GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
CHAPTER 455
AN ACT TO AMEND THE MOTOR VEHICLE SALVAGE TITLE LAW.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 20-4.01(33)(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Salvage Motor
Vehicle.-Any motor vehicle damaged by collision or other occurrence to the
extent that the cost of repairs to the vehicle and rendering the vehicle safe
for use on the public streets and highways would exceed seventy-five percent
(75%) of its fair retail market value. value, whether or not the
motor vehicle has been declared a total loss by an insurer. Repairs
shall include the cost of parts and labor. Fair market retail values
shall be as found in the NADA Pricing Guide Book or other publications approved
by the Commissioner."
Sec. 2. Section 4 of Chapter 1105 of the 1987 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this act are effective upon
ratification and shall expire June 30, 1989, at which time those laws shall
read as they did on January 1, 1988. Section 3 of this act shall
become effective October 1, 1988, and applies to offenses committed on or after
that date."
Sec. 3. G.S. 20-71.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-71.3. Titles and registration cards to be branded.
Motor Vehicle certificates of title and registration cards
issued pursuant to G.S. 20-57 shall be branded. As used herein 'branded'
means that the title and registration card shall contain a designation that
discloses if the vehicle is classified as (a) Flood Vehicle, (b) Non-U.S.A.
Vehicle, (c) Reconstructed Vehicle, (d) Salvage Motor Vehicle, or (e) Salvage
Rebuilt Vehicle or other classification authorized by law. Any motor
vehicle damaged by collision or other occurrence which is to be retitled in
this State shall be subject to preliminary and final inspections by the
Enforcement Section of the Division, and the Division shall refuse to issue a
title to a vehicle which has not undergone a preliminary inspection. Any
motor vehicle which has been branded in another state shall be branded with the
nearest applicable brand specified in this section, except that no junk vehicle
or vehicle that has been branded junk in another state shall be titled or
registered. A motor vehicle titled in another state and damaged by
collision or other occurrence may be repaired and an unbranded title issued in
North Carolina only if the cost of repairs, including parts and labor, does
not exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of its fair market retail value. value
and satisfactory evidence is given to the Division that the vehicle would be
eligible for the issuance of an unbranded title in the state in which it is
titled. The Commissioner shall prepare necessary forms and may adopt
regulations required to carry out the provisions of this Part 3A. The
title shall reflect the branding until surrendered to or cancelled by the
Commissioner."
Sec. 4. G.S. 20-71.4(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) It shall be unlawful and constitute a misdemeanor for any person who knows or reasonably should know that a motor vehicle has been involved in a collision or other occurrence to the extent that the cost of repairing that vehicle exceeds twenty-five percent (25%) of its fair market retail value to fail to disclose that fact in writing to the transferee prior to transfer of the vehicle. The Commissioner may prepare forms to carry out the provisions of this section."
Sec. 5. G.S. 20-109.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) A vehicle shall be deemed to be a salvage vehicle:
(1) When an insurance
company as a result of having has paid a total loss claim acquires
title to a vehicle, and obtains possession or control of a vehicle, for any
cause other than theft; or on a vehicle damaged by collision or
other occurrence to the extent that the claim paid exceeds seventy-five percent
(75%) of the fair market retail value as found in the NADA Pricing Guide Book
or other publications approved by the Commissioner, or
(2) When an insurance
company has acquired title to and obtains possession of a vehicle in
settlement of a theft loss claim, and upon recovery of the vehicle it is
determined that the vehicle has been damaged to the extent that it would be
considered a total loss salvage vehicle under the provisions of comprehensive
and collision insurance. G.S. 20-4.01(33)(d).
If the salvage vehicle was registered in North Carolina, or
if the loss or damages occurred in North Carolina, or if the sale of the
salvage vehicle takes place in North Carolina then the insurance company or
their authorized agent shall within 10 days after payment of a total loss claim
forward to the Division of Motor Vehicles the certificate of title or the
comparable ownership document issued by the jurisdiction wherein the vehicle
was last registered. The certificate of title or comparable ownership document
shall be properly assigned to the insurance company by the vehicle owner.
Subsequent transfers of ownership shall be on forms provided by the Division;
and such forms shall be mailed by the Division to the insurance company at the
address furnished in the assignment of title from the registered owner, unless
otherwise requested in writing by the insurance company or their authorized
agent. The insurance company shall make an assignment of ownership on the form
and deliver it to the purchaser upon sale of the salvage vehicle. The forms
shall be considered as proof of ownership for the purpose of G.S. 20-61. In the
event the salvage vehicle is rebuilt, an application for reissuance of the
title shall be made on a form prescribed by the Division, and the application
shall be accompanied by such supporting information as the Division may
require."
Sec. 6. This act shall become effective June 30, 1989.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of June, 1989.