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Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduces Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 That Would Close A Dangerous Loophole That Allows Rental Car Companies To Rent Or Sell Recalled Vehicles That Are Unlawful for Car Dealers to Sell

Legislation is Named for California Girls Killed When Recalled Rental Car Caught Fire and Has Support of Rental Car Industry – Bill to Receive Hearing in Commerce Subcommittee For the First Time

Senators: Keeping Defective and Potentially Dangerous Cars Off the Road Is a Matter of Life and Death

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced legislation that would ban car rental companies from allowing consumers to rent or sell vehicles that are under manufacturer recall. The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 is supported by all the major car rental companies – Hertz, Enterprise, Avis Budget, Dollar Thrifty, and National – as well as the American Car Rental Association – together representing virtually 100 percent of the rental car market.

While current law prohibits car dealerships from selling recalled vehicles to consumers, no law bans rental car companies from doing the same or renting them to unsuspecting consumers. The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 would keep unsafe rental cars that have been recalled off the road. Later this month, Senator Claire McCaskill, the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Consumer Protection Subcommittee, intends to hold a hearing on the bill.

“Rental car companies are rolling the dice with passengers’ lives each and every time they rent a car that’s under a recall,” said Senator Schumer. “This practice has already proved tragic. Most rental companies have now changed their policies, but we need a law to ensure that recalled cars are never again driven off of rental lots. This bipartisan bill is a common sense safety measure, and I’m very grateful that Senator McCaskill has agreed to hold a hearing on it.”

“This legislation honors the memory of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck – two beautiful girls who lost their lives in a senseless tragedy – by ensuring that no other family will have to fear that the rental car they are driving is unsafe,” said Senator Boxer. “Because of the tireless work of their mother, Cally, we are able to introduce this bipartisan bill today that will make sure that vehicles rented or sold by rental car companies are safe and sound.”

“Our goals for this legislation are twofold—to protect families, and to prevent undue burdens for employers—and this agreement succeeds on both fronts,” said McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, which will hold a hearing on the legislation later this month. “Neither side got everything they wanted, but by everybody giving a little, we’re getting a lot—and that’s what compromise is all about.”

“No other family should have to endure such horrific losses just because a rental car company didn’t bother to ensure that their cars are not being recalled due to safety defects,” said Cally Houck, the mother of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck.

Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety added, “We’re optimistic that Congress will act to stop all rental car companies from playing ‘rental car roulette’ with their customers’ lives.”

In 2004, sisters Raechel and Jacqueline Houck were killed driving a rental car that had been recalled for a power steering hose defect but had not been repaired. The car caught fire because of the defect while traveling on the highway, causing a loss of steering and a head-on collision with a semi-trailer truck. The young women died in the crash. The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 is needed to ensure this tragedy is not repeated.

Getting unsafe vehicles off the road is integral to improving safety and saving lives. This is why current law requires manufacturers to recall vehicles that have safety-related defects or do not meet federal safety standards. Current law also prohibits auto dealers from selling a new car under recall unless the defect has been remedied. The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 would, for the first time, hold rental companies to the same standard as auto dealers. Specifically, the bill:

• Prohibits Rental or Sale of Vehicles Subject to a Safety Recall. Under the senators’ plan, vehicles may not be rented or sold until the vehicles are fixed, consistent with existing law for new car dealers, who have been prohibited from selling or leasing recalled vehicles for decades. Rental companies would be permitted to sell a damaged vehicle subject to recall for parts or scrap with a junk title.
   
• Requires Rental Companies to Ground Vehicles Under a Safety Recall. The bill would ensure that vehicles under a safety recall will be grounded as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours after the rental company gets the safety recall notice. Rental companies will have up to 48 hours for recalls that include more than 5,000 vehicles in their fleet.
   
• Permits Rental Companies to Rely on Temporary Measures Identified by Manufacturers. If a manufacturer’s recall notice specifies steps that can be taken to eliminate the safety risk until parts are available, a rental company may continue to rent the vehicle if those measures are put in place but must ground and repair the vehicle once parts become available.
   
• Ensures NHTSA Has Tools Necessary to Protect Consumers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will have authority to investigate and police rental companies' recall safety practices.
   

The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 is supported by Carol (Cally) Houck – mother of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, National Association of Consumer Advocates, and Trauma Foundation.

