CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 59.1-207.11)

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:”Collateral charges” means any sales-related or
lease-related charges including but not limited to sales tax, license fees,
registration fees, title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation
charges, dealer preparation charges or any other charges for service contracts,
undercoating, rust proofing or installed options, not recoverable from a third
party. If a refund involves a lease, “collateral charges” means, in
addition to any of the above, capitalized cost reductions, credits and
allowances for any trade-in vehicles, fees to another to obtain the lease, and
insurance or other costs expended by the lessor for the benefit of the
lessee.”Comparable motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is
identical or reasonably equivalent to the motor vehicle to be replaced, as the
motor vehicle to be replaced existed at the time of purchase or lease with an
offset from this value for a reasonable allowance for its
use.”Consumer” means the purchaser, other than for purposes of
resale, or the lessee, of a motor vehicle used in substantial part for personal,
family, or household purposes, and any person to whom such motor vehicle is
transferred for the same purposes during the duration of any warranty applicable
to such motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of such
warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty.”Incidental
damages” shall have the same meaning as provided in §
8.2-715.”Lemon law rights period” means the period ending eighteen
months after the date of the original delivery to the consumer of a new motor
vehicle. This shall be the period during which the consumer can report any
nonconformity to the manufacturer and pursue any rights provided for under this
chapter.”Lien” means a security interest in a motor
vehicle.”Lienholder” means a person, partnership, association,
corporation or entity with a security interest in a motor vehicle pursuant to a
lien.”Manufacturer” means a person, partnership, association,
corporation or entity engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling
motor vehicles, or of distributing motor vehicles to motor vehicle
dealers.”Manufacturer’s express warranty” means the written
warranty, so labeled, of the manufacturer of a new automobile, including any
terms or conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under that
warranty.”Motor vehicle” means only passenger cars, pickup or panel
trucks, motorcycles, self-propelled motorized chassis of motor homes and mopeds
as those terms are defined in § 46.2-100 and demonstrators or leased vehicles
with which a warranty was issued.”Motor vehicle dealer” shall have
the same meaning as provided in § 46.2-1500.”Nonconformity” means a
failure to conform with a warranty, a defect or a condition, including those
that do not affect the driveability of the vehicle, which significantly impairs
the use, market value, or safety of a motor vehicle.”Notify” or
“notification” means that the manufacturer shall be deemed to have
been notified under this chapter if a written complaint of the defect or defects
has been mailed to it or it has responded to the consumer in writing regarding a
complaint, or a factory representative has either inspected the vehicle or met
with the consumer or an authorized dealer regarding the
nonconformity.”Reasonable allowance for use” shall not exceed
one-half of the amount allowed per mile by the Internal Revenue Service, as
provided by regulation, revenue procedure, or revenue ruling promulgated
pursuant to § 162 of the Internal Revenue Code, for use of a personal vehicle
for business purposes, plus an amount to account for any loss to the fair market
value of the vehicle resulting from damage beyond normal wear and tear, unless
the damage resulted from nonconformity to any warranty.”Serious safety
defect” means a life-threatening malfunction or nonconformity that impedes
the consumer’s ability to control or operate the new motor vehicle for
ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes or creates a risk of fire or
explosion.”Significant impairment” means to render the new motor
vehicle unfit, unreliable or unsafe for ordinary use or reasonable intended
purposes.”Warranty” means any implied warranty or any written
warranty of the manufacturer, or any affirmations of fact or promise made by the
manufacturer in connection with the sale or lease of a motor vehicle that become
part of the basis of the bargain. The term “warranty” pertains to
the obligations of the manufacturer in relation to materials, workmanship, and
fitness of a motor vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes
throughout the duration of the lemon law rights period as defined under this
section.

HISTORY: 1984, c. 773; 1988, c. 603; 1990, c. 772; 1998, c. 671.