Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 4087

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Distributor: means any person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or who maintains factory representatives or who controls any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers. See
  • following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
  • Franchise: means all agreements and contracts between any new motor vehicle manufacturer, written or otherwise, and any new motor vehicle dealer that relate to the operation of the franchise and purport to fix the legal rights and liabilities of the parties to such agreements or contracts, including agreements pursuant to which the dealer purchases and resells the franchise product, performs warranty and other service on the manufacturer's products, leases or rents the dealership premises or agreements concerning the dealership premises, or construction or renovation of the dealership premises. See
  • Manufacturer: means any person, resident or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles new motor vehicles, or imports for distribution through distributors of motor vehicles, or any partnership, firm, association, joint venture, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, that is controlled by the manufacturer. See
  • Motor vehicle: means every vehicle intended primarily for use and operation on the public highways that is self-propelled, not including farm tractors and other machines and tools used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products. See
  • New motor vehicle: means a vehicle that has been sold to a new motor vehicle dealer and that has not been used for other than demonstration purposes and on which the original title has not been issued from the new motor vehicle dealer. See

§ 4087. Transportation damages

(a) Notwithstanding the terms, provisions, or conditions of any agreement or franchise, the manufacturer is liable for all damages to motor vehicles before delivery to a carrier or transporter.

(b) If a new motor vehicle dealer determines the method of transportation, the risk of loss passes to the dealer upon delivery of the vehicle to the carrier.

(c) In every other instance, the risk of loss remains with the manufacturer until such time as the new motor vehicle dealer or his or her designee accepts the vehicle from the carrier.

(d)(1) On any new motor vehicle, a manufacturer or distributor shall disclose in writing to a dealer and a dealer shall disclose in writing to the ultimate purchaser any uncorrected damage or any corrected damage to the vehicle, as measured by retail repair costs, if the corrected damage exceeds the following percentage of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, as defined in 15 U.S.C. §§ 1231-1233:

(A) five percent up to the first $10,000.00; and

(B) two percent on any amount over $10,000.00.

(2) Damage to glass, tires, wheels, and bumpers shall be excluded from the calculation required in this subsection when replaced by identical manufacturer’s original equipment. (Added 1981, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 14, 1982; amended 1989, No. 31; 1989, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 23, 1990; 2009, No. 57, § 1, eff. June 1, 2009.)