An Act To Clarify the Used Car Information Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1388
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: VOLK, CUSHING, AUSTIN, BATES, STETKIS
Amends: 10 MRSA §1471, 10 MRSA §1475

Legislative Document 
No. 1388 
S.P. 514 
In Senate, May 6, 2015 
An Act To Clarify the Used Car Information Laws 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator VOLK of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Senator: CUSHING of Penobscot, Representatives: AUSTIN of Gray, BATES 
of Westbrook, McCABE of Skowhegan, STETKIS of Canaan. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA §1471, sub-§§2-B, 6-C and 7-A is enacted to read: 
2-B.  Livery service.  "Livery service" means a service that for a fee arranges, 
schedules or procures a vehicle for rent or hire or provides a ride for hire. 
6-C.  Rideshare.  "Rideshare" means a program, activity or action in which a person 
uses that person's private vehicle to transport a person for a fee. 
7-A.  Vehicle history report.  "Vehicle history report" means a written or electronic 
report, record or document that describes or provides information on the service history 
of a vehicle. 
Sec. 2.  10 MRSA §1475, sub-§2-A, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 878, Pt. F, §3, 
is amended to read: 
B.  The dealer's duty to disclose promptly the name and address of the previous 
owner of the motor vehicle, or dealer, upon the request of any person, the principal 
use to which the motor vehicle was put by that owner, such as personal 
transportation, police car, daily rental car, taxi, rideshare, livery service or other 
descriptive term, and the type of sale or other means by which the person acquired 
the motor vehicle, such as trade-in, sheriff's sale, repossession, auction or other 
descriptive term, to the extent that such information is reasonably available to the 
person; 
Sec. 3.  10 MRSA §1475, sub-§2-A, ¶G, as amended by PL 1995, c. 269, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
G.  If the vehicle is repossessed, a statement identifying this fact; and 
Sec. 4.  10 MRSA §1475, sub-§2-A, ¶H, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 269, §3, is 
amended to read: 
H.  The dealer's duty to disclose conspicuously in writing the dealer's policy in 
relation to the return of deposits received from any person.  A dealer shall require that 
a person making a deposit sign the form on which the disclosure appears. ; and 
Sec. 5.  10 MRSA §1475, sub-§2-A, ¶I is enacted to read: 
I.  A dealer that provides to a consumer a vehicle history report prepared by a person 
other than the dealer has no liability for inaccuracies in the vehicle history report if 
the dealer makes the following disclosure: "[Name of dealer] is pleased to provide 
you a courtesy copy of a service history report for the vehicle you are considering 
purchasing.  [Name of dealer] makes no representation as to the accuracy of this 
service history report." 
Sec. 6.  10 MRSA §1475, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 240, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
3.  Written statement.  A dealer shall obtain from the seller of a used motor vehicle 
a written statement containing the following information: 
A.  The make, model, model year and any identification or serial numbers of the 
motor vehicle; 
B.  The name and address of the seller, the principal use to which the motor vehicle 
was put by the seller, such as personal transportation, police car, daily rental car, taxi, 
rideshare, livery service or other descriptive term; 
C.  A statement identifying any and all mechanical defects known to the seller at the 
time of sale; and 
D.  A statement identifying the type of damage, if any, that the vehicle has sustained, 
such as fire, water or substantial collision damage, if such information is known to 
the seller. 
Any dealer who offers for sale to consumers a repossessed vehicle that has been obtained 
by the dealer through any transaction other than a retail sale is not subject to the 
provisions of this subsection. 
A dealer is not subject to the provisions of this subsection if that dealer offers for sale to 
consumers a used motor vehicle that has been obtained by the dealer through an auction 
located outside the State at which buyers are limited to licensed dealers and the seller of 
the used motor vehicle is neither a resident of this State nor a dealer licensed in this State, 
if the dealer clearly discloses on the written disclosure statement required by subsections 
and 2-A that the vehicle was acquired at an out-of-state auction and that historical 
information regarding mechanical defects and substantial damage is not available. 
The seller of the used motor vehicle shall sign and date this written statement and the 
dealer who buys the vehicle shall maintain a record of it for 2 years following the sale of 
the motor vehicle. 
As used in subsection 2-A and this subsection, "substantial collision damage" means any 
damage to a motor vehicle from a collision when the costs of repair of that damage, at the 
time of repair, including replacement of mechanical and body parts, exceed $2,000 
$3,000. 
SUMMARY 
This bill adds to the laws regarding used car information definitions of "livery 
service," "rideshare" and "vehicle history report."  The bill also exempts a car dealer from 
liability for providing a consumer a vehicle service history report that the dealer did not 
prepare if the dealer also provides the consumer with a disclosure.  Finally, this bill 
increases the minimum amount of damage required to be disclosed from $2,000 to 
$3,000.