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can provide information on estimated time frames before a remedy should be available. 4. Recall Information Not Available (Example 4): This result will appear if the automaker is not subject to NHTSA regulations (e.g., they sold fewer than 25,000 vehicles the previous year and elected not to participate in NHTSA’s database). The result will indicate that recall information is not available for the vehicle, and direct the viewer to contact the automaker directly. Regardless of what result appears after a VIN search, NHTSA’s portal includes a button allowing for the result to be printed. These results be printed and retained. Example 1: No Outstanding Recall Applies Example 2: Recall Incomplete Example 3: Recall Incomplete, Remedy Not Available Example 4: Recall Information Not Available Disclosing Recall Status One of the more common recall policies that has been adopted by dealers is to sell some recalled used vehicles designated by the service department to be low risk, but to disclose the recall to a consumer prior to sale. A dealer who adopts this approach seeks to protect itself from increasingly-common consumer claims that the dealer failed to disclose a material fact that it knew or should have known at the point of sale, and thereby defrauded the consumer by concealing this fact (that the vehicle has been recalled and not yet repaired). In light of such potential liability, as well as increased government enforcement activity relating to recalls, we recommend that dealers disclose the recall status of vehicles to customers. We have developed two sample forms that a dealer may use to do so—depending upon the policy chosen  ROCKY RECALL — continued on page 22 21 Issue 4 2016/2017

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