2023 Texas Statutes › Finance Code › Title 4 - Regulation of Interest, Loans, and Financed Transactions › Subtitle B - Loans and Financed Transactions › Chapter 348 - Motor Vehicle Installment Sales › Subchapter A. General Provisions › Section 348.001. Definitions

Sec. 348.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
(1)  "Buyer's order" means a nonbinding, preliminary written computation relating to the purchase in a retail installment transaction of a motor vehicle that describes specifically:
(A)  the motor vehicle being purchased;  and
(B)  each motor vehicle being traded in.
(1-a) "Commercial vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 353.001.
(1-b)  "Debt cancellation agreement" means a retail installment contract term or a contractual arrangement modifying a retail installment contract term under which a retail seller or holder agrees to cancel all or part of an obligation of the retail buyer to repay an extension of credit from the retail seller or holder on the occurrence of the total loss or theft of the motor vehicle that is the subject of the retail installment contract but does not include an offer to pay a specified amount on the total loss or theft of the motor vehicle.
(2)  "Heavy commercial vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 353.001.
(3)  "Holder" means a person who is:
(A)  a retail seller; or
(B)  the assignee or transferee of a retail installment contract.
(3-a)  "Motor home" means a motor vehicle that is designed to provide temporary living quarters and that:
(A)  is built on a motor vehicle chassis as an integral part of or a permanent attachment to the chassis; and
(B)  contains at least four of the following independent life support systems that are permanently installed and designed to be removed only for repair or replacement and that meet the standards of the American National Standards Institute, Standards for Recreational Vehicles:
(i)  a cooking facility with an on-board fuel source;
(ii)  a gas or electric refrigerator;
(iii)  a toilet with exterior evacuation;
(iv)  a heating or air-conditioning system with an on-board power or fuel source separate from the vehicle engine;
(v)  a potable water supply system that includes at least a sink, a faucet, and a water tank with an exterior service supply connection; or
(vi)  a 110-125 volt electric power supply.
(4)  "Motor vehicle" means an automobile, motor home, truck, truck tractor, trailer, semitrailer, or bus designed and used primarily to transport persons or property on a highway.  The term includes a commercial vehicle or heavy commercial vehicle.  The term does not include:
(A)  a boat trailer;
(B)  a vehicle propelled or drawn exclusively by muscular power;
(C)  a vehicle that is designed to run only on rails or tracks; or
(D)  machinery that is not designed primarily for highway transportation but may incidentally transport persons or property on a public highway.
(5)  "Retail buyer" means a person who purchases or agrees to purchase a motor vehicle from a retail seller in a retail installment transaction.
(6)  "Retail installment contract" means one or more instruments entered into in this state that evidence a retail installment transaction.  The term includes a chattel mortgage, a conditional sale contract, a security agreement, and a document that evidences a bailment or lease described by Section 348.002.  The term does not include a buyer's order.
(7)  "Retail installment transaction" means a transaction in which a retail buyer purchases a motor vehicle from a retail seller other than principally for the purpose of resale and agrees with the retail seller to pay part or all of the cash price in one or more deferred installments.
(8)  "Retail seller" means a person in the business of selling motor vehicles to retail buyers in retail installment transactions.
(9)  "Time price differential" means the total amount added to the principal balance to determine the balance of the retail buyer's indebtedness under a retail installment contract.
(10-a)  "Towable recreation vehicle" means a nonmotorized vehicle that:
(A)  was originally designed and manufactured primarily to provide temporary human habitation in conjunction with recreational, camping, or seasonal use;
(B)  is titled and registered with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles as a travel trailer through a county tax assessor-collector;
(C)  is permanently built on a single chassis;
(D)  contains at least one life support system; and
(E)  is designed to be towable by a motor vehicle.
(11)  "Trade-in credit agreement" means a contractual arrangement under which a retail seller agrees to provide a specified amount as a motor vehicle trade-in credit for the diminished value of the motor vehicle that is the subject of the retail installment contract in connection with which the trade-in credit agreement is offered if the motor vehicle is damaged but not rendered a total loss as a result of a collision accident, with the credit to be applied toward the purchase or lease of a different motor vehicle from the retail seller or an affiliate of the retail seller.  A trade-in credit agreement is a separate agreement from a retail installment contract and is not a term of the retail installment contract.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1008, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1018 (H.B. 955), Sec. 2.19, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 149 (S.B. 1966), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 238 (S.B. 1965), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 676 (H.B. 2438), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 933 (H.B. 3097), Sec. 3D.02, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 91 (S.B. 1303), Sec. 27.001(12), eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 117 (H.B. 2559), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 477 (H.B. 2339), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.