Section 301.566

Title XIX MOTOR VEHICLES, WATERCRAFT AND AVIATION

Chapter 301

Effective - 28 Aug 2018, 5 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  301.566.  Motor vehicle sales or shows held away from registered place of business, allowed, when — off-site retail sale of vehicles, when — recreational vehicle dealer participation in off-premise events, recreational vehicle shows and vehicle exhibitions — out-of-state participants — violation, penalty. — 1.  Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for a motor vehicle dealer to sell or offer to sell any motor vehicle away from the dealer's registered place of business.

  2.  The sale of vehicles at off-site sales shall be limited to sales by a seller of vehicles used and titled solely in its ordinary course of business, and such sales shall be held in conjunction with a credit union and limited to members of the credit union, thus constituting a private sale to be advertised to members only.

  3.  Off-site sales by a seller of vehicles used and titled solely in its ordinary course of business may also be held in conjunction with other financial institutions provided that any such sale event shall be held on the premises of the financial institution, and sales shall be limited to persons who were customers of the financial institution prior to the date of the sale event.  Off-site sales held with such other financial institutions shall be limited to one sale per year per institution.

  4.  A motor vehicle dealer may participate in up to two off-premise motor vehicle shows or sales annually and conduct sales of motor vehicles away from the dealer's registered place of business, which for purposes of this section shall be considered off-premise events provided the following:

  (1)  The off-premise event shall be conducted for not more than five consecutive days;

  (2)  The off-premise event shall not require any motor vehicle dealer participant to pay an unreasonably prohibitive participation fee:

  (a)  Participation fees may include those costs reasonably necessary for the off-premise event such as rental of real property and provision of insurance coverage;

  (b)  If a participation fee is required, the fee shall be the same for all motor vehicle dealers participating in the event, but in no event shall any participation fee exceed five hundred dollars per participant;

  (3)  A majority of motor vehicle dealers within a class of dealers described in subsection 3 of section 301.550 that are located within the city or town in which the off-premise event is situated participate in the event or are notified via mail or electronic means and have the opportunity to participate in the event;

  (4)  A majority of motor vehicle dealers within a class of dealers described in subsection 3 of section 301.550 that are located within a ten-mile radius of the location of the off-premise event participate in the event or are notified via mail or electronic means and have the opportunity to participate in the event;

  (5)  Notices provided pursuant to subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection shall be provided not less than forty-five days before the off-premise event is to take place and invited dealers shall be given at least five business days to respond to the notice;

  (6)  The organizer of the off-premise event shall provide a copy of the notices issued pursuant to subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection to the director at the time they are mailed or electronically transmitted to the prospective participants; and

  (7)  No motor vehicle dealer shall participate in any off-premise event that is more than ten miles from its licensed location.

  5.  Provided the requirements of this section are met, the department shall consider such events to be proper in all respects and as if each dealer participant was conducting business at the dealer's usual business location.  Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as applying to the sale of motor vehicles or trailers through either a wholesale motor vehicle auction or public motor vehicle auction.  A recreational motor vehicle dealer, as classified by subdivision (5) of subsection 3 of section 301.550, may participate in an off-premise event even if a majority of recreational motor vehicle dealers in a city or town do not participate in the event.

  6.  A recreational vehicle dealer, as that term is defined in section 700.010, who is licensed in another state may participate in recreational vehicle shows or exhibits with recreational vehicles within this state in which less than fifty dealers participate as exhibitors with permission of the dealer's licensed manufacturer if all of the following conditions exist:

  (1)  The show or exhibition has a minimum of ten recreational vehicle dealers licensed as motor vehicle dealers in this state;

  (2)  More than fifty percent of the participating recreational vehicle dealers are licensed motor vehicle dealers in this state; and

  (3)  The state in which the recreational vehicle is licensed is a state contiguous to Missouri and the state permits recreational vehicle dealers licensed in Missouri to participate in recreational vehicle shows in such state pursuant to conditions substantially equivalent to the conditions which are imposed on dealers from such state who participate in recreational vehicle shows in Missouri.

  7.  A recreational vehicle dealer licensed in another state may participate in a vehicle show or exhibition in Missouri which has, when it opens to the public, at least fifty dealers displaying recreational vehicles if the show or exhibition is trade-oriented and is predominantly funded by recreational vehicle manufacturers.  All of the participating dealers who are not licensed in Missouri shall be licensed as recreational vehicle dealers by the state of their residence.

  8.  A recreational vehicle dealer licensed in another state who intends to participate in a vehicle show or exhibition in this state shall send written notification of such intended participation to the department of revenue at least thirty days prior to the vehicle show or exhibition.  Upon receipt of such written notification, the department of revenue shall make a determination regarding compliance with the provisions of this section.  If such recreational vehicle dealer would be unable to participate in the vehicle show or exhibition in this state pursuant to this section, the department of revenue shall notify the recreational vehicle dealer at least fifteen days prior to the vehicle show or exhibition of the inability to participate in the vehicle show or exhibition in this state.

  9.  The department may assess a fine of up to one thousand dollars for the off-premise sale or display of any motor vehicle in violation of this section.

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(L. 1988 H.B. 1512 § 9, A.L. 1993 S.B. 35, A.L. 1996 S.B. 560, A.L. 1997 H.B. 207, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1288 and S.B. 1233, et al., A.L. 2007 S.B. 82, A.L. 2018 S.B. 707)