The bill has been endorsed by all the major car rental companies – Hertz, Enterprise, Avis Budget, Dollar Thrifty, and National – as well as the American Car Rental Association. The bill also is supported by the Truck Renting and Leasing Association, representing the vast majority of truck renting and leasing operations in the United States, as well as AAA and State Farm.

Enterprise
“Although most of the car rental industry already prohibits renting or selling recalled cars if they haven't been repaired, lawmakers can further reassure car rental customers across the board by supporting and voting in favor of this important federal legislation. As a result, we will continue advocating on behalf of this bill and working diligently with consumer advocates, the American Car Rental Association and other key stakeholders to help get it passed.”

The American Car Rental Association
“The American Car Rental Association (ACRA) is pleased to join with consumer advocates in support of this legislation, which prohibits the rental of any vehicle that has an unrepaired safety recall and addresses certain practical implementation issues of our industry. It is critically important that Congress codify what most of the car rental industry voluntarily enacted last year. By formally creating a uniform standard, both car-rental and car-sharing customers will have even greater confidence going forward no matter where they rent their vehicles.”

Hertz
“Hertz supports efforts to prohibit car rental companies from renting or selling recalled cars if they haven't been repaired. The major companies do an excellent job handling recalls, and consumers should have confidence that the cars they drive are safe; this legislation will help improve the public's perception of our industry's commitment to safety.”


 
 

Used car buyers in California are one step closer to gaining new protections against auto dealers who sell used cars that are being recalled by the manufacturer -- without bothering to get them fixed, for free. Democratic members of the state's Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of outlawing car dealers from engaging in "recalled car roulette" -- endangering their customers' lives. The Democratic senators voted to pass legislation authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), despite opposition from the California New Car Dealers Association, the Independent Auto Dealers Association, and Carmax, whose lobbyists insisted that car dealers have no way to know when used cars are being recalled. Instead, they say that consumers are the ones who should have to find out about safety recalls, and get the cars fixed. So far, they haven't been able to explain why, if consumers can find out, dealers are so clueless.

Federal law prohibits auto dealers from selling NEW vehicles that are under a federal safety recall, but there is no law that specifically prohibits dealers from selling USED cars that have the same defects, and are under the same safety recall.

Former California auto dealer Salvatore Cerrito, who owned and managed many auto dealerships in Northern and Southern California for over 45 years, including dealerships for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Lincoln, Mercury, Chrysler/Jeep/Doge, Toyota, Honda, Nissan Mitsubishi, Hyundai, SAAB, Rolls Royce and Bentley, testified in favor of the bill. He pointed out to lawmakers that the only car dealers who don't seem able to find out about a used car's safety recall status are dealers who don't want to know.

LaQuata Williams, a mom with three children, described her horrific experience. A used car dealer in Kansas sold her an unsafe, recalled 2002 Ford Windstar. She had explained that she has three children and she needed a vehicle that was safe and reliable. The dealer told her that the Windstar was just what she was looking for. She complained to the dealer that she heard a popping noise in the rear. She took it back to the dealer repeatedly for repairs to fix the noise. The dealer insisted that the Windstar was perfectly safe. Then while she was driving on the freeway, going about 65 mph, the axle broke. Suddenly she lost steering and the Windstar spun out and flipped over, nearly killing LaQuata and her boyfriend. Fortunately, her children weren't in the car, and both LaQuata and her boyfriend were wearing their seat belts. “It’s a miracle we weren’t severely injured or killed,” she said.

The next day, LaQuata learned that Ford Windstars had been recalled due to breaking axles. She obtained the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for her Windstar and contacted Ford. The manufacturer said that there were two safety recalls pending -- including for the axle breaking. Carfax also noted the pending safety recalls in its report on her Windstar.

CARS is spearheading efforts to change the law and get Senator Jackson's bill, SB 686, enacted.

Read more: Call Kurtis: Senate Bill Addressing Recalled Cars Clears 1st Hurdle
KOVR-TV (CBS, Sacramento)
 
 

 
The TODAY Show's Jeff Rossen, Josh Davis and their news team went undercover and found licensed auto dealers selling cars without bothering to get the safety recall repairs done first -- even though the repairs are FREE. First TODAY scoped out cars that are under a safety recall, for sale on car lots in the Midwest. Then they went on the lots and asked whether the cars were safe. So -- did the dealers told them the truth, without the cameras in sight? What do you think?

