A. A dealer licensee shall maintain a record in a form prescribed by the department of every vehicle of a type subject to registration pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code [66-1-1 NMSA 1978] that is bought, sold or exchanged by the licensee or received by the licensee for sale or exchange.

B. An auto recycler licensee shall maintain a record in a form prescribed by the department of:

(1) every vehicle of a type subject to registration pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code that is bought, exchanged or received and dismantled or otherwise destroyed by the licensee; and

(2) every motor vehicle body, chassis or engine that is sold or otherwise disposed of by the licensee.

C. Every record required to be maintained pursuant to Subsection A or B of this section shall state the name and address of the person from whom the vehicle was purchased or acquired and the date of the purchase; the name and address of the person to whom the vehicle or the motor vehicle body, chassis or engine was sold or otherwise disposed of and the date of the sale or disposition; and a sufficient description of every vehicle or motor vehicle body, chassis or engine by name and identifying numbers sufficient to identify the vehicle or motor vehicle body, chassis or engine.

D. A title service company licensee shall maintain a record of:

(1) every temporary registration permit issued;

(2) every title and registration application accepted for processing; and

(3) any other information prescribed by the department.

E. Every record required to be maintained pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be retained for a period of three years from the end of the year in which the record was created and shall be open to inspection by any peace officer or officer of the department during reasonable business hours. If the licensee fails to maintain the records required or to permit their inspection during reasonable business hours, the license becomes invalid.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-4-5, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 218; 1999, ch. 122, § 5; 2005, ch. 324, § 15; 2007, ch. 319, § 43.

Cross references. — For the police authority of the division of motor vehicles, see 66-2-12 NMSA 1978.

For penalty for violation of section, see 66-4-9 NMSA 1978.

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, to amended Subsection C to provide that the records maintained by an auto recycler shall contain the same information as records maintained by dealers and changed "temporary registration plate" to "temporary registration permit".

The 2005 amendment, effective January 1, 2006, deleted "wrecker of vehicles" in Subsection A; added Subsection B(1) to provide that an auto recycler licensee shall maintain a record in a form prescribed by the department of every vehicle that is subject to registration that is acquired and dismantled by the licensee; and deleted former Subsection B(3), which provided that a licensee was required to keep a record of every vehicle which was bought or dismantled by the licensee.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, in Subsection A, substituted "department" for "division"; in Subsection A(1), substituted "pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code that" for "hereunder which"; in Subsection A(2), deleted "motor vehicle" preceding "engine"; in Subsection B, inserted "required to be maintained pursuant to Subsection A of this section", twice deleted "motor vehicle" following "chassis or", inserted "or motor vehicle" preceding "body", twice substituted "of the purchase" or "of the sale or disposition" for "thereof", inserted "sufficient to identify the vehicle or motor vehicle body, chassis or engine", and made numerous stylistic changes; inserted Subsection C; redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection D, and in Subsection D deleted "such" preceding "record", inserted "required to be maintained . . . was created and", substituted "department" for "division", and added the second sentence.