Section 4517.01 | Motor vehicle dealer, auction owner and salesperson definitions.

• Effective: August 9, 2024
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 195 (GA 135), House Bill 33 (GA 135)

As used in sections 4517.01 to 4517.65 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Persons" includes individuals, partnerships, associations, joint stock companies, corporations, sole proprietorships, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, business trusts, and any other legally recognized business entities or any combinations of individuals.

(B) "Motor vehicle" means motor vehicle as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes "all-purpose vehicle" and "off-highway motorcycle" as those terms are defined in section 4519.01 of the Revised Code. "Motor vehicle" does not include a snowmobile as defined in section 4519.01 of the Revised Code or manufactured and mobile homes.

(C) "New motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle, the legal title to which has never been transferred by a manufacturer, remanufacturer, distributor, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser.

(D) "Ultimate purchaser" means, with respect to any new motor vehicle, the first person, other than a dealer purchasing in the capacity of a dealer, who in good faith purchases such new motor vehicle for purposes other than resale.

(E) "Business" includes any activities engaged in by any person for the object of gain, benefit, or advantage either direct or indirect, including activities conducted through the internet or another computer network.

(F) "Engaging in business" means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, or liquidating a business when the liquidator thereof holds self out to be conducting such business; making a casual sale or otherwise making transfers in the ordinary course of business when the transfers are made in connection with the disposition of all or substantially all of the transferor's assets is not engaging in business.

(G) "Retail sale" or "selling at retail" means the act or attempted act of selling, bartering, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of a motor vehicle, including through use of the internet or another computer network, to an ultimate purchaser.

(H) "Retail installment contract" includes any contract in the form of a note, chattel mortgage, conditional sales contract, lease, agreement, or other instrument payable in one or more installments over a period of time and arising out of the retail sale of a motor vehicle.

(I) "Farm machinery" means all machines and tools used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products.

(J) "Dealer" or "motor vehicle dealer" means any new motor vehicle dealer, any motor vehicle leasing dealer, any adaptive mobility dealer, and any used motor vehicle dealer.

(K) "New motor vehicle dealer" means any person engaged in the business of selling at retail, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in new motor vehicles pursuant to a contract or agreement entered into with the manufacturer, remanufacturer, or distributor of the motor vehicles.

(L) "Used motor vehicle dealer" means any person engaged in the business of selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in used motor vehicles, at retail or wholesale, but does not mean any new motor vehicle dealer selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in used motor vehicles incidentally to engaging in the business of selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in new motor vehicles, any person engaged in the business of dismantling, salvaging, or rebuilding motor vehicles by means of using used parts, or any public officer performing official duties.

(M) "Motor vehicle leasing dealer" means any person engaged in the business of regularly making available, offering to make available, or arranging for another person to use a motor vehicle pursuant to a bailment, lease, sublease, or other contractual arrangement under which a charge is made for its use at a periodic rate for a term of thirty days or more, and title to the motor vehicle is in and remains in the motor vehicle leasing dealer who originally leases it, irrespective of whether or not the motor vehicle is the subject of a later sublease, and not in the user, including any financial institution acting as a lessor for a lease or sublease. "Motor vehicle leasing dealer" does not include a new motor vehicle dealer that is not the lessor and that only assists in arranging a lease on the lessor's behalf or a manufacturer or its affiliate leasing to its employees or to dealers.

(N) "Salesperson" means any person employed by a dealer to sell, display, and offer for sale, or deal in motor vehicles for a commission, compensation, or other valuable consideration, but does not mean any public officer performing official duties.

(O) "Casual sale" means any transfer of a motor vehicle by a person other than a new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, adaptive mobility dealer, motor vehicle salvage dealer, as defined in division (A) of section 4738.01 of the Revised Code, salesperson, motor vehicle auction owner, manufacturer, or distributor acting in the capacity of a dealer, salesperson, auction owner, manufacturer, or distributor, to a person who purchases the motor vehicle for use as a consumer.

(P) "Motor vehicle auction owner" means any person who is engaged wholly or in part in the business of auctioning motor vehicles, but does not mean a construction equipment auctioneer or a construction equipment auction licensee.

(Q) "Manufacturer" means a person who manufactures, assembles, or imports motor vehicles, including motor homes, but does not mean a person who only assembles or installs a body, special equipment unit, finishing trim, or accessories on a motor vehicle chassis supplied by a manufacturer or distributor.

(R) "Tent-type fold-out camping trailer" means any vehicle intended to be used, when stationary, as a temporary shelter with living and sleeping facilities, and that is subject to the following properties and limitations:

(1) A minimum of twenty-five per cent of the fold-out portion of the top and sidewalls combined must be constructed of canvas, vinyl, or other fabric, and form an integral part of the shelter.

(2) When folded, the unit must not exceed:

(a) Fifteen feet in length, exclusive of bumper and tongue;

(b) Sixty inches in height from the point of contact with the ground;

(c) Eight feet in width;

(d) One ton gross weight at time of sale.