Watch what happens when dealers are asked if an unfixed, recalled car is safe --
Today Show: Rossen Reports: Hidden cameras reveal cars for sale with potentially deadly safety flaws

Unsafe recalled cars can kill you, or your family. Even if you don't buy one. If the steering goes and the driver of an unrepaired, recalled car loses control, you are at risk -- even if you just happen to be nearby. Or if the brakes fail and a recalled SUV crashes into a car that your child is riding in. Last year, over 32,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes. Vehicle crashes are the #1 killers of people under the age of 34. For most people, the riskiest thing they do on a regular basis is to drive a car, or ride in one. Our highways are already risky places. The last thing we need is for vehicles with known safety defects to be on the roads.

So it's important to get recalled cars fixed -- pronto. Last year, over 16 million vehicles were recalled due to defects like -- catching on fire, brake failure, cruise control that goes haywire, axles that break apart, and other life-threatening defects. Most owners got their cars fixed -- but millions didn't, and traded them in at dealerships across the U.S. where they are ticking automotive time bombs.

Polling shows overwhelming public support for ensuring that vehicles are safe and recall repairs are performed -- before vehicles are rented or sold.

CARS is spearheading efforts to get unsafe, recalled used cars fixed -- BEFORE people are hurt. Were you sold an unsafe, recalled car? We want to hear from you. Here's how to get in touch -- http://carconsumers.org/feedback.php

Where's the best place to check for safety recalls? Check out the manufacturer's website, call their toll-free number, or call a local dealer that sells the same make and model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also started a program to alert car owners by email about new safety recalls -- before you get a letter from the manufacturer. Here's where to register to get email notices from NHTSA, the nation's leading auto safety agency:
www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/subscriptions/index.cfm
 
 

 
"CBS13 took its hidden cameras to used dealership lots in Sacramento to find out how commonplace these open-recall cars really are.

A CBS13 producer easily found a dozen recalled cars at the three used car lots randomly checked in Sacramento.

We found a Honda CR-V with a potentially dangerous airbag, a Toyota 4Runner with an accelerator pedal that could get stuck, and a Chevrolet Cobalt with fuel part prone to leak — a potential fire hazard...we found five vehicles on his lot had not been fixed."

Watch the report:
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/02/03/call-kurtis-investigates-recalled-cars-for-sale

Where can you check your car's recall status? It's easy -- just enter the Vehicle Identification Number at the recall link on the manufacturer's website, or call the manufacturer's toll-free number, or check with a local dealer for that brand of car. KOVR-TV provides this handy chart:

Find Your Vehicle
Acura	1-800-382-2238 Press 4
Audi	1-800-822-2834
BMW	1-800-831-1117
Buick	1-800-521-7300
Cadillac	1-800-458-8006
Chevrolet	1-800-222-1020
Chrysler	1-800-247-9753
Dodge	1-800-423-6343
Ford	1-800-392-3673
GMC	1-800-462-8782 Press 3
Honda	1-800-999-1009
Hummer	1-800-732-5493
Hyundai	1-800-633-5151
Infiniti (sign up for recall alerts)	1-800-662-6200 Press 3
Jaguar	1-800-452-4827
Jeep	1-877-426-5337
Kia	1-800-333-4542
Land Rover	1-800-346-3493
Lexus (requires free website membership)	1-800-255-3987 Press 2
Lincoln	1-800-521-4140
Mazda	1-800-222-5500 Press 4
Mercedes	1-800-367-6372
Mercury	1-800-392-3673
Mitsubishi	1-800-222-0037
Nissan (sign up for recall alerts)	1-800-647-7261 Press 2
Oldsmobile	1-800-442-6537
Pontiac	1-800-762-2737
Porche	1-800-767-7243
Scion	1-866-707-2466 Press 2
Subaru	1-800-782-2783
Toyota	1-800-331-4331 Press 2
Volkswagen	1-800-822-8987
Volvo	1-800-458-1552

 
More reports:
  " 'Early Show' Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen says there is a potential danger with used cars that you may not even think about -- recalls....when she went shopping, she found plenty of recalled cars for sale across the country... With hidden cameras rolling, Koeppen visited used car dealers in Arlington, Va., New York City and Dallas, looking for cars that were part of safety recalls, but had never been fixed. A Dodge Durango in New York is under two recalls because of problems that can cause fires.

