P-40.1, r. 4 - Order in council respecting the application of rules of conduct to used automobile merchants

Updated to 12 December 2023

This document has official status.

chapter P-40.1, r. 4

Order in council respecting the application of rules of conduct to used automobile merchants

Consumer Protection Act

(chapter P-40.1, s. 315.1).

1. The application of the provisions to be complied with by all used automobile merchants, attached as a Schedule to this Order in Council, is extended to all used automobile merchants, for all the territory of Québec.

O.C. 1138-2006, s. 1.

2. (Omitted).

O.C. 1138-2006, s. 2.

SCHEDULE

PROVISIONS TO BE COMPLIED WITH BY ALL USED AUTOMOBILE MERCHANTS

(1) Advertise only the used automobiles available and ready for sale or long-term lease at the time the advertisement order is placed. In the advertisement, the merchant undertakes to indicate the number of automobiles advertised in the merchant’s possession at the time the advertisement order is placed.

(2) State in its advertisements and post in its establishments a selling price, or a retail value if a long-term lease is offered, that includes all costs other than the Québec Sales Tax (QST) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be paid on the purchase of the used automobile. The selling price or the retail value, excluding taxes, may be increased only if goods or services are added at the consumer’s request and only for an amount equal to the price of added goods or services.

(3) State in a predominant manner, in all advertising of a used automobile, the selling price or retail value, excluding the Québec Sales Tax (QST) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the number of kilometres actually travelled.

(4) State, if the merchant advertises used automobiles for sale or long-term lease by lot, the highest asking price, excluding the Québec Sales Tax (QST) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), or, as applicable, the highest asking retail value among all the automobiles in the lot. The price or retail value must be in characters as large and visible as any other price or retail value advertised for any other automobile in the lot.

(5) State the highest number of kilometres actually travelled among all the automobiles in a lot, if the merchant advertises used automobiles for sale or long-term lease by lot. That number must be in characters as large and visible as the number shown for any other automobile in the lot.

(6) Not use, in connection with the used automobile trade, the terms “wholesaler” or “auction sale” or the expression “seizure liquidation”, unless the merchant can show that

(a) it represents the merchant’s main commercial activity;

(b) the merchant stated at the time of the representations made to the consumer that the merchant does not usually act as a wholesaler, auctioneer or liquidator, and was not advertising such an activity, or that those facts are clearly evident from the representations and context in which the representations were made; or

(c) the term “auction sale” or the expression “seizure liquidation” was used to advertise the holding of an auction sale or a seizure liquidation at the date, time and place stated in the advertisement.

(7) Not use expressions such as “Factory returns” or “Direct from the factory” or an expression in which “manufacturer”, “automobile-maker” or “car-maker” is substituted for “factory”, unless the merchant is able to prove that claim.

(8) Not make representations that may reasonably lead consumers to believe that an auction sale is to be held, in particular by using a sound or visual recording of a real or fictitious auction sale, unless it can be shown that

(a) the merchant is an auctioneer and it is the merchant’s main commercial activity;

(b) the merchant stated at the time of the representations made to the consumer that the merchant does not usually act as an auctioneer and was not advertising an auction sale, or that those facts are clearly evident from the representations and context in which the representations were made; or

(c) the merchant was advertising the holding of an auction sale, and the date, time and place of the auction sale are stated in the same representations.

(9) Not include illegible text in advertising used automobiles or the used automobile trade.

(10) Use, in advertising used automobiles, only a current photograph or video of the advertised automobile that is a true representation of the automobile for sale.

(11) Allow consumers to road test any used automobile offered for sale or long-term lease.

(12) Before the purchase or long-term lease of a used automobile, allow the consumer to have the automobile inspected by any technician of the consumer’s choice located at a reasonable distance from the merchant’s establishment. The merchant undertakes not to charge a fee and to allow the automobile to be driven to the place of inspection. Should the merchant not allow the automobile to be driven to the place of inspection, the merchant undertakes to bear the cost of transporting the automobile to that place.

(13) Give the consumer, at any time and on request by the consumer, a copy of the contracts, the label and any other document relating to the sale or long-term lease of a used automobile, and documents relating to warranties and extended warranties offered.

(14) (Revoked).

(15) State, in advertising the sale or long-term lease of a rebuilt automobile, that the advertised automobile is a rebuilt automobile, regardless of whether that fact must appear on the automobile’s registration certificate.

(16) Reimburse the Office de la protection du consommateur for the costs of investigations or inspections made under the president’s authority pursuant to the president’s powers under the Consumer Protection Act (chapter P-40.1) to verify compliance with this voluntary undertaking, up to a maximum of

(1) $300 for a first investigation or inspection;

(2) $1,200 for a second investigation or inspection if made within 6 months of a notice given by the president stating that the first investigation or inspection revealed a breach of this voluntary undertaking.

Exemptions

(17) The merchant may be exempted from the requirements of sections 11 and 12 if a used automobile is unfit to be driven, is offered for sale to be rebuilt or is offered for sale for parts. The merchant must in such cases obtain an attestation, written in its entirety and signed by the consumer, stating that the consumer has been informed by the merchant that the automobile is unfit to be driven, that it is being sold to be rebuilt or that it is being sold for parts.

(18) The merchant may be exempted from the requirement of section 11 and may refuse to allow the consumer to drive the automobile to have it inspected as provided in section 12, if the consumer cannot demonstrate to the merchant that he or she holds a valid driver’s licence.

O.C. 1138-2006, Sch; O.C. 1142-2011, s. 1.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1138-2006, 2006 G.O. 2, 4083

O.C. 1142-2011, 2011 G.O. 2, 3270