(S) "Distributor" means any person authorized by a motor vehicle manufacturer to distribute new motor vehicles to licensed new motor vehicle dealers, but does not mean a person who only assembles or installs a body, special equipment unit, finishing trim, or accessories on a motor vehicle chassis supplied by a manufacturer or distributor.

(T) "Flea market" means a market place, other than a dealer's location licensed under this chapter, where a space or location is provided for a fee or compensation to a seller to exhibit and offer for sale or trade, motor vehicles to the general public.

(U) "Franchise" means any written agreement, contract, or understanding between any motor vehicle manufacturer or remanufacturer engaged in commerce and any new motor vehicle dealer that purports to fix the legal rights and liabilities of the parties to such agreement, contract, or understanding.

(V) "Franchisee" means a person who receives new motor vehicles from the franchisor under a franchise agreement and who offers, sells, and provides service for such new motor vehicles to the general public.

(W) "Franchisor" means a new motor vehicle manufacturer, remanufacturer, or distributor who supplies new motor vehicles under a franchise agreement to a franchisee.

(X) "Dealer organization" means a state or local trade association the membership of which is comprised predominantly of new motor vehicle dealers.

(Y) "Factory representative" means a representative employed by a manufacturer, remanufacturer, or by a factory branch primarily for the purpose of promoting the sale of its motor vehicles, parts, or accessories to dealers or for supervising or contacting its dealers or prospective dealers.

(Z) "Administrative or executive management" means those individuals who are not subject to federal wage and hour laws.

(AA) "Good faith" means honesty in the conduct or transaction concerned and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade as is defined in section 1301.201 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, the duty to act in a fair and equitable manner so as to guarantee freedom from coercion, intimidation, or threats of coercion or intimidation; provided however, that recommendation, endorsement, exposition, persuasion, urging, or argument shall not be considered to constitute a lack of good faith.

(BB) "Coerce" means to compel or attempt to compel by failing to act in good faith or by threat of economic harm, breach of contract, or other adverse consequences. Coerce does not mean to argue, urge, recommend, or persuade.

(CC) "Relevant market area" means any area within a radius of ten miles from the site of a potential new dealership, except that for manufactured home or recreational vehicle dealerships the radius shall be twenty-five miles. The ten-mile radius shall be measured from the dealer's established place of business that is used exclusively for the purpose of selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor vehicles.

(DD) "Wholesale" or "at wholesale" means the act or attempted act of selling, bartering, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of a motor vehicle to a transferee for the purpose of resale and not for ultimate consumption by that transferee.

(EE) "Motor vehicle wholesaler" means any person licensed as a dealer under the laws of another state and engaged in the business of selling, displaying, or offering for sale used motor vehicles, at wholesale, but does not mean any motor vehicle dealer as defined in this section.

(FF)(1) "Remanufacturer" means a person who assembles or installs passenger seating, walls, a roof elevation, or a body extension on a conversion van with the motor vehicle chassis supplied by a manufacturer or distributor, a person who modifies a truck chassis supplied by a manufacturer or distributor for use as a public safety or public service vehicle, a person who modifies a motor vehicle chassis supplied by a manufacturer or distributor for use as a limousine or hearse, or a person who modifies an incomplete motor vehicle cab and chassis supplied by a new motor vehicle dealer or distributor for use as a tow truck, but does not mean either of the following:

(a) A person who assembles or installs passenger seating, a roof elevation, or a body extension on a recreational vehicle as defined in division (Q) and referred to in division (B) of section 4501.01 of the Revised Code;

(b) An adaptive mobility dealer.

(2) For the purposes of division (FF)(1) of this section, "public safety vehicle or public service vehicle" means a fire truck, ambulance, school bus, street sweeper, garbage packing truck, or cement mixer, or a mobile self-contained facility vehicle.

(3) For the purposes of division (FF)(1) of this section, "limousine" means a motor vehicle, designed only for the purpose of carrying nine or fewer passengers, that a person modifies by cutting the original chassis, lengthening the wheelbase by forty inches or more, and reinforcing the chassis in such a way that all modifications comply with all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. No person shall qualify as or be deemed to be a remanufacturer who produces limousines unless the person has a written agreement with the manufacturer of the chassis the person utilizes to produce the limousines to complete properly the remanufacture of the chassis into limousines.

(4) For the purposes of division (FF)(1) of this section, "hearse" means a motor vehicle, designed only for the purpose of transporting a single casket, that is equipped with a compartment designed specifically to carry a single casket that a person modifies by cutting the original chassis, lengthening the wheelbase by ten inches or more, and reinforcing the chassis in such a way that all modifications comply with all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. No person shall qualify as or be deemed to be a remanufacturer who produces hearses unless the person has a written agreement with the manufacturer of the chassis the person utilizes to produce the hearses to complete properly the remanufacture of the chassis into hearses.

(5) For the purposes of division (FF)(1) of this section, "mobile self-contained facility vehicle" means a mobile classroom vehicle, mobile laboratory vehicle, bookmobile, bloodmobile, testing laboratory, and mobile display vehicle, each of which is designed for purposes other than for passenger transportation and other than the transportation or displacement of cargo, freight, materials, or merchandise. A vehicle is remanufactured into a mobile self-contained facility vehicle in part by the addition of insulation to the body shell, and installation of all of the following: a generator, electrical wiring, plumbing, holding tanks, doors, windows, cabinets, shelving, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.