A dealer in Oklahoma sold Tabitha Gordon a used Durango in 2009. She was driving with her son, Kaden, when the lights, wipers and locks went haywire. Gordon said of the incident, "I felt like I was in a twilight zone. ... The plastic that covers the speedometer had popped, and smoke started billowing into the vehicle." She managed to pull over and get Kaden out as the car caught on fire. Koeppen said it turns out Gordon was sold a car that had been recalled for an electrical defect. Michael Linn, with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, a trade group that represents used car dealers, says the recall issue is a concern. But, he says, it's difficult for dealers to learn about recalls in the first place. "They aren't easy to find, even if you do find some source somewhere through the Internet, you still won't know whether that recall was totally accurate," he said. Koeppen pointed out she and her team had no problem tracking down recall information or recalled cars for sale.

So what do you do to protect yourself before buying a used car? Koeppen said, "You need to take it upon yourself to check the car. Take the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, and either go to the manufacturer's website or call the manufacturer's 1-800 number. With that VIN, they'll be able to tell you if the vehicle is under a recall or has had its fix."

Watch CBS Early Show report:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-501083_162-20051243.html
 
 

 
"On a used car lot in Hawthorne recently, Eyewitness News found several cars that were for sale with unfixed recalls. One Cadillac Escalade had three unfixed recalls, a Nissan Altima had four and a Chevrolet Silverado had 15.

Experts said some dealers do go the extra mile. "Many dealers will bring a used car up to speed on its recalls before they sell it and actually if they do it's a sign they take really good care of their cars and probably really good care of their customers," said Jeannine Fallon of Edmunds.com.

A different car dealer association, the National Automobile Dealers Association, said the responsibility is on vehicle owners and used car buyers to get recalls fixed. "To improve safety, The National Automobile Dealers Association urges vehicle owners to have recalled vehicles fixed as soon as possible," it said..

Watch ABC News Report: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=8907547
 
 

 
" 'The FTC really blew it," said Rosemary Shahan, founder and president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS). "This industry has a real problem and the proposed rule changes do not address that.' [CARS comment: In fact, they would make things even worse for consumers.]

Shahan and other consumer advocates want the FTC to require more information on the Buyer's Guide that must be on every used vehicle offered for sale.

Consumer groups and law enforcement officials in many states demand more. They want the Used Car Rule to require dealers to disclose significant vehicle history information if they have it....In comments submitted to the FTC on behalf of the attorneys general in 40 states, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) called the current Buyer's Guide 'archaic' and of 'limited value' to used car buyers.

'We think this a lost opportunity,' said NAAG's Bill Brauch. 'When it comes to a used vehicle, nothing is more important for a consumer to know than its history. Was it previously wrecked, flooded, or a lemon law buyback?'"

Read more: NBC News report


ACT NOW!

Do you think that auto dealers should have to reveal -- in writing -- if they know that a car was totaled in a wreck, or was a flood car? Most people would say "of course." But not the Federal Trade Commission. If the FTC has its way, car dealers will NOT be required by the nation's premier consumer protection agency to tell you a single thing about the history or condition of the car -- even if the dealer KNOWS that it's worth thousands less than similar cars that weren't wrecked, or it's grossly unsafe.

CARS thinks that when you buy a car, you should not be the last to know what the dealer already knows about a car. After all, your life -- and the lives of your family, friends, and other passengers -- depends on your not getting stuck with an unsafe lemon.

Here's where to tell the FTC what you think -- please share this link with friends and post it on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. All comments become part of the public record and can be accessed by others, including news media:

https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/usedcarrulenprm
 
  "State attorneys general, including Ohio's, and groups like CARS had encouraged the FTC to expand the buyers guide to include information on whether the car was ever declared an insurance loss because of a flood or collision.That information is searchable through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, at vehiclehistory.gov. Rather than requiring dealers to check the system and include that information on the Buyers Guide, the FTC leaves that to consumers."

Read more: Consumer Groups Say FTC's Used Car Rule a Lemon
 
  "A move by the Federal Trade Commission to modify its buyers' guide for used cars is being panned by consumer groups, who say the current guide is ineffective and proposed changes are even worse."

Read more: Used Car Buyers Guide is no help in preventing fraud
 
 

 
Tens of thousands of flood cars that have been submerged in salt water, and contaminated by bacteria and various toxins, will soon start to appear all over the country, even in states far from the center of the storm. Flood cars are inherently unsafe, and pose a serious risk to anyone who drives them, rides in them, or even just comes into contact with them.

