Any motor vehicle that (1) has been reconstructed, (2) is composed or assembled from the several parts of other motor vehicles, (3) the identification and body contours of which are so altered that the vehicle no longer bears the characteristics of any specific make of motor vehicle, or (4) has been declared a total loss by any insurance carrier and subsequently reconstructed, shall be inspected by the commissioner to determine whether the vehicle is properly equipped, in good mechanical condition and in the possession of its lawful owner. The model year designation for the purpose of registration of a composite motor vehicle inspected in accordance with this section shall be the model year that the body of such composite motor vehicle most closely resembles. Such vehicle shall be presented for inspection at any Department of Motor Vehicles office to conduct such inspection. The commissioner may require any person presenting any such reassembled, altered or reconstructed vehicle for inspection to provide proof of lawful purchase of any major component parts not part of the vehicle when first sold by the manufacturer. The commissioner may require, in accordance with the provisions of this section, the inspection of any other motor vehicle that has not been manufactured by a person, firm or corporation licensed in accordance with the provisions of section 14-67a. The fee for any inspection required by the provisions of this section shall be eighty-eight dollars. The inspection fee shall be in addition to regular registration fees. As used in this section, “reconstructed” refers to each motor vehicle materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition or substitution of essential parts, new or used.

(February, 1965, P.A. 448, S. 4; 1971, P.A. 527; P.A. 80-292, S. 3; P.A. 84-254, S. 48, 62; P.A. 85-613, S. 30, 154; P.A. 91-355, S. 3; P.A. 94-189, S. 10; P.A. 02-70, S. 57; P.A. 07-167, S. 10, 43; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 31; P.A. 09-187, S. 31.)

History: 1971 act replaced provision for fees equaling those for inspection of vehicles purchased outside state pursuant to Sec. 14-12 with provision for $25 fee; P.A. 80-292 included reference to vehicles rebuilt after declared total loss by insurer, required inspection to determine whether vehicle is in possession of lawful owner and allowed commissioner to require proof of purchase for major component parts not originally part of vehicle; P.A. 84-254 periodically increased the inspection fee, from $25 to $88 as of July 1, 1993; P.A. 85-613 made technical change; P.A. 91-355 required such vehicle to be presented for inspection at any state motor vehicle department office or any authorized official emissions inspection station and required inspection fees collected at such inspection stations to be deposited in separate safety inspection account within emissions inspection fund; P.A. 94-189 amended the section by deleting obsolete language re inspection fee increases and changing the reference to “subsection” in the last sentence to “section”; (Revisor's note: In 1997 references throughout the general statutes to “Motor Vehicle(s) Commissioner” and “Motor Vehicle(s) Department” were replaced editorially by the Revisors with “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles” or “Department of Motor Vehicles”, as the case may be, for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 02-70 made a technical change, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 07-167 deleted provisions re inspection at official emissions inspection station and re deposit of fees collected at such station in separate safety inspection account, effective July 1, 2007, and added references to reconstructed vehicles, deleted references to rebuilt vehicles and defined “reconstructed”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 made technical changes; P.A. 09-187 added provision re model year designation for registration of composite motor vehicle shall be model year that body of vehicle most closely resembles, and authorized commissioner to require inspection of any other motor vehicle manufactured by person, firm or corporation without a manufacturer's license issued under Sec. 14-67a.

See Sec. 14-67h for definition of “major component parts.”