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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>56957</law_id><section_number>59.1-207.11</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>46.2-1571</reference><reference>59.1-207.13</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="59.1">Trade and Commerce</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="17.3">Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Collateral charges</span>&#x201D; 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 <span class="dictionary">contracts</span>, undercoating, rust proofing or installed options, not recoverable from a third <span class="dictionary">party</span>. If a refund involves a lease, &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">collateral charges</span>&#x201D; 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.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Comparable motor vehicle</span>&#x201D; 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.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Consumer</span>&#x201D; 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 <span class="dictionary">warranty</span> applicable to such motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of such <span class="dictionary">warranty</span> to enforce the obligations of the <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>.
		&#x201C;Incidental <span class="dictionary">damages</span>&#x201D; shall have the same meaning as provided in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Buyer's incidental and consequential damages" href="/8.2-715/">8.2-715</a>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Lemon law rights period</span>&#x201D; means the period ending 18 months after the date of the original delivery to the <span class="dictionary">consumer</span> of a new motor vehicle. This shall be the period during which the <span class="dictionary">consumer</span> can report any <span class="dictionary">nonconformity</span> to the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span> and pursue any rights provided for under this chapter.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Lien</span>&#x201D; means a security interest in a motor vehicle.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Lienholder</span>&#x201D; means a person, partnership, association, corporation or entity with a security interest in a motor vehicle pursuant to a <span class="dictionary">lien</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Manufacturer</span>&#x201D; means a person, partnership, association, corporation or entity engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling <span class="dictionary">motor vehicles</span>, or of distributing <span class="dictionary">motor vehicles</span> to motor vehicle dealers.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Manufacturer</span>&#x2019;s express <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>&#x201D; means the written <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>, so labeled, of the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span> of a new automobile, including any terms or conditions <span class="dictionary">precedent</span> to the enforcement of obligations under that <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>.
		&#x201C;Motor vehicle&#x201D; means only passenger cars, pickup or <span class="dictionary">panel</span> trucks, motorcycles, autocycles, self-propelled motorized chassis of motor homes and mopeds as those terms are defined in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/46.2-100/">46.2-100</a> and demonstrators or leased vehicles with which a <span class="dictionary">warranty</span> was issued.
		&#x201C;Motor vehicle dealer&#x201D; shall have the same meaning as provided in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/46.2-1500/">46.2-1500</a>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Nonconformity</span>&#x201D; means a failure to conform with a <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>, 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.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Notify</span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">notification</span>&#x201D; means that the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span> 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 <span class="dictionary">consumer</span> in writing regarding a complaint, or a factory representative has either inspected the vehicle or met with the <span class="dictionary">consumer</span> or an authorized dealer regarding the <span class="dictionary">nonconformity</span>.
		&#x201C;Reasonable allowance for use&#x201D; 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 &#xA7;&#xA0;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 <span class="dictionary">nonconformity</span> to any <span class="dictionary">warranty</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Serious safety defect</span>&#x201D; means a life-threatening malfunction or <span class="dictionary">nonconformity</span> that impedes the <span class="dictionary">consumer</span>&#x2019;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.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Significant impairment</span>&#x201D; means to render the new motor vehicle unfit, unreliable or unsafe for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Warranty</span>&#x201D; means any implied <span class="dictionary">warranty</span> or any written <span class="dictionary">warranty</span> of the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span>, or any affirmations of <span class="dictionary">fact</span> or promise made by the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span> in connection with the sale or lease of a motor vehicle that become part of the basis of the bargain. The term &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">warranty</span>&#x201D; pertains to the obligations of the <span class="dictionary">manufacturer</span> in relation to <span class="dictionary">materials</span>, workmanship, and fitness of a motor vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes throughout the duration of the <span class="dictionary">lemon law rights period</span> as defined under this section.</p></section></text><history>1984, c. 773; 1988, c. 603; 1990, c. 772; 1998, c. 671; 2022, c. 411.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