Flood cars are basically rotting from the inside out. The electronic / computer systems, which control everything including the brakes, engine, air bags, and other major safety systems, are hopelessly compromised and will inevitably corrode and fail, over time.

Bacteria, mold, and other contaminants can cause serious or fatal health problems, particularly among children and adults with asthma and people with allergies or compromised immune systems.

Tips for consumers — how to avoid flood car scams:

• Be on the lookout for both new and used cars with tell-tale signs of having been submerged — musty smell or "over-perfumed," silt in places like under carpeting, in the well where the spare is stored, or title histories indicating the car was in the flood area
   
• Check federal database of total loss cars prior to purchase (this is the official website for the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, established by the US Dept. of Justice, where insurers, self-insured entities, salvage pools (auctions), and junkyards in all 50 states MUST report all total loss vehicles, within 30 days — many report daily)
   
• If the vehicle is relatively new, or still within the factory warranty period, get the VIN number and call the manufacturer to ask if they will honor the warranty — if it's a flood car, they won't honor the warranty, even if it's new. Insist on getting confirmation in writing that the manufacturer will honor the warranty, before you buy
   
• Keep in mind that a "clean" title is not an indication the car is OK — many cars have had the titles "washed" to remove the "flood" car brand, and many states don't even have a "flood" car designation. Plus some insurers have admitted routinely failing to properly brand titles — increasing the price the car can command at auction, by making it easier for unscrupulous sellers to hide the car's checkered past. This is one reason NMVTIS is so valuable for consumers — total loss vehicles MUST be reported to NMVTIS, even if the titles have never been branded, or if they have been "washed."
   
• Get any car inspected by a trustworthy auto technician — for example, one who gets consistently high ratings in Car Talk's Mechanics Files — before you buy
   
• Test drive the car before you buy — be watchful for signs the car is hesitating, running rough, smells musty, has tell-tale signs of silt or premature rust in places where you wouldn't expect to see rust
   

NEVER, EVER buy a car sight unseen, without an inspection and test drive. If you are interested in a car you found over the internet, buy locally and go check it out in person, in a safe, public place, during daylight hours. It the seller claims they are the owner, make sure they show you the work orders from the repairs they had performed, and confirm the name on the work orders matches the name on the registration and title.

Flood car policy recommendations issued by the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program:
nsvrp.org
 
 

   In a historic breakthrough for motor vehicle safety, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today announced that the entire U.S. rental car industry -- including Enterprise -- has now joined with Cally Houck, CARS, Hertz, and other auto safety advocates, to support enactment of the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Rental Car Safety Act, to require rental car companies to ground unsafe vehicles that are being recalled, until they are fixed.

   Rental car giants Enterprise-National-Alamo, Avis-Budget, plus Dollar-Thrifty, and the American Rental Car Association, had earlier opposed similar legislation to accomplish the same goal. However, they came under heavy pressure from Cally Houck, CARS, the public and their own renters. Polling commissioned by CARS in Missouri, where Enterprise has its headquarters, found that an overwhelming majority -- 86% -- of people who responded favor requiring rental car companies to ground recalled cars until the repairs have been performed. In addition to Senators Schumer and Boxer, who actively championed the cause from the start, Missouri Senators Claire McCaskill (D) and Roy Blunt (R) and their staff played major roles in bringing about this change in position. Each of the major rental car companies and their lobbying firms are now lobbying FOR the bill, which is expected to garner widespread bi-partisan support.

    Like the original bills (S. 1445 and S. 3502), the new bill is named in honor of Cally Houck's daughters, Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, ages 24 and 20, who were killed near Santa Cruz, CA while driving a recalled Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise in 2004. About a month before the deadly crash, Enterprise received a recall notice that the PT Cruiser had a defective power steering hose that was prone to catching fire and that it would be repaired by Chrysler free-of-charge. Despite the warning, Enterprise did not get the vehicle repaired and rented it out to three other customers before renting it to the Houck sisters. The defect caused the car to catch fire and crash head-on into a tractor-trailer, killing both sisters.

   Their mother, Cally Houck, and CARS have spearheaded support for the legislation, which would close a loophole in safety standards by requiring rental car companies to ground recalled vehicles as soon as they receive a safety recall notice, and prohibit them from being rented or sold until they are fixed. Auto dealers are already subject to these requirements, and the bill would simply extend the same requirements to rental car companies.

