NJ CAR Is Focused On Strengthening Dealer Protections and Boosting Consumer Recall Completion Rates NJ CAR is preparing a legislative initiative that would amend the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act and hopes to have it introduced in the New Jersey Legislature in 2024. Unlike most legislation NJ CAR monitors, this bill (which traces its origins back to a year-long discussion with NJ CAR leadership) will be introduced at the Coalition’s request. Legislators will want us to tell them why this initiative is important to our industry. Support from members through participation in our NJ CARPOOL grassroots platform and legislator visits will be invaluable to help encourage legislators to join us in supporting the bill. We encourage dealers and their employees to step up to voice their support when NJ CAR calls on everyone to contact their elected officials. The current draft of the legislation amends the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act to benefit consumers and dealers by protecting both from potential manufacturer overreach. Specifically, it provides clarity in dealership reimbursements for warranty and repair work and promotes greater highway safety by creating a consumer notification system to encourage warranty and repair services. The amendments NJ CAR has prepared will address a variety of issues important to dealers and consumers. Some of the provisions that NJ CAR is seeking to include relate to the following: • Prohibiting the sale of unsafe used vehicles under a “stop sale” or “do not drive” recall. • Requiring all used car dealers to check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website (safercar.gov) for open recalls on a vehicle before it is sold. • Codifying the existing requirement for dealers to disclose whether a vehicle is subject to any open recall at the time of sale. • Providing a “safe harbor” defense to any consumer fraud claim, as long as the dealer checked the NHTSA website and found no recall on the vehicle before it was sold. The amendment also makes clear the dealer is not liable for any errors or omissions on the safercar.gov website and has no obligation to continue checking the website after the sale. • Requiring automakers to provide the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) with a list of all New Jersey-registered vehicles under recall for six (6) months or more (that have yet to be repaired) and, in cooperation with the NJMVC, to send notice to those registered vehicle owners with unresolved recalls. • Requiring automakers to compensate their franchisees for specified costs associated with a “stop sale” or “do not drive” order. • Defining the dealers’ recall costs more clearly and requiring automakers to compensate dealers 1.75% per month of the book value of any used vehicle subject to a “stop sale” recall. • Clarifying provisions in existing law, which require an automaker to pay dealers a fair retail rate of reimbursement on parts and labor to repair vehicles under recall. • Protecting auto retailers from being subject to financial or other penalties levied by an automaker in the event they bring a claim for reimbursement of recall costs. • Prohibiting manufacturers from recovering their cost of compliance with state law and requiring retail reimbursement to the dealer for parts and service provided for warranty and safety recalls. How 2023 Election Results Influence NJ CAR Efforts in 2024 BY MAGDALENA PADILLA, ESQ., DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, NJ CAR 22 new jersey auto retailer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==