§ 4171. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Board” means, unless otherwise indicated, the Vermont Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board.

(2) “Consumer” means the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale, of a new motor vehicle or lessee of a new motor vehicle, other than for the purposes of sub-lease, that has not been previously leased by another person, any person to whom such motor vehicle is transferred during the duration of an express warranty applicable to the motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty, but “consumer” shall not include any governmental entity or any business or commercial enterprise that registers or leases three or more motor vehicles.

(3) “Early termination costs” mean expenses and obligations incurred by a motor vehicle lessee as a result of an early termination of a written lease agreement and surrender of a motor vehicle to a manufacturer under the provisions of subsection 4172(e) of this title, including penalties for prepayment of finance arrangements.

(4) “Lease or leased” means a written agreement with a lessee as defined in subdivision (5) of this section, which shall be for the use of a motor vehicle for consideration for a term of two or more years.

(5) “Lessee” means any consumer who leases a motor vehicle pursuant to a written lease agreement for a term of two or more years.

(6) “Motor vehicle” means a passenger motor vehicle that is purchased, leased, or registered in the State of Vermont, and shall not include tractors, motorized highway building equipment, road-making appliances, snowmobiles, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, or the living portion of recreation vehicles, or trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating over 12,000 pounds.

(7) “Manufacturer” means any person, resident or nonresident, that 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 a manufacturer. In the case of the portion of a recreation vehicle subject to this chapter, and except as otherwise provided in subdivision 4172(e)(2) of this title, “manufacturer” means the final stage assembler of the completed recreation vehicle. Additionally, the term “manufacturer” shall include:

(A) “distributor,” meaning any person, resident or nonresident, that in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or new motor vehicle lessors or maintains factory representatives or that controls any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, that in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or new motor vehicle lessors; and

(B) “factory branch,” meaning any branch office maintained by a manufacturer for the purpose of selling, leasing, or offering for sale or lease, vehicles to a distributor or new motor vehicle dealer or for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, factory distributor representatives.

(8) “Motor vehicle lessor” means a person who holds title to a motor vehicle leased to a lessee under a written lease agreement for a term of two or more years, or who holds the lessor’s rights under such an agreement.

(9) A “new motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is still under the manufacturer’s express warranty or, in the case of the portion of a recreation vehicle that is subject to this chapter, that is still under an express warranty for the relevant component.

(10) Warranty shall be defined as including the following:

“Express warranty” means express warranties as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code, 9A V.S.A. § 2—313, plus any written warranty of the manufacturer. (Added 1983, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1985, No. 260 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1987, No. 242 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 18, § 27, eff. May 13, 1999; 2009, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 19l, eff. Sept. 1, 2010; 2011, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2017, No. 206 (Adj. Sess.), § 14.)