813. Vessel preparation, warranty and warranty reimbursement. 1. If a manufacturer or distributor requires or permits a dealer to provide parts or to perform labor to satisfy a warranty created by the manufacturer or distributor, the manufacturer or distributor shall:
(a) properly and promptly fulfill its warranty obligations;
(b) adequately and fairly compensate the dealer for any parts provided, the shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed by the dealer to satisfy the warranty on a vessel, including the hull, motor/engine, component parts, spars, sails and accessories; and
(c) have the right to audit the dealer's warranty claims for a period of eighteen months following the submission thereof, and to charge back to the dealer any amounts paid on false, fraudulent, incorrect or unsubstantiated claims.
2. Compensation by the manufacturer or distributor for parts provided, the shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed by the dealer shall be deemed adequate and fair if:
(a) the dealer is reimbursed for any parts provided and already in inventory and the shipping costs for such parts in an amount equal to the wholesale price, plus forty percent thereof, provided that in no case shall such reimbursement exceed the retail price, and shipping costs of the parts provided to the dealer; and
(b) the dealer is reimbursed for any labor performed at the following rates:
(i) with respect to the first year of new dealer agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this article, and with respect to the first year of the first renewals of a dealer agreement in effect prior to the effective date of this article, when such renewal is entered into on or after the effective date of this article, at a rate of not less than seventy-five percent of the retail labor rate customarily charged and posted therefor,
(ii) with respect to the second year of new dealer agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this article, and with respect to the second year of a renewal of a dealer agreement in effect prior to the effective date of this article, when the first year of such renewal commenced on or after the effective date of this article, at a rate not less than ninety percent of the retail labor rate customarily charged and posted therefor; and
(iii) with respect to the third and any subsequent year of new dealer agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this article, and with respect to the third and any subsequent year of a renewal of a dealer agreement in effect prior to the effective date of this article, when the first year of such renewal commenced on or after the effective date of this article, at a rate not less than one hundred percent of the retail labor rate customarily charged and posted therefor.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to require or provide for the payment of a lower rate than is provided in a dealer agreement entered into prior to the effective date of this article or of a renewal of a dealer agreement, when such renewal is entered into prior to the effective date of this article.
3. To be entitled to compensation for labor at the dealer's retail rate, the dealer shall have posted, in a place conspicuous to service customers, the rate for labor for nonwarranty work.
4. Except as provided in this section, no manufacturer or distributor may by agreement make restrictions on reimbursement or otherwise restrict the nature or extent of parts provided or labor performed by a dealer if such restriction impairs the dealer's ability to satisfy the warranty of the manufacturer or distributor in accordance with the generally accepted standards. However, the manufacturer or distributor may provide printed repair manuals detailing standard labor time and parts required for a specific repair to establish set requirements if such manual is provided to the dealer upon entry into a new contract or renewal of a contract. Such standards shall reflect the labor time and parts' standards used by the manufacturer on a national level. Any repair or parts required by the manufacturer or distributor that are not in repair manuals will be paid in actual billable hours by the manufacturer or distributor.
5. A claim by a dealer for compensation for parts provided, the shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed to satisfy a warranty, provided that the claim includes all the information reasonably necessary by the manufacturer to make a determination upon the validity of the claim, shall be approved or disapproved by the manufacturer or distributor in writing within thirty days of receipt of the claim by the manufacturer or distributor in writing, and if approved, shall be paid within thirty days of the approval thereof.
Last modified: February 3, 2019