Pub. 2 2020 Issue 6

Everything You Need to KnowAbout 'As-Is' Sales in NewHampshire Y ou don’t want to get into trouble with the Federal Trade Commission to fail to post or not follow the Federal Trade Commis- sion Buyer Guide – a most basic rule of selling cars. These FAQs may help. The FTC has fined dealers for failing to post the FTC Buyer Guide – the most basic rule of selling cars. NH is among a handful of states that requires a sec- ond As-Is form (RSA 382-A:2-316). Below please find some FAQs relative to the FTC and NH laws. How do I post the FTC Buyers Guide? The FTC requires that the Buyers Guide must be posted prominently and conspicuously on or in a vehicle when a car is available for sale. This means it must be in plain view, and both sides must be visible. You can hang the guide from the rear-view mirror inside the car or on a side-view mirror outside the car. You also can place it under a windshield wiper. The guide also can be attached to a side window. A guide in a glove compartment, trunk, or under the seat is not conspicuous because it is not in plain sight. Can I remove the FTC Buyers Guide for a test drive? You may remove the guide for a test drive, but you must replace it as soon as it is over. Do I have to display a FTC Buyers Guide if I am selling a vehicle at an auction that is open to dealers and consumers? Yes. According to the FTC staff, before your used vehicles are offered for sale, sold, or made available for inspection at an auction that is open to consum- ers, you must prepare and display an FTC Buyers Guide as required by the rule. If the vehicle is sold to a con- sumer, you must comply with the other requirements of the rule, just as if you had sold the vehicle from your regular place of business. If your used vehicle is sold at the auction to another dealer, you need not comply with respect to that particular vehicle. Can I sell a vehicle As-Is and also sell or include a service contract? The FTC Staff Compliance Guidelines state: When a dealer enters into a ser- vice contract with a consumer within 90 days of selling the vehicle, federal law prohibits the dealer from disclaim- ing implied warranties on the systems covered in that service contract. For example, if you are a dealer who sells a car As-Is, the vehicle typically will not be covered by implied warranties (assuming that state law permits As-Is sales). But if you also enter into a ser- vice contract covering the engine for six months, you automatically provide an implied warranty on the engine. Furthermore, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office stated in its 2006 Consumer Source Book that, “... if a dealer violates the Buyers Guide rule, it provides strong and persuasive evidence that the practice also consti- tutes an unfair or deceptive practice as defined by New Hampshire’s Con- sumer Protection Act.” Finally, court cases in other states have interpreted the UCC to provide that a dealer cannot avoid implied warranties in an LISA LAVOIE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER D R I V E 22