   The bill also requires that rental car companies can continue to rent, but not sell, vehicles that have undergone an "interim" repair, but only if the interim step "eliminates the safety risk posed by the defect." For example, a Ford recall due to cruise control systems that malfunctioned called for an "interim" step of disabling the cruise control. A rental company could disable the cruise control and continue to rent the vehicle, but only until parts are available for a final fix. The rental company could not sell the car as a used car, until after the final fix has been performed, in order to prevent unsuspecting consumers from re-connecting the cruise control, not realizing that the part was defective and being recalled.

   US. Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Elton Gallegly (D-CA), Elliott Engel (D-NY), and Jan Schakowski (D-IL) have introduced a similar bill in the House (HR 6094). It is anticipated that a new bill will soon be introduced in the House, that will be identical to the new Senate bill, and will have bi-partisan support.

    The newly introduced Senate legislation is supported by the following consumer groups: Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the Trauma Foundation. The AAA (Auto Club) has also decided to support the bill, as part of its efforts to improve highway safety. Hertz was the first rental car company to side with Cally and CARS, and withstood pressure from the rest of the rental car industry over its pro-consumer, pro-safety stand.

Read more -- letters of support from:
• Cally Houck, CARS, and other consumer groups
• Hertz
• Enterprise / National / Alamo, Avis /Budget, and Dollar / Thrifty
 
 

Struggling California used car buyers may soon enjoy some sweet lemon-aid in the form of new protections against predatory, deceptive auto sales by "buy here pay here" auto dealers.

Three hotly contested measures are now on Governor Brown's desk, where he has until the end of this month to either sign or veto them. If enacted, they would dramatically improve protections against some of the worst practices shady "buy here pay here" car dealers engage in. They will:

• Require BHPH dealers to provide at least a 30-day / 1,000 mile warranty on ALL cars they offer for sale, regardless how many miles they have been driven or how old they are. This is especially important because it means consumers will also get the benefit of the implied warranty that the cars are "merchantable." If they are not "merchantable," and fit for transportation, the consumer is entitled to a refund. It also means no more "AS IS" sales by BHPH dealers.
• Cap the interest BHPH dealers can charge at 17% plus the fed rate (currently a fraction of 1%)--lowering payments and making it less likely consumers will default. Some dealers have been charging 30% or more -- gouging people desperate to get a car.
• Stop requiring consumers to make payments in person, except the downpayment or deferred downpayments. This will make it less likely consumers will lose their car if it breaks down and they can't get to the dealership.
• Allow at least a 10-day "grace period" for getting current on payments, before repossessing a consumer's car.
• Limit how much BHPH dealers can charge for towing and related fees, to $500 maximum.
• Require BHPH dealers to allow at least 48 hours for consumers to continue to drive their vehicles in an emergency, reducing the risk of their being stranded if they fall behind on their payments.
• Require BHPH dealers to disclose the "average market value" of the car -- posted on the car itself. This will make it easier for car buyers to comparison shop, and harder for unscrupulous dealers to steer them into a bad deal.
• Require BHPH dealers, who do their own financing, to register with the Department of Corporations and be regulated as lenders.

The bills are authored by Senators Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles), Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Beverly Hills), and Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont). They passed mostly along party lines, with Democrats voting in favor of consumers, and Republicans in favor of the buy-here-pay-here dealers. Each of the authors stood up to the used car dealer lobby and championed protecting consumers, even in the face of a well-financed astro-turf attack that attempted to kill the bills.

CARS played a leading role in advocating for the bills, working closely with the authors, negotiating for major improvements, testifying for the bills, briefing legislative staff, strategizing, helping build a coalition to support them, and helping fend off attacks from the used car dealer lobby.
 
 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) today introduced the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2012, legislation that will ensure the safety of America's rental car fleet by preventing rental car companies from renting or selling cars or trucks that are under safety recall.

The two California Senators introduced the legislation named in honor of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, two sisters from Santa Cruz, ages 24 and 20, who were killed while driving a recalled Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise in 2004. About a month before the deadly crash, Enterprise received a recall notice that the PT Cruiser had a defective power steering hose that was prone to catching fire and that it would be repaired by Chrysler free-of-charge. Despite the warning, Enterprise did not get the vehicle repaired and rented it out to three other customers before renting it to the Houck sisters. The defect caused the car to catch fire and crash head-on into a tractor-trailer, killing both sisters.

