Use of dealership by manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers

(a) A manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler may sell or lease new equipment for use within this state. If the equipment is prepared for 563 13-8-15.2 CONTRACTS 13-8-16 delivery or serviced by a dealer, the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler shall reasonably compensate the dealer for the preparation and delivery of the new equipment and pay to the dealer a reasonable commission on the sale or lease of the new equipment which shall be not less than 8 percent of the sale price of the equipment. The manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler, if practicable, shall utilize the dealer in the relevant market area described in subsection (b) of this Code section for preparation and delivery. This compensation must be paid or credited in the same manner as provided in Code Section 13-8-17. This subsection shall not be applicable to any liquidation or sale of equipment which has been ordered by any court. (b) For purposes of this Code section, equipment is considered to be used primarily within a dealer’s relevant market area if the new equipment is located or housed at a user’s facility located within that relevant market area. (Code 1981, § 13-8-15.2, enacted by Ga. L. 2002, p. 1101, § 1.) 13-8-16. Predelivery and preparation obligations; repair parts availability; return of surplus parts inventory. (a) Every manufacturer shall specify and every dealer shall provide and fulfill reasonable predelivery and preparation obligations for its equipment prior to delivery of same to retail purchasers. (b) Every manufacturer shall provide for repair parts availability throughout the reasonable useful life of any equipment sold. (c) Every manufacturer or distributor shall provide to each of its dealers, on an annual basis, an opportunity to return a portion of such dealer’s surplus parts inventory for credit. The surplus parts return procedure shall be administered as follows: (1) The manufacturer or distributor may specify and thereupon notify its dealers of a time period of at least 60 days’ duration, during which time dealers may submit their surplus parts lists and return their surplus parts to the manufacturer or distributor; (2) If a manufacturer or distributor has not notified a dealer of a specific time period for returning surplus parts within the preceding 12 months, then it shall authorize and allow the dealer’s surplus parts return request within 30 days after receipt of such request from such dealer; (3) Pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, a manufacturer or distributor must allow surplus parts return authority on a dollar value of parts equal to 8 percent of the total dollar value of parts purchased by the dealer from the manufacturer or distributor during the 12 month period immediately preceding the notification to such dealer by the manufacturer or distributor of the surplus parts return program, or the month such dealer’s return request is made, whichever is applicable; provided, 564 13-8-17 however, that such dealer may, at his or her option, elect to return a dollar value of his or her surplus parts less than 8 percent of the total dollar value of parts purchased by such dealer from the manufacturer or distributor during the preceding 12 month period as provided in this subsection; (4) No obsolete or superseded part may be returned, but any part listed in the manufacturer’s, wholesaler’s, or distributor’s current parts price list at the date of notification to the dealer by the manufacturer or distributor of the surplus parts return program, or the date of a dealer’s parts return request, whichever is applicable, shall be eligible for return and credit as specified in this subsection; provided, however, that returned parts must be in new and unused condition and must have been purchased from the manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor to whom they are returned; (5) The minimum lawful credit to be allowed for returned parts shall be 85 percent of the wholesale cost thereof as listed in the manufacturer’s, wholesaler’s, or distributor’s current parts price list at the date of the notification to the dealer by the manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor of the surplus parts return program, or the date of a dealer’s parts return request, whichever is applicable; (6) Applicable credit pursuant to this subsection must be issued to the dealer within 30 days after receipt of his or her returned parts by the manufacturer or distributor; or (7) Packing and return freight expense incurred in any return of surplus parts pursuant to the terms of this Code section shall be borne by the dealer. (Code 1981, § 13-8-16, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1585, § 4; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1101, § 1.) 13-8-17. Warranty agreements; disapproval of claims under warranty agreements; special handling of claims; calculation of compensation to dealer for warranty work; amounts owed to a dealer; audit of warranty claims. (a) Every manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, distributor branch or division, factory branch or division, or wholesale branch or division shall provide a fair and reasonable warranty agreement on any new unit of equipment which it sells and shall fairly compensate each of its dealers for labor and parts used in fulfilling such warranty agreement. All claims for payment under such warranty agreements made by dealers under this subsection for such labor and parts shall be paid within 30 days following their approval. All such claims shall be either approved or disapproved within 30 days after their receipt; and, when any such claim is disapproved, the dealer who submits it shall be notified in writing of its disapproval within such period; and each such notice shall state the specific grounds upon 565 13-8-18 which the disapproval is based. Any special handling of claims required of the dealer by the manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, distributor branch or division, factory branch or division, or wholesale branch or division, and not uniformly required of all dealers of that make, may be enforced only after 30 days’ notice in writing to the dealer and upon good and sufficient reason. (b) The minimum lawful basis for compensating said dealer for warranty work as provided for in this subsection shall be calculated for labor in accordance with the reasonable and customary amount of time required to complete such work, expressed in hours and fractions of hours multiplied by the dealer’s established hourly retail labor rate. Prior to filing a claim for reimbursement for warranty work, the dealer must notify the applicable manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor of his or her hourly retail labor rate. The minimum lawful basis for compensation to the dealer for parts used in fulfilling said warranty work shall be at the dealer’s costs thereof, including all freight and handling charges applicable thereto, plus 15 percent of said sum to reimburse the dealer’s reasonable costs of doing business and providing such warranty service on the manufacturer’s behalf. (c) It shall be unlawful to deny, delay payment for, or restrict a claim by a dealer for warranty service or parts, incentives, hold-backs, or other amounts owed to a dealer unless the denial, delay, or restriction is the direct result of a material defect in the claim that affects its validity. (d) A manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler may audit warranty claims submitted by its dealers only for a period of up to one year following payment of such claims and may charge back to its dealers only those amounts based upon paid claims shown by audit to be invalid; provided, however, that this limitation shall not apply in any case of fraudulent claims. (Code 1981, § 13-8-17, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1585, § 4; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1101, § 1.) 13-8-17.1. Time for audits of dealerships.