The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) Casual sale--The sale by a salvage vehicle dealer,
insurance company, or salvage pool operator of not more than five
nonrepairable or salvage motor vehicles to the same person during
a calendar year. The term does not include a sale to a salvage vehicle
dealer or the sale of an export-only motor vehicle to a person who
is not a resident of the United States.
(2) Certificate of title--A written instrument that
may be issued solely by and under the authority of the department
and that reflects the transferor, transferee, vehicle description,
license plate and lien information, and rights of survivorship agreement
as specified in Subchapter A of this chapter or as required by the
department.
(3) Application for Title--A form prescribed by the
director of the department's Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
that reflects the information required by the department to create
a motor vehicle title record.
(4) Damage--Sudden damage to a motor vehicle caused
by the motor vehicle being wrecked, burned, flooded, or stripped of
major component parts. The term does not include gradual damage from
any cause, sudden damage caused by hail, or any damage caused only
to the exterior paint of the motor vehicle.
(5) Date of sale--The date of the transfer of possession
of a specific vehicle from a seller to a purchaser.
(6) Department--The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
(7) Export-only sale--The sale of a nonrepairable or
salvage motor vehicle, by a salvage vehicle dealer, including a salvage
pool operator acting as agent for an insurance company, or a governmental
entity, to a person who resides outside the United States.
(8) Flood damage--A title remark that is initially
indicated on a nonrepairable or salvage vehicle title to denote that
the damage to the vehicle was caused exclusively by flood and that
is carried forward on subsequent title issuance.
(9) Insurance company--A person authorized to write
automobile insurance in this state or an out-of-state insurance company
that pays a loss claim for a motor vehicle in this state.
(10) Manufacturer's certificate of origin--A form prescribed
by the department showing the original transfer of a new motor vehicle
from the manufacturer to the original purchaser, whether importer,
distributor, dealer, or owner, and when presented with an application
for title, showing, on appropriate forms prescribed by the department,
each subsequent transfer between distributor and dealer, dealer and
dealer, and dealer and owner.
(11) Metal recycler--A person who:
(A) is predominately engaged in the business of obtaining
ferrous or nonferrous metal that has served its original economic
purpose to convert the metal, or sell the metal for conversion, into
raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an
existing or potential economic value;
(B) has a facility to convert ferrous or nonferrous
metal into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and
having an existing or potential economic value, by a method other
than the exclusive use of hand tools, including the processing, sorting,
cutting, classifying, cleaning, baling, wrapping, shredding, shearing,
or changing the physical form or chemical content of the metal; and
(C) sells or purchases the ferrous or nonferrous metal
solely for use as raw material in the production of new products.
(12) Motor vehicle--A vehicle described by Transportation
Code, §501.002(17).
(13) Nonrepairable motor vehicle--A motor vehicle as
defined by Transportation Code, §501.091(9).
(14) Nonrepairable vehicle title--A document that evidences
ownership of a nonrepairable motor vehicle.
(15) Out-of-state buyer--A person licensed in an automotive
business by another state or jurisdiction if the department has listed
the holders of such a license as permitted purchasers of salvage motor
vehicles or nonrepairable motor vehicles based on substantially similar
licensing requirements and on whether salvage vehicle dealers licensed
in Texas are permitted to purchase salvage motor vehicles or nonrepairable
motor vehicles in the other state or jurisdiction.
(16) Out-of-state ownership document--A negotiable
document issued by another jurisdiction that the department considers
sufficient to prove ownership of a nonrepairable or salvage motor
vehicle and to support issuance of a comparable Texas certificate
of title for the motor vehicle. The term does not include a title
issued by the department, including a:
(A) regular certificate of title;
(B) nonrepairable vehicle title;
(C) salvage vehicle title;
(D) salvage certificate;
(E) Certificate of Authority to Demolish a Motor Vehicle;
or
(F) any other ownership document issued by the department.
(17) Person--An individual, partnership, corporation,
trust, association, or other private legal entity.
(18) Rebuilt salvage certificate of title--A regular
certificate of title evidencing ownership of a nonrepairable motor
vehicle that was issued a nonrepairable vehicle title prior to September
1, 2003, or salvage motor vehicle that has been rebuilt.
(19) Salvage motor vehicle--A motor vehicle, regardless
of the year model:
(A) that is:
(i) damaged or is missing a major component part to
the extent that the cost of repairs exceeds the actual cash value
of the motor vehicle immediately before the damage; or
(ii) damaged and comes into this state under an out-of-state
ownership document that states on its face "accident damage," "flood
damage," "inoperable," "rebuildable," "salvageable," or similar notation,
and is not an out-of-state ownership document with a "rebuilt," "prior
salvage," or similar notation, or a nonrepairable motor vehicle; and
(B) does not include:
(i) a motor vehicle for which an insurance company
has paid a claim for repairing hail damage, or theft, unless the motor
vehicle was damaged during the theft and before recovery to the extent
that the cost of repair exceeds the actual cash value of the motor
vehicle immediately before the damage;
(ii) the cost of materials or labor for repainting
the motor vehicle; or
(iii) sales tax on the total cost of repairs.
(20) Salvage vehicle dealer--A person engaged in this
state in the business of acquiring, selling, dismantling, repairing,
rebuilding, reconstructing, or otherwise dealing in nonrepairable
motor vehicles or salvage motor vehicles or used parts, including
a person who is in the business of a salvage vehicle dealer, regardless
of whether the person holds a license issued by the department to
engage in the business. The term does not include a person who casually
repairs, rebuilds, or reconstructs fewer than three salvage motor
vehicles in the same calendar year.
(21) Salvage vehicle title--A document issued by the
department that evidences ownership of a salvage motor vehicle.
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