns the motor vehicle to the seller’s custody; and

(b) If, within 14 days after the date on which the buyer takes possession of the motor vehicle, the seller sends notice to the buyer by first class mail or written electronic communication that a lender has not agreed to purchase the retail installment contract or lease agreement, a reasonable charge per mile for the use of the motor vehicle. The charge may not exceed the rate per mile allowed under federal law as a deduction for federal income tax purposes for an ordinary and necessary business expense.

(5) If the buyer makes a reasonable attempt to return the vehicle within five days after the seller sends a notice under subsection (4)(b) of this section, but the seller is not available to accept the return, the seller may not charge the buyer under subsection (4)(b) of this section.

(6)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, a seller has an affirmative defense to a claim or charge of violating subsection (3)(a) of this section by showing that the buyer failed to return the motor vehicle after the seller sent the notice described in subsection (4)(b) of this section.

(b) A seller shall retain proof of the date on which the seller sent to the buyer the notice described in subsection (4)(b) of this section. [Formerly 646.877; 2017 c.241 § 1; 2023 c.400 § 37]