Their mother, Cally Houck, has joined with consumer groups in support of the new legislation, which would close a loophole in safety standards by requiring rental car companies to ground recalled vehicles as soon as they receive a safety recall notice and prohibit them from being rented or sold until they are fixed. Auto-dealers are already subject to these requirements and the bill would simply extend the same requirements to rental car companies.

"We cannot allow another family to go through the pain and loss that Cally and her family have gone through," Senator Boxer said. "We will not rest until Congress has passed legislation that protects American consumers from these unsafe vehicles, and we urge all the rental car companies to join Hertz in committing to the safety of their customers."

Earlier this year, Senator Boxer sent a letter asking the nation's four leading rental car companies – Enterprise, Hertz, Avis/Budget and Dollar/Thrifty – to protect consumers from unsafe vehicles by making the following pledge: "Effective immediately, our company is making a permanent commitment to not rent out or sell any vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied."

Of the four companies – which together control 92 percent of the rental car market – only Hertz agreed to the pledge in its entirety. Senator Boxer is continuing to urge the companies to take the pledge and fully protect their customers.

The Senate bill is the companion legislation to a bill introduced last month by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA), Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The new House and Senate bills are an updated version of legislation introduced last year by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

The new House and Senate legislation is supported by Hertz, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the Trauma Foundation.

 
 

"Consumer safety advocates may be on the verge of winning a years-long fight to ban rental car companies from renting and selling recalled vehicles. 

Enterprise Rent-A-Car publicly opposed such proposals, but with a new bipartisan bill in the House and a companion measure expected to drop any day in the Senate, other industry players are joining the fray....Enterprise, one of the largest privately held businesses in the nation, has spent more than $200,000 on lobbying so far this year. In 2011 the company spent nearly $1 million, almost four times the amount spent by its major competitors - Avis-Budget and Hertz Rent-a-Car - combined. 

'Without legislation, what Enterprise is doing is not enforceable. They can say they are doing it, but not really be doing it," said Pamela Gilbert, a lobbyist with Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, representing CARS. "They can do it today and stop tomorrow. In both cases, without a law, there isn't anything anyone can do about it.' "
   
 

In a major step forward for rental car safety, U.S. Congressional Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Jan Shakowsky (D-IL) have introduced the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Rental Car Safety Act of 2012 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), has agreed to co-sponsor the bill. Cally Houck, Raechel and Jacquie's mother, is a constituent of Rep. Gallegly's and had personally reached out to him to seek his support. "I am profoundly grateful that these members of Congress are spearheading the fight to ensure our highways are safe from dangerous rental cars," said Cally Houck.

The bill, H.R. 6094, will require rental car companies to ground unsafe, recalled vehicles until they are fixed. The language in H.R. 6094 is the same as in the agreement reached between CARS and Hertz Rental Car Co., which has been helping lobby for its enactment.

Enterprise, Avis and Dollar Thrifty have refused to support the bill. Enterprise still insists that the legislation needs to be watered down to allow the company to delay having to ground recalled cars. Its excuse? Enterprise claims that takes the company time to notify its employees about the hazardous cars in a timely way. However, this directly contradicts what Enterprise told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In an April 7, 2011 letter to NHTSA, Enterprise wrote that "In 2005 we created reporting software that allowed us to track the completion of recall work and more recently we created new recall management software which allows us to alert our regional subsidiaries about recall notices in real-time." So -- if that's true, what's their problem?

This raises another question -- since Hertz says it can handle safety recalls in time, without further delays, why can't Enterprise do the same?

Read more: at Rep. Lois Capps fights to end "rental car roulette"
Santa Barbara Independent
July 10, 2012
   
 

"Cally Houck wants rental car companies to promise they won't rent or sell a vehicle until any safety recall issue is addressed. So far, only one rental car company -- Hertz Rental -- has promised to permanently stop the practice. Other companies have said they are on board, but won't promise to never rent a recalled vehicle and not fixed.

"It's so simple, so simple," Houck said. The rental companies "just don't want to be told what to do." Houck has found a ally in the Senate in Boxer, who is planning to introduce a bill similar to one proposed last year by Sen. Chuck Schumer.

On May 7, Boxer gave the major car rental companies 30 days to sign a pledge saying they would stop renting recalled vehicles. She announced last week that only Hertz made that commitment"

Read more: at The Huffington Post
   
 

"In hindsight, many of the vehicle crashes that kill more than 30,000 people a year in the United States seem utterly senseless — avoidable if a drunk had just stayed off the road, a distracted driver had let a text go unanswered, or a commercial driver had been better rested or less worried about the costs of delay.

