New York Consolidated Laws, Vehicle and Traffic Law - VAT § 398-a. Statement of purpose

The purposes of this article are to further highway safety by promoting the proper and efficient repair of malfunctioning or disabled motor vehicles and to protect the consumers of this state from dishonest, deceptive and fraudulent practices in the repair of such motor vehicles.  These purposes will be accomplished by the enactment of legislation which require the registration of those engaged in the business of repairing malfunctioning or disabled motor vehicles and to exclude from that business those persons who engage in dishonest or fraudulent practice or who otherwise demonstrate unfitness for that business.  That further, the purpose of this article is to protect the motoring public from improper repairs made to its vehicles to set standards for quality repairs to be made to motor vehicles for fair and reasonable fees and to eliminate unqualified automotive repair shops from engaging in the business of automotive repair to malfunctioning or disabled vehicles.