Section 32-16-2 Registration of Certain Vehicles; Bond of Certain Dealers.
AI-assisted research summary: Some out-of-state or nonresident used-car dealers, and anyone bringing a used car into Alabama for sale or resale, must register the vehicle within 10 days and post a bond before selling it, unless the vehicle is a trade-in.
Every dealer in used or secondhand motor vehicles who is a nonresident of the State of Alabama, or who does not have a permanent place of business in the State of Alabama, and any person, firm or corporation who brings any used or secondhand motor vehicle into the State of Alabama for purposes of sale or resale, except as a trade-in on a new motor vehicle, or another used car, shall, within 10 days from date of entering of said used or secondhand motor vehicle into the State of Alabama, register such motor vehicle with the probate judge of the county in which said secondhand or used motor vehicle is brought, on a form to be provided by the probate judge, and shall, before said used or secondhand car is put on a used car lot for sale, or offered for sale, or sold, execute bond with two good and sufficient sureties or with a surety company duly authorized to do business in the State of Alabama as surety or sureties thereon, payable to the said probate judge for the use or benefit of the purchaser and his vendees, conditioned to pay all loss, damages and expenses that may be sustained by the purchaser or vendees, that may be occasioned by reason of any fraudulent misrepresentations or breaches of warranty as to freedom from liens, quality, condition, use or value of said motor vehicle being so sold. Said bond shall be in the full amount of the sale price of such secondhand or used motor vehicle, but in no event to exceed the sum of $1,000.00, and such bond shall be filed with the probate judge of the county in which such sale is made by the vendor, and such bond shall be approved by said probate judge as to the amount thereof and as to the solvency of the surety or sureties thereon, for which services the vendor shall pay a fee of $1.00 as registration and recording, which said sum shall be held and disposed of as other registration and recording fees are now held and disposed of by him; and the said vendor shall pay over to the probate judge at the time of the registration of said bond the further sum of $5.00, which said sum shall be by the probate judge paid over to the county treasury of the respective counties, less a fee of $.50 to be retained by the probate judge to the credit of county school funds, the same to be distributed and disposed of as provided by law.