(6) For the purposes of division (FF)(1) of this section, "tow truck" means both of the following:

(a) An incomplete cab and chassis that are purchased by a remanufacturer from a new motor vehicle dealer or distributor of the cab and chassis and on which the remanufacturer then installs in a permanent manner a wrecker body it purchases from a manufacturer or distributor of wrecker bodies, installs an emergency flashing light pylon and emergency lights upon the mast of the wrecker body or rooftop, and installs such other related accessories and equipment, including push bumpers, front grille guards with pads and other custom-ordered items such as painting, special lettering, and safety striping so as to create a complete motor vehicle capable of lifting and towing another motor vehicle.

(b) An incomplete cab and chassis that are purchased by a remanufacturer from a new motor vehicle dealer or distributor of the cab and chassis and on which the remanufacturer then installs in a permanent manner a car carrier body it purchases from a manufacturer or distributor of car carrier bodies, installs an emergency flashing light pylon and emergency lights upon the rooftop, and installs such other related accessories and equipment, including push bumpers, front grille guards with pads and other custom-ordered items such as painting, special lettering, and safety striping.

As used in division (FF)(6)(b) of this section, "car carrier body" means a mechanical or hydraulic apparatus capable of lifting and holding a motor vehicle on a flat level surface so that one or more motor vehicles can be transported, once the car carrier is permanently installed upon an incomplete cab and chassis.

(GG) "Operate as a new motor vehicle dealership" means engaging in activities such as displaying, offering for sale, and selling new motor vehicles at retail, operating a service facility to perform repairs and maintenance on motor vehicles, offering for sale and selling motor vehicle parts at retail, and conducting all other acts that are usual and customary to the operation of a new motor vehicle dealership. For the purposes of this chapter only, possession of either a valid new motor vehicle dealer franchise agreement or a new motor vehicle dealers license, or both of these items, is not evidence that a person is operating as a new motor vehicle dealership.

(HH) "Outdoor power equipment" means garden and small utility tractors, walk-behind and riding mowers, chainsaws, and tillers.

(II) "Remote service facility" means premises that are separate from a licensed new motor vehicle dealer's sales facility by not more than one mile and that are used by the dealer to perform repairs, warranty work, recall work, and maintenance on motor vehicles pursuant to a franchise agreement entered into with a manufacturer of motor vehicles. A remote service facility shall be deemed to be part of the franchise agreement and is subject to all the rights, duties, obligations, and requirements of Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code that relate to the performance of motor vehicle repairs, warranty work, recall work, and maintenance work by new motor vehicle dealers.

(JJ) "Recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(KK) "Construction equipment auctioneer" means a person who holds both a valid auction firm license issued under Chapter 4707. of the Revised Code and a valid construction equipment auction license issued under this chapter.

(LL) "Large construction or transportation equipment" means vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds and includes road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, commercial cars and trucks, or farm trucks, and other similar vehicles obtained primarily from the construction, mining, transportation or farming industries.

(MM) "Local market conditions" includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Demographics in the franchisee's area;

(2) Geographical and market characteristics in the franchisee's area;

(3) Local economic circumstances;

(4) The proximity of other motor vehicle dealers of the same line-make;

(5) The proximity of motor vehicle manufacturing facilities;

(6) The buying patterns of motor vehicle purchasers;

(7) Customer drive time and drive distance.

(NN) "Established place of business" means a permanent, enclosed building or structure that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) It is either owned, leased, or rented by the motor vehicle dealer.

(2) It meets local zoning or municipal requirements.

(3) It is regularly occupied by at least one person.

(4) It is easily accessible to the public.

(5) The records and files necessary to conduct the business are generally kept and maintained at the location or are readily accessible and available for reasonable inspection from the location.

"Established place of business" does not mean a residence, tent, temporary stand, storage shed, lot, or any temporary quarters, unless authorized by the registrar of motor vehicles.

(OO) "Adaptive mobility dealer" means any person engaged in the business of all of the following:

(1) Selling at retail, displaying, offering for sale, delivering, and dealing in adaptive mobility vehicles;

(2) Selling and installing adaptive mobility equipment, related accessories, and other goods and services to meet the automotive adaptive mobility needs of drivers and passengers with disabilities;

(3) Providing maintenance and repair services for adaptive mobility vehicles and adaptive mobility equipment.

(PP) "Adaptive mobility equipment" means the mechanical or electronic devices or parts that are designed to facilitate the use of a motor vehicle by a person who is aging or a person with disabilities, in accordance with 49 C.F.R. part 571, and that are permanently attached to or incorporated into the motor vehicle.

The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.

Last updated May 30, 2024 at 10:04 AM

Available Versions of this Section

• September 29, 2011 – House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly
• March 23, 2015 – House Bill 318 - 130th General Assembly
• September 14, 2016 – Senate Bill 242 - 131st General Assembly
• April 6, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 281 - 134th General Assembly
• October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
• August 9, 2024 – Amended by House Bill 195 (GA 135), House Bill 33 (GA 135)