§ 396-Q — New motor vehicles; sales and leases

§ 396-q. New motor vehicles; sales and leases. 1. Whenever a consumer\nagrees to purchase or lease a new motor vehicle, as defined in section\none hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law and excluding\nclass A, B and C limited use motorcycles as defined in section one\nhundred twenty-one-b of the vehicle and traffic law, from a dealer and\nsigns a contract supplied by such dealer, the dealer or an employee of\nthe dealer shall also sign the contract. For purposes of contract\nformation, such signature shall be presumed to be an authorized\nsignature.\n 2. If a trade-in allowance is agreed upon between a consumer and a\ndealer, such allowance must be contained in writing within the contract.\nIf a consumer signs a contract supplied by a dealer for the purchase or\nlease of a motor vehicle and the contract contains a trade-in allowance,\nsuch allowance shall not be reduced upon delivery of the trade-in\nvehicle; provided that the value of the trade-in vehicle is not\nmaterially diminished as a result of physical damage, alteration or\ndeterioration in mechanical condition other than normal wear and tear.\n 3. If an interest rate on the financing of the sale of a car is\noffered to the consumer by the dealer, at the time a deposit is made or\na bona fide customer order is executed, that interest rate shall be\nguaranteed by the dealer as of the date of the deposit or order, if the\nfinancing of the sale is to be provided by the dealer. If an interest\nrate on the financing of the sale of a car is offered to the consumer by\na manufacturer, through a dealer, at the time a deposit is made or a\nbona fide customer order is executed, that interest rate shall be\nguaranteed by the manufacturer as of the date of the deposit or order,\nif the financing of the sale is to be provided by the manufacturer. If\nan interest rate on the financing of the sale of a car is offered to the\nconsumer by a financing agency as defined by subdivision nine of section\nthree hundred one of the personal property law, through a dealer, at the\ntime a deposit is made or a bona fide customer order is executed, that\ninterest rate shall be guaranteed by such financing agency as of the\ndate of the deposit or order, if the financing of the sale is to be\nprovided by such financing agency.\n 4. If at the time a new motor vehicle is delivered by a dealer to the\nconsumer, such motor vehicle is not equipped with the specific options\nor equipment ordered by the consumer as stipulated in the purchase\ncontract, the dealer shall offer to reduce the price stated in the\ncontract by the dollar amount of the equipment that has not been\nprovided. No dealer shall be entitled to receive or collect payment for\nany ordered merchandise, accessories or equipment which in fact was not\nprovided at the time of delivery of the vehicle unless the consumer\nindicates a willingness in writing to wait for a stated period of time\nfor the option or equipment to become available or be installed. Nothing\nin this subdivision shall in any way limit the rights or remedies which\nare otherwise available to a consumer under any other provision of law,\nincluding, but not limited to, the right to refuse to accept delivery of\na vehicle not equipped as stipulated in the purchase contract.\n 5. Any dealer or employee of a dealer who violates any of the\nprovisions of this section shall be guilty of an offense and subject to\na fine not to exceed fifty dollars.\n In addition, any individual injured by reason of a violation of\nsubdivision three of this section, may bring an action to recover actual\ndamages and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.\n