                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 59.1-207.11)

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
		&#8220;Collateral charges&#8221; 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, &#8220;collateral charges&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Comparable motor vehicle&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Consumer&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Incidental damages&#8221; shall have the same meaning as provided in §
8.2-715.
		&#8220;Lemon law rights period&#8221; means the period ending 18 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.
		&#8220;Lien&#8221; means a security interest in a motor vehicle.
		&#8220;Lienholder&#8221; means a person, partnership, association, corporation
or entity with a security interest in a motor vehicle pursuant to a lien.
		&#8220;Manufacturer&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Manufacturer&#8217;s express warranty&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Motor vehicle&#8221; means only passenger cars, pickup or panel trucks,
motorcycles, autocycles, 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.
		&#8220;Motor vehicle dealer&#8221; shall have the same meaning as provided in
§ 46.2-1500.
		&#8220;Nonconformity&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Notify&#8221; or &#8220;notification&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Reasonable allowance for use&#8221; 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.
		&#8220;Serious safety defect&#8221; means a life-threatening malfunction or
nonconformity that impedes the consumer&#8217;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.
		&#8220;Significant impairment&#8221; means to render the new motor vehicle
unfit, unreliable or unsafe for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes.
		&#8220;Warranty&#8221; 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 &#8220;warranty&#8221; 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; 2022, c. 411.