Interpretation ID: aiam4048
4228 Floyd Road
Austell
GA 30001;
Dear Mr. Mitchell: This is in response to your letter of February 5, 1986, concernin Federal odometer disclosure requirements.; In 1972, Congress enacted Title IV of the Motor Vehicle Information an Cost Savings Act, 15 U.S.C. SS 1981-1991, seeking to eliminate odometer tampering and to establish certain safeguards for the protection of motor vehicle purchasers. This law is applicable in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone and American Samoa.; Section 1988(a) of the Act requires the Secretary of Transportation t prescribe rules relating to written odometer disclosures. These powers have been delegated to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 49 C.F.R. S 1.50(f). To carry out the Congressional mandate, this Agency promulgated rules for the disclosure of odometer information, 49 C.F.R. S 580.4, and specified the form to be filled out by transferors of motor vehicles, 49 C.F.R. S 580.6. In addition, NHTSA exempted transferors of certain vehicles from the disclosure requirements. 49 C.F.R. S 580.5.; The portion of the regulation you question, 49 C.F.R. S 580.5(a)(1) exempts the transferors of motor vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 16,000 pounds from the odometer disclosure requirements. The phrase 'gross vehicle weight rating' is defined as 'the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.' 49 C.F.R. S 571.3.; In explaining the exemption for heavier vehicles, NHTSA stated: >>>A new section, 49 C.F.R. S 580.5, has been added in response to number of comments that objected to the application of the requirements to categories of vehicles for which the odometer is not used as a guide to value. Buses and large trucks, for example, are routinely driven hundreds of thousands of miles, and their maintenance records have traditionally been relied on by buyers as the principal guide to their condition. The NHTSA is in agreement with the position taken by Freightliner Corp. , White Motor Corp. , and the National Association of Motor Bus Operators, and has therefore created an exemption for larger vehicles. The exemption applies to vehicles having gross weight ratings of more than 16,000 pounds.<<<; 38 *Federal Register* 2978 (1973) While some courts have determined that NHTSA's authority to creat exemptions may be limited, we believe that NHTSA has the authority to create exemptions for transfers of vehicles for which the odometer reading is not relied upon as an indicator of vehicle mileage or condition. Consequently, the exemption remains a part of the odometer disclosure regulations.; Sincerely, Kathleen DeMeter, Assistant Chief Counsel for General Law