Disclosure by Dealer of Damage to New Motor Vehicles

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  2. Georgia Code
  3. Motor Vehicles and Traffic
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  5. General Provisions
  6. Disclosure by Dealer of Damage to New Motor Vehicles

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  1. As used in this Code section, the terms "dealer," "distributor," "manufacturer," and "new motor vehicle" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 40-2-39.
  2. Except as provided in this subsection and in subsection (c) of this Code section, prior to the sale of a new motor vehicle, a dealer must disclose to the buyer any damage which has occurred to the vehicle of which the dealer has actual knowledge and which costs more than 5 percent of the manufacturer's suggested retail price to repair.Prior to the sale of a new motor vehicle, a dealer must also disclose to the buyer any damage which has occurred to the paint of which the dealer has actual knowledge and which costs more than $500.00 to repair.Damages shall be calculated at the actual cost of such repair.
  3. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsection (b) of this Code section, in calculating the amount of damage for purposes of disclosure under subsection (b) of this Code section, a dealer shall not be required to take into account nor shall a dealer be required to disclose damage to glass, tires, wheels, bumpers, radio, or in-dash audio equipment, regardless of cost, so long as the item is replaced with original or reasonably comparable equipment.
  4. Prior to the delivery of a new motor vehicle, each manufacturer, distributor, carrier, or motor vehicle importer must disclose to the dealer any damage which has occurred to the vehicle of which the manufacturer, distributor, carrier, or importer has actual knowledge and which is required to be disclosed to a buyer under subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section. If a manufacturer, distributor, carrier, or motor vehicle importer fails to make any disclosure required by this subsection, then such shall be liable to the dealer for any liability imposed on such dealer for a failure on the part of the dealer to comply with the requirements of this Code section.
  5. Prior to the delivery of a new motor vehicle, each manufacturer, carrier, or motor vehicle importer must disclose to the distributor any damage which has occurred to the vehicle of which the manufacturer, carrier, or importer has actual knowledge and which is required to be disclosed to a buyer under subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section. If a manufacturer, carrier, or motor vehicle importer fails to make any disclosure required by this subsection, then such shall be liable to the distributor for any liability imposed on such distributor for a failure on the part of the distributor to comply with the requirements of this Code section.
  6. If disclosure is not required under this Code section, a buyer may not revoke or rescind a sales contract, and relief may not be sought under this or any other provision of this Code, including Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 due to the fact that the new motor vehicle was damaged and repaired prior to the sale.
  7. A violation of this Code section shall be a per se violation of Code Section 10-1-393, and the penalties, procedures, and remedies applicable to violations of Code Section 10-1-393 shall be applicable to a violation of this Code section.

(Code 1981, §40-1-5, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 40.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1990, "40-2-39" was substituted for "40-2-36.1" in subsection (a), since Code Section 40-2-36.1 was redesignated as Code Section 40-2-39 by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 2.

Law reviews.

- For note on 1990 enactment of this Code section, see 7 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 329 (1990).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Demonstrator qualifies as a "new motor vehicle" under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-5. Neal Pope, Inc. v. Garlington, 245 Ga. App. 49, 537 S.E.2d 179 (2000).

Repairs that are necessary to fix damage to a vehicle, regardless of whether those repairs involve replacing damaged car parts, are included in the definition of "repair." Neal Pope, Inc. v. Garlington, 245 Ga. App. 49, 537 S.E.2d 179 (2000).

Repair costs less than five percent of retail price.

- When the dealer's undisputed actual repair costs were less than five percent of the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the car, the dealer was not required to disclose the damage to plaintiff prior to the sale and O.C.G.A. § 40-1-5(f) applied to bar relief to plaintiff. Nall v. Bill Heard Chevrolet Co., 238 Ga. App. 365, 518 S.E.2d 164 (1999).

Repair costs more than five percent of retail price.

- Because the undisputed facts showed that repairs to the car which were performed before the sale totaled more than five percent of the original manufacturer's suggested retail price and that the dealer's salesperson said that there had been no problems with the car, grant of summary judgment on the plaintiff's Fair Business Practices Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-390 et seq., claim was proper. Neal Pope, Inc. v. Garlington, 245 Ga. App. 49, 537 S.E.2d 179 (2000).


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