F&I and Showroom, February 2014

Developments O hio Attorney General Mike DeWine one of the most active state regulators in the automotive space started 2014 by fi ling fi ve lawsuits against used car dealers who failed to deliver vehicle titles to customers DeWine is seeking more than 32000 in reimbursements from AutoBahn The Car Shack R M Auto Service Sales Selective Auto Mart and Y Town Auto Sales The majority of complaints that we get in regard to automobiles come from people who bought a used car and the majority of those cases have to do with failure to get a clear title or any title at all DeWine told F I and Showroom He said there is a big big difference in the states franchised Ally TIME Announce 2014 Dealer of the Year NADA 2014 Sales 10 F I and Showroom February 2014 and independent dealer complaints Of the 5581 motor vehicle complaints in Ohio this past year 3883 or 70 were related to used car sales Some of these used car dealers set up shop for a while and then they move on And thats the bulk of our problems the attorney general noted A reputable car dealer we can usually work something out with them Its the ones who arent reputable and there are very few of those particularly in the used car business that set up shop and dont deliver titles and dont do what they say theyre going to do And thats a problem DeWine claimed that each of the dealers violated the states Consumer Sales Practice Act when they failed to deliver titles within 30 days of each sale The lawsuits seek injunctive relief civil penalties and reimbursement to the Title Defect Rescission Fund a self funded program state lawmakers created in 2001 Ohio AG Notes Big Difference Between Franchised Independent Dealers ALLY FINANCIAL AND TIME announced Jan 25 that Jeff Teague of Teague Ford Lincoln in El Dorado Ark was selected as the 2014 TIME Dealer of the Year Teague was selected from a group of 56 U S dealers who were recognized at the 97th annual National Automobile Dealers Association NADA Convention Expo in New Orleans Tim Russi president of Auto Finance for Ally and Moritz Loew vice president of sales for TIME announced the winner and fi nalists during the opening session of the convention This award recognizes the best of the nations dealers not only for their business successes but for their extraordinary commitment in giving back to their local communities Russi said to Reach 164M INCREASING HOME VALUES residential housing construction and rising employment will be key drivers of the U S economy in 2014 Steven Szakaly the NADAs new chief economist said at the associations convention in January Those factors will likely drive light vehicle sales to 164 million units this year he predicted a 58 increase from 2013 DOJ Charges N C Dealers With Credit Discrimination IN JANUARY THE U S DEPARTMENT OF Justice the U S Attorneys Offi ce for the Western District of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Justice fi led a lawsuit against Auto Fare Inc Southeastern Auto Corp and Zuhdi A Saadeh charging the operator and his dealerships with violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by intentionally targeting African American customers for the extension