Posted: | March 4, 2013 07:00 PM |
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From: | Senator Robert M. Tomlinson |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Amendments to the Board of Vehicle Act |
Currently, Pennsylvania automobile law does not include several provisions that appear in many other states’ dealer franchise statutes. These statutes provide protections for franchised new vehicle dealers from unfair treatment by the vehicle manufacturers. This legislation amending the state Board of Vehicle Act would provide similar protections to the dealers doing business in Pennsylvania. Specifically, this bill would (1) allow dealers to have more flexibility in selecting certain building materials when performing manufacturer imposed facility upgrades, (2) permit the manufacturer to compensate dealers for warranty work at the retail cost rate, as well as allowing manufacturers to surcharge dealers electing such reimbursement arrangements (3) shorten the number of months manufacturers are able to audit invoices that dealers submit to the manufacturer for reimbursement. Currently at two years, Pennsylvania’s ‘look back’ period is the longest in the nation. Under the bill, manufacturers will continue to be able to audit their dealers as frequently as they want. This will provide protections to dealers similar to those in other states. Thank you for your consideration. |
Introduced as SB732