Senate Bill S5275

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S5275

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the personal property law, in relation to establishing
the automobile sales protection act

 PURPOSE :

This bill will provide a three-day cooling off period for used vehicle
sales.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Amends Article 12 and sections 500 and 551 of the personal
property law, to change the number to article 13 and sections 600 and
601, respectively, and a new article 12 is added titled the
"Automobile Sales Protection Act," with the following provisions:

§ 550: Auto purchasers may return a used vehicle at any time for any
reason to a dealership within three days of driving the vehicle off
the lot. Returning the vehicle will result in a full refund of the
purchase price, cancellation of any financing, a return of the
trade-in or the trade-in's fair market private sale value. The dealer
must return the trade-in if it is still available. The cooling off
period is cancelled immediately and the sale becomes final if the
              

buyer either (1) damages the vehicle in any way, (2) materially alters
or modifies the vehicle in any way, or (3) drives the vehicle more
than 250 miles.

§ 551: The Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles will
establish and distribute a disclosure statement that informs
purchasers of used motor vehicles of their right to a three-day
cooling off period. The dealer must distribute this form to the
consumer, and both the consumer and dealer must sign it.

§ 552: Any prevailing plaintiff under this article is entitled to
reasonable attorney's fees to be paid by the defendant.

Section 2: This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it
shall have become a law; provided that, effective immediately, the
commissioner of motor vehicles is authorized to take any actions
necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its effective
date are authorized and directed to be taken on or before such date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Under current law, no cooling off period exists for automobile
purchases.

 JUSTIFICATION

A cooling off period exists for many transactions, but not for motor
vehicles. High-pressure sales environments at auto dealerships can
result in consumers agreeing to sales and financing terms that they
don't necessarily want and can regret upon finalizing a sale. Not
having adequate time to review contracts and financing terms can
confuse consumers and also results in consumers agreeing to terms that
aren't necessarily in their best interest. Providing a cooling off
period for new cars poses legitimate concerns, including the fact that
the car loses thousands of dollars of value the moment it drives off
the lot. The concern of value loss does not generally apply to used
cars; providing a cooling off period allows the consumer to utilize
the vehicle immediately, simultaneously deters fraud by bad actors,
and allows consumers a reasonable timeframe to analyze their retail

installment contract/loan and all the terms of the sale before
finalizing their decision to purchase.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.5484B (Savino) of 2015- referred to Judiciary Committee
S.5484B (Savino) of 2016- referred to Judiciary Committee

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law; provided that, effective immediately, the commissioner
of motor vehicle is authorized to take any actions necessary to
implement the provisions of this act on its effective date are
authorized and directed to be taken on or before such date.