Even in that sad litany, the deaths of Jacqueline and Raechel Houck stand out: preventable by a simple fix in car-rental practices. Yet, after two years of crusading to get rental-car companies to change their ways, their bereaved mother, Carol "Cally" Houck, still hasn't quite succeeded."

Read more: at Philly.com
   
 

In a Capitol press conference that made headlines across the nation, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Cally Houck, joined forces on Tuesday to announce which rental car companies have agreed to take Senator Boxer's rental car safety pledge. Senator Boxer and Cally praised Hertz, the lone rental car company to unequivocally agree to take this pledge:

"Effective immediately, our company is making a permanent commitment to not rent out or sell any vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied."

Enterprise / National / Alamo, Avis / Budget and Dollar / Thrifty indicated that any commitment that they make is only temporary, while they still seek loopholes that would allow them to continue to rent or sell unrepaired recalled vehicles.

Coverage of the press conference included reports by ABC, MSNBC, CNN, and the Today Show, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Hill, and numerous other TV, print, and radio reports.
   
 

As recently as May 4, Enterprise told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the company believes it should be able to keep renting recalled vehicles, if it deems the vehicle safe enough to continue to rent. The company raised the example of a vehicle with a seat belt warning chime that fails to make a sound. The company claimed that if they simply notify the renter that the seat belt chime fails to work, that would be sufficient.

However, according to a highly regarded leading child safety advocate, pediatrician Robert S. Vinetz, M.D., FAAP, many parents rely on the chimes to alert them when their children are unbuckled, and the lack of a chime could result in a child's riding without being secured, with potentially disastrous results. As some parents have stated, it is obviously unsafe for a parent to have to turn around and look to see whether their child is still buckled up or not. Also, teenagers, who are at high risk of fatalities or serious injuries in vehicle crashes, may be more likely to forget to buckle up, absent the warning chime.
 

Boxer: Rental cars under recall need to stay off streets.

Read: SF Chronicle report
 

 
Senator Boxer fights for rental car safety
San Jose Mercury News - Santa Cruz Sentinel report
by Jondi Gumz
May 24, 2012

Sen. Barbara Boxer is fighting to close the regulatory loophole that allowed Enterprise Rent-A-Car to let Raechel and Jacqueline Houck of Santa Cruz drive away in 2004 in a recalled PT Cruiser with a safety defect that crashed and killed the two young women.....

She commended Hertz for pledging to stop renting out vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied.

She informed Enterprise chairman and chief executive officer Andrew Taylor that temporarily halting the rental of unrepaired vehicles under safety recall is not satisfactory. She wants a permanent suspension as well as a stop to sales of recalled vehicles on the wholesale market.

She informed Avis that its policy falls short of the safety pledge she is seeking

Read more: www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20701653/boxer-fighting-rental-car-safety

Senator Boxer's letter to Enterprise / National / Alamo
Senator Boxer's letter to Avis / Budget
Senator Boxer's letter to Hertz

CA consumer: Enterprise sold me a car with 4 safety recalls pending

Letter from Mary Thornton to Cally Houck reveals Enterprise still persists in selling unsafe recalled cars. What will it take for them to stop?
 

but Enterprise and Avis fail to take pledge

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today sent a letter to Enterprise Rent-a-Car CEO Andrew Taylor urging his company to commit to permanently stop renting or selling vehicles under safety recall to consumers. While Enterprise agreed in a letter to Senator Boxer this week to temporarily stop renting vehicles under safety recall, they have fallen short of satisfying the Senator’s safety pledge by maintaining the right to sell recalled vehicles on the wholesale market and failing to permanently end the practice of renting or selling cars and trucks under safety recall.

Senator Boxer said, “To fulfill the pledge, you would need to agree to immediately stop selling recalled vehicles on the wholesale market, and agree to permanently – not temporarily – stop renting or selling all vehicles under safety recall.”

On May 7, Senator Boxer sent letters asking all of the major rental car companies to agree to take this simple voluntary pledge within 30 days: “Effective immediately, our company is making a permanent commitment to not rent out or sell any vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied.” Among the major companies, only Hertz – which had already stopped the practice – agreed to meet the promise in the pledge.

Read more: boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/052412.cfm