Lemon law could include snowmobiles

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AUGUSTA – Legislation to create a “lemon law” for snowmobiles is drawing reaction across the state, including snowmobile dealers who believe the law could increase the cost of the vehicles by up to $500.

The mixed reaction to Rep. Irvin Belanger’s, R-Caribou, bill to create An Act to Extend the Lemon Law to Snowmobiles may be because many people didn’t know about the proposed legislation until recently.

A hearing is scheduled by the Business and Economic Development Committee at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The lemon law is not new in Maine, but it never has affected the machines that travel Maine’s snowy landscape during the six months of winter some areas of the state have. Lemon laws have been on the books for bad automobiles and motorcycles for some years.

Maine’s lemon law for motor vehicles, enacted in 1983, established protection for new car owners for two years or 18,000 miles. Consumers with defective vehicles, which could not be repaired after a reasonable number of attempts by manufacturers, could be entitled to a new vehicle or a refund of the purchase price.

In 1992, a law court case, Guiggey vs. Bombardier, determined the lemon law was specifically for vehicles operated on Maine roads and highways, and did not cover snowmobiles.

Irvin’s proposal calls for the replacement of a snowmobile by the manufacturer if the machine does not live up to the express warranty of the machine within a period of two years or the first 50 hours of operation from the date of delivery of the machine to the consumer.

The customer would receive a replacement machine or a refund. The refund would include collateral costs including sales tax, license and registration fees, and costs of towing and storage of the machine while it was out of service.

The law would come into effect after the machine has been subjected to repair three or more times by the manufacturer or its representative, or if the machine was inoperable for 15 or more days during the warranty period.

The legislation imposes no liability upon dealers, unless a dealer has given a customer a warrantee apart from the manufacturer’s.

“This could drive up the cost of snow machines by $400 to $500 each, and there’s just no reason for it,” Gary Dumond, a Bombardier dealer in Fort Kent and a director of the Maine Recreational Motor Sports Association, said Thursday. “In 12 years as a dealer I’ve only had one or two bad sleds, and the manufacturer stood behind those.”

“It could add to the cost of a snowmobile in Maine,” Rick Salley, Maine representative for Bombardier, makers of Skidoo snowmobiles, said Thursday. “There will be a cost incurred, and it has to be compensated.”

The motor sports association, on the other hand, is not opposed to Belanger’s bill, except for some technicalities.

“We are inclined to be neither for nor against because it is a work in progress, and there is nothing wrong with protecting the consumer,” Michael Phillips, a Waterville attorney who is a lobbyist for the association, said Thursday. “We have some technical difficulties with the proposal that need changes.”

Cooper Friend, owner of the Friend and Friend Honda dealership in Ellsworth and president of the MRMSA, always assumed Maine’s lemon law extended to snowmobiles.

“It’s not earth-shattering, and it’s probably a good idea,” he said about the proposed bill. “Our goal is customer satisfaction.”

Part of Phillips’ problem is that the law would be based on the number of hours a machine has been used. Yet there is no way of knowing how many hours a snowmobile has been used.

“There is nothing on the machine to track that,” Phillips said. “Still, dealers don’t see where the demand for this is coming from.”

The Maine Snowmobile Association also didn’t have an opinion on the bill, although they, too, are concerned about the bill raising the cost of snowmobiling in Maine.

“We probably will be testifying to support the principal of the concept, but we are concerned about increasing costs, and the potential of making snowmobiling a more expensive sport,” Bob Meyers, executive director of the MSA, said Thursday.

Belanger’s proposal comes at the request of a constituent from Caribou. The representative would not name the person, but said it was an individual who bought a snow sled that cost more than $7,000. After three motor jobs on it, the sled still does not operate well.

“He felt he should have received a new sled at some point, and that that should have been the realization of the company,” Belanger said. “A new sled never came.”

Belanger said he knew of a number of other people who have had complaints, but also that problems like those of his constituent are “not a common occurrence.”

“There weren’t a lot of complaints about automobiles either,” Belanger said. “It’s just that there needs to be consumer protection out there.”

Belanger said he believes manufacturers of $7,000 snow sleds should be held responsible when there is a poorly built sled.

Belanger’s bill is co-sponsored by nine other legislators from Millinocket to Westbrook. Belanger was not sure about the support for the bill, but said a number of legislators have a feeling that it should be considered.

Belanger will have a prepared statement detailing the person’s experience at the hearing, because the person can not attend due to his work.

“I don’t know about the expense of the bill will be for manufacturers,” Belanger said. “If their product is good, it should not be expensive.

“If they [manufacturers] tell us it would be terribly expensive, it would seem to me that that would be a back-handed way of saying there is a problem,” Belanger continued.

Beth St. Pierre, clerk of the Business and Economic Committee, also was unsure about people testifying for or against.

“People usually just show up and sign a sheet if they want to testify,” she said Thursday. “No one has called about the bill, and I have received no feedback from members of the committee.”

Dumond and Ron Tourtlelotte, a snowmobile dealer in Lagrange, are vehemently opposed, claiming the bill will send customers across state lines to New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Quebec to purchase machines. Dumond said there will be 7,500 snow machines sold by dealers in Maine this year.

“I just don’t know what the hell they are trying to do,” Dumond said. “Someone in Caribou must have an ax to grind, and I don’t know what the story is.”

“In eight years as a dealer, I only remember one serious complaint, and the company gave the customer a new sled,” Tourtlelotte said. “If this passes, the manufacturers are going to go up a considerable amount of money per unit, and it will drive consumers to other places.

“Aroostook County survives on winter business, and I just can’t see one of their representatives presenting a bill like this,” Tourtlelotte said. “There are usually many sides to a story, and Belanger should have talked to more people.”

Tourtlelotte said he will testify next Tuesday.

“This will drive business out of state, and I don’t want to see that,” Tourtlelotte said. “I just don’t want to see that happen.”