New Jersey law requires motor vehicle dealers to warrant that every used vehicle they sell will pass state inspection to receive a certificate of approval (inspection sticker). Prior to 2017, the New Jersey law also allowed a waiver of the dealer’s obligation to make sure that used vehicles sold could pass inspection. On August 7, 2017, P.L 2017, c. 182 became law and required any waiver of a dealer’s obligation regarding necessary repairs impacting vehicle inspection to include a description of known defects. The law took effect on November 1, 2017.
The law amended N.J.S.A. 39:10-29 and provided that any agreement of retail sale may contain a provision whereby the purchaser waives the dealer’s obligation to make repairs so that a motor vehicle can pass inspections. The law further required that a waiver must be separately stated in the agreement of retail sale and separately signed by the purchaser, provided that such a waiver must include a brief description of known defects that may need to be resolved to obtain a certificate of approval (inspection sticker) for the vehicle. The signing of a waiver by the purchaser also served to eliminate any criminal responsibility placed upon any motor vehicle dealer.
Prior to August 1, 2010, New Jersey’s inspection program included a rudimentary safety inspection, in which the headlights, directional signals, tires, and brakes would be inspected. Therefore, the warranty applied to all the parts of the vehicle that were required to be inspected during the State safety inspection. However, after August 1, 2010, New Jersey eliminated the routine safety inspection and was limited to only an emissions inspection under federal law. This, however, did not mean that a dealership could sell an unsafe vehicle to a customer if the vehicle could pass an emissions inspection. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act requires disclosure of all material defects to a consumer, which includes emissions problems that could cause a vehicle to fail a New Jersey inspection.
To satisfy the requirement of the law, an Addendum to the Retail Order Form was created to supplement a Retail Order Form (ROF) if and only if a customer waives the inspection warranty. The form must be signed by both the customer and the dealership with a provided space for the dealership to list any defects that may need to be resolved so that the motor vehicle can pass the New Jersey emissions inspection.
The Addendum to the Retail Order Form (SKU: 584) can be ordered by calling NJ CAR Services at (609) 883-5056, ext. 402. The form can also be ordered on the NJ CAR Services website (njcarservices.com).
Greyson Hannigan is NJ CAR’s Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs. He can be reached at ghannigan@njcar.org.
