The Florida Senate

686.605  Parts; availability; return.--

(1)  Every manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler shall specify, and every dealer shall provide and fulfill, reasonable predelivery and preparation obligations for its outdoor power equipment prior to delivery of the outdoor power equipment to retail purchasers.

(2)  Every manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler shall provide for the availability of repair parts throughout the reasonable useful life of any outdoor power equipment sold.

(3)  Every manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler shall provide to their dealers, annually, an opportunity to return a portion of their surplus parts inventories for credit. The surplus procedure shall be administered as follows:

(a)  The manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler may specify, and thereupon notify their dealers of, a time period of at least 60 days' duration during which the dealers may submit their surplus parts lists and return their surplus parts to the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler.

(b)  If a manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler has not notified a dealer of a specific time period for returning surplus parts within the preceding 12 months, they shall authorize and allow the dealer's surplus parts return request within 30 days after receipt of such request from the dealer.

(c)  A manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler must allow surplus parts return authority on a dollar value of parts equal to 6 percent of the total dollar value of parts purchased from the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler by the dealer during the 12-month period immediately preceding the notification to the dealer by the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler of the surplus parts return program, or the month the dealer's return request is made, whichever is applicable. However, the dealer may, at his or her option, elect to return a dollar value of his or her surplus parts equal to less than 6 percent of the total dollar value of parts purchased by the dealer from the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler during the preceding 12-month period as provided herein.

(d)  No obsolete or superseded part may be returned, but any part listed in the manufacturer's, distributor's, or wholesaler's current returnable parts list at the date of notification of the surplus parts return program by the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler to the dealer, or the date of the dealer's parts return request, whichever is applicable, is eligible for return and credit specified. However, returned parts must be in new and unused condition and must have been purchased from the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler to whom they are returned.

(e)  The minimum lawful credit to be allowed for returned parts is 85 percent of the wholesale cost of the parts as listed in the manufacturer's, distributor's, or wholesaler's current returnable parts list at the date of the notification of the surplus parts return program by the manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor to the dealer, or the date of the dealer's parts return request, whichever is higher.

(f)  Applicable credit must be issued or furnished by the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler to the dealer within 60 days after receipt of the returned parts.

(g)  The packing and return freight expense incurred in any return of surplus parts pursuant to the terms of this section shall be borne by the dealer.

History.--s. 1, ch. 97-275; s. 51, ch. 99-7.