The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 9 : Commerce and Trade

Chapter 107 : Equipment and Machinery Dealerships

• § 4078. Warranty obligations

  (a) A supplier shall:

  (1) specify in writing a dealer’s reasonable obligation to perform warranty service on the supplier’s inventory;

  (2) provide the dealer a schedule of reasonable compensation for warranty service, including amounts for diagnostic work, parts, labor, and the time allowance for the performance of warranty service; and

  (3) compensate the dealer pursuant to the schedule of compensation for the warranty service the supplier requires it to perform.

  (b) Time allowances for the diagnosis and performance of warranty service shall be reasonable and adequate for the service to be performed by a dealer that is equipped to complete the requirements of the warranty service.

  (c) The hourly rate paid to a dealer shall not be less than the rate the dealer charges to customers for nonwarranty service.

  (d) A supplier shall compensate a dealer for parts used to fulfill warranty and recall obligations at a rate not less than the price the dealer actually paid the supplier for the parts plus 20 percent, plus freight and handling if charged by the supplier.

  (e) The wholesale price on which a dealer’s markup reimbursement is based for any parts used in a recall or campaign shall not be less than the highest wholesale price listed in the supplier’s wholesale price catalogue within six months prior to the start of the recall or campaign.

  (f)(1) Whenever a supplier and a dealer enter into an agreement providing consumer warranties, the supplier shall pay any warranty claim made for warranty parts and service within 30 days after its receipt and approval.

  (2) The supplier shall approve or disapprove a warranty claim within 30 days after its receipt.

  (3) If a claim is not specifically disapproved in writing within 30 days after its receipt, it shall be deemed to be approved and payment shall be made by the supplier within 30 days after its receipt.

  (g) A supplier violates this section if it:

  (1) fails to perform its warranty obligations;

  (2) fails to include in written notices of factory recalls to machinery owners and dealers the expected date by which necessary parts and equipment will be available to dealers for the correction of such defects; or

  (3) fails to compensate a dealer for repairs required by a recall.

  (h) A supplier shall not:

  (1) impose an unreasonable requirement in the process a dealer must follow to file a warranty claim; or

  (2) impose a surcharge or fee to recover the additional costs the supplier incurs from complying with the provisions of this section. (Added 1993, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 1994; amended 2015, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)