| (D) a working telephone number listed in the business
name or assumed name under which the dealer conducts business.
(7) Number of retail dealers in one building. Not more
than four retail dealers may be located in the same building. Each
retail dealer located in the same building must meet the requirements
of this section.
(8) Number of wholesale motor vehicle dealers in one
office building. Not more than eight wholesale motor vehicle dealers
may be located in the same office building. Each wholesale motor vehicle
dealer located in the same office building must meet the requirements
of this section.
(9) Office sharing prohibition for retail dealers and
wholesale motor vehicle dealers. Unless otherwise authorized by the
Transportation Code, a retail dealer and a wholesale motor vehicle
dealer licensed after September 1, 1999, may not be located in the
same building.
(10) Dealer housed with other business.
(A) If a person conducts business as a dealer in conjunction
with another business owned by the same person and under the same
name as the other business, the same telephone number may be used
for both businesses. If the name of the dealer differs from the name
of the other business, a separate telephone listing and a separate
sign for each business are required.
(B) A person may conduct business as a dealer in conjunction
with another business not owned by that person only if the dealer
owns the property on which business is conducted or has a separate
lease agreement from the owner of that property that meets the requirements
of this section. The same telephone number may not be used by both
businesses. The dealer must have separate business signs, telephone
listings, and office equipment required under this section.
(C) A dealer's office must have permanent interior
walls on all sides and be separate from any public area used by another
business.
(11) Display area and storage lot requirements.
(A) A wholesale motor vehicle dealer is not required
to have display space at the wholesale motor vehicle dealer's business
premises.
(B) A retail dealer must have an area designated as
display space for the retail dealer's inventory. A retail dealer's
designated display area must comply with the following requirements.
(i) The display area must be located at the retail
dealer's physical business address or contiguous to the retail dealer's
physical address. The display area may not be in a storage lot.
(ii) The display area must be of sufficient size to
display at least five vehicles of the type for which the GDN is issued.
Those spaces must be reserved exclusively for the retail dealer's
inventory and may not be used for customer parking, employee parking,
general storage, or shared or intermingled with another business or
a public parking area, a driveway to the office, or another dealer's
display area.
(iii) The display area may not be on a public easement,
right-of-way, or driveway unless the governing body having jurisdiction
of the easement, right-of-way, or driveway expressly consents in writing
to use as a display area. If the easement, right-of-way, or driveway
is a part of the state highway system, use as a display area may only
be authorized by a lease agreement.
(iv) If a retail dealer shares a display or parking
area with another business, including another dealer, the dealer's
vehicle inventory must be separated from the other business's display
or parking area by a material object or barrier that cannot be readily
removed. A material object or barrier must be in place on all sides
except for the space necessary to allow for entry and exit of vehicle
inventory.
(v) If a dealer's business location includes gasoline
pumps or a charging station or includes another business that sells
gasoline or has a charging station, the dealer's display area may
not be part of the parking area for fuel or charging station customers
and may not interfere with access to or from the gasoline pumps, fuel
tanks, charging station, or fire prevention equipment.
(vi) The display area must be adequately illuminated
if the retail dealer is open at night so that a vehicle for sale can
be properly inspected by a potential buyer.
(vii) The display area may be located inside a building;
however, if multiple dealers are displaying vehicles inside a building,
each dealer's display area must be separated by a material object
or barrier that cannot be readily removed. A material object or barrier
must be in place on all sides except for the space necessary to allow
for entry and exit of vehicle inventory.
(C) A GDN dealer may maintain a storage lot only if
the storage lot is not accessible to the public and no sales activity
occurs at the storage lot. A sign stating the dealer's name, contact
information, and the fact the property is a storage lot is permissible.
A storage lot must be fenced or in an access-controlled location to
be considered not accessible to the public.
(12) Dealers authorized to sell salvage motor vehicles.
If an independent motor vehicle dealer offers a salvage motor vehicle
for sale on the dealer's premises, the vehicle must be clearly and
conspicuously marked with a sign informing a potential buyer that
the vehicle is a salvage motor vehicle. This requirement does not
apply to a licensed salvage pool operator.
(13) Lease requirements. If the premises from which
a dealer conducts business, including any display area, is not owned
by the dealer, the dealer must maintain a lease that is continuous
during the period of time for which the dealer's license will be issued.
The lease agreement must be on a properly executed form containing
at a minimum:
(A) the name of the property owner as the lessor of
the premises and the name of the dealer as the tenant or lessee of
the premises;
(B) the period of time for which the lease is valid;
(C) the street address or legal description of the
property, provided that if only a legal description of the property
is included, a dealer must attach a statement verifying that the property
description in the lease agreement is the physical street address
identified on the application as the physical address for the established
and permanent place of business;
(D) the signature of the property owner as the lessor
and the signature of the dealer as the tenant or lessee; and
(E) if the lease agreement is a sublease in which the
property owner is not the lessor, the dealer must also obtain a signed
and notarized statement from the property owner including the following
information:
(i) property owner's full name, email address, mailing
address, and phone number; and
(ii) property owner's statement confirming that the
dealer is authorized to sublease the location and may operate a vehicle
sales business from the location.
(14) Dealer must display GDN and bond notice. A dealer
must display the dealer's GDN issued by the department at all times
in a manner that makes the GDN easily readable by the public and in
a conspicuous place at each place of business for which the dealer's
GDN is issued. If the dealer's GDN applies to more than one location,
a copy of the GDN and bond notice must be displayed in each supplemental
location. A dealer required to obtain a surety bond must post a bond
notice adjacent to and in the same manner as the dealer's GDN is displayed.
The notice must include the bond company name, bond identification
number, and procedure by which a claimant can recover under the bond.
The notice must also include the department's website address and
notify a consumer that a dealer's surety bond information may be obtained
by submitting a request to the department.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §215.140 adopted to be effective February 11, 2010, 35 TexReg 883; amended to be effective August 2, 2012, 37 TexReg 5637; amended to be effective February 13, 2017, 42 TexReg 571; amended to be effective June 28, 2017, 42 TexReg 3273; amended to be effective January 1, 2023, 47 TexReg 8745 |
