Tag Archives: used cars

Hazardous Hurricane Ian Flood Cars For Sale

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We all saw the images of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian, including vehicles floating in flood waters. It’s estimated that over 358,000 vehicles were submerged – many of them in highly corrosive salt water.

Live far away from Florida? You may think you don’t have to worry about flood cars from Hurricane Ian showing up near you. But flood cars are often shipped to auctions in other states and end up all over the map. Many will be resold in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. But others will be shipped to far-flung states. Flood car crooks target certain states because they have large car markets and can command higher prices. Like California, New York and Texas. Plus consumers there may not be on the lookout for flood cars, making them easy prey for scamsters.

New Cars Get Flooded Too

Even if you’re in the market for a new car, it’s important to be on high alert.

That’s because it’s not only used cars that get flooded. New cars that were submerged while parked on car lots at large, franchised new car dealerships are also declared a total loss. But that’s not the end of the road for those “brand new” cars, SUVs, and trucks. Instead of being crushed, water-logged cars are towed away and parked in row after row, covering acres of vacant land. They sit there with the sun beating down on them, causing mold, bacteria, and mildew to grow. Some are still festooned with seaweed and slathered in grime and slime.

Then they’re shipped to auction companies like Copart and Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA) that have ties to auto insurers. Copart and IAA brazenly trumpet the fact they have flood-damaged cars available. For example, on October 18, IAA offered 9,968 “Hurricane Ian” vehicles for sale. They sell them to the highest bidders, who can bid online. The buyers may be from distant states, or even other countries.

Unscrupulous characters buy flood cars at a discount, spiff them up, attempt to mask the musty odors, and quickly resell them. Car dealers are eager to snap them up. Then they sell them for top dollar, without any discount. That way, they not only make a fatter profit, they also are less likely to arouse suspicion that something’s wrong. If the car is marked down, buyers are more likely to be wary. In other words, the “normal” pricing is part of the deception.

Some car dealers sell severely damaged or flood cars as so-called “certified” vehicles, advertising that they passed a rigorous inspection and charging hefty markups. The bottom line: don’t trust any seller, whether they’re an individual or a car dealer. Check out the car yourself, before you buy.

Why avoid flood cars?

FLOOD CARS ARE UNSAFE

Flood cars are hazardous. Today’s cars are basically computers on wheels. All the sophisticated safety systems, including the braking, steering, stability control, and navigation features, are controlled by electronics and by millions of lines of computer code. Imagine dropping your personal computer into the ocean, and letting it soak. After it gets a dousing in salt water, even if you were able to start it up, the sensitive electronics are doomed to corrode.

FLOOD CARS ARE UNHEALTHY

Flood cars are harmful to your health. Besides being unsafe to drive, flood cars are hopelessly contaminated with spores, mold, bacteria, and various toxins. They’re prone to causing serious health problems, particularly for people with asthma, allergies, and compromised immune systems. Even if they’ve been cleaned up cosmetically and sprayed to mask the odors, they are basically rotting from the inside out.

FLOOD CARS ARE UNAFFORDABLE

Flood cars are inevitably going to have massive, expensive problems that defy repair. Worse, even if you pay extra to get a new or “nearly new” car with a warranty from the manufacturer, that warranty will be deemed to be void. Some consumers have found this out the hard way, paying top dollar for “new” vehicles that were submerged in a flood. They immediately experienced major problems. Then they were shocked and dismayed when the manufacturer refused to honor the warranty, citing the fact the car had been flooded and declared a total loss.

Extended service contracts are also void. Typically, service contracts exclude “pre-existing conditions” such as being wrecked or flooded. So you could end up paying a lot more for the coverage, but be unable to use it to cover expensive repairs.

If you try to resell the car, dealers or other consumers will most likely offer you far less than you paid, or still owe to a lender. Or they may flat-out refuse to buy it. Worst case scenario – you could get stuck with an expensive, unsafe lemon car you can’t drive, can’t fix, and can’t sell.

How to avoid flood cars

Don’t expect to find a mackerel on the manifold or a trout in the trunk. Scamsters are too smart for that. They scrub and clean the cars, spiffing them up cosmetically. They may remove the floor mats and even replace some of the upholstery. They spray cans of deodorizers in the interiors, to disguise unpleasant smells. So at first glance, the cars may appear pristine. But behind that appealing facade, they’re rotting from the inside out. So be sure to look deeper. The time to do this is BEFORE you agree to buy.

Here are steps you can take to stay safe and avoid hazardous flood cars and also steer clear of cars with deadly safety recall defects. To save you time and money, the easiest, least expensive steps are first. That way, you can eliminate the worst lemons before you spend more time or hard-earned dollars.

Step 1: Get the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. This is a unique number, usually 17 digits. It’s like the vehicle’s fingerprint. The VIN unlocks a treasure trove of information about a car’s past. Typically, the VIN is stamped on a small metal plate on the dashboard. It’s usually also on a sticker inside the driver door jamb, on the title, and on sales documents. It may also be displayed in ads.

Check FREE database of unsafe vehicles with deadly safety recall defects

Step 2: Enter the vehicle’s VIN at the website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, here. This is quick, easy, and free. Auto manufacturers are required to provide information about deadly safety recall defects to this government website. If the vehicle has an unrepaired safety recall defect, it’s too risky to buy, even if it wasn’t flooded. When you check here first, you can save yourself from paying anything or taking any more time to look further.

Warning: The way auto manufacturers describe defects in their recall notices may make it seem like the defects are not a serious threat. But that can be deceiving. For example, a recall due to “floor mats” caused the tragic deaths of four members of a family in San Diego who were on their way to a soccer game when the defect caused the accelerator pedal to stick. BMW describes one recall defect as causing a “thermal event.” Translation: the car is prone to catching on fire, and bursting into flames.

Next: IF the vehicle passes the safety recall test

Step 3: Enter the VIN at the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, or NMVTIS. This database of total loss vehicles is operated by the U.S. Department of Justice. All the U.S. states, except for Hawaii, participate and share data with NMVTIS. This is the best place to search next, specifically for total loss flood cars.

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety sued the U.S. DOJ and won, compelling the DOJ to issue federal rules that require each of these businesses, in all 50 states, to report every vehicle under 5 model years old that they declare a total loss to NMVTIS, within 30 days (many report daily):

▪ Auto insurers
▪ Self-insured entities, including large auto dealership chains and rental car companies
▪ Salvage pools and salvage auctions, such as Copart and Insurance Auto Auctions
▪ Junkyards
▪ Auto recyclers
▪ Scrap vehicle shredders
▪ Scrap metal processors
▪ Vehicle remarketers

NMVTIS is the only database where insurers must report vehicles they declare a total loss, within 30 days, in order to comply with federal law. When it comes to total loss vehicles, NMVTIS tends to be more up-to-date and complete than other databases, and often captures total loss vehicles that other databases miss. That’s largely because totaled vehicles must be reported to NMVTIS – even if they are not considered a total loss under relatively weak state laws, which frequently allow hazardous totaled vehicles to go undetected.

The DOJ has approved over a dozen NMVTIS data providers who charge a small amount (usually less than $10) to access NMVTIS’ total loss data. This is less expensive than Carfax or Autocheck. So check here first. If the vehicle shows up in NMVTIS because it was a total loss, play it safe and reject it.

NMVTIS is a very valuable resource, but it has limits. What’s not necessarily included in NMVTIS?

▪ Older vehicles, 5 model years or older – they are not required to be reported, although some businesses report older vehicles voluntarily
▪ Vehicles that are severely damaged, but not declared a total loss

Plus – sometimes major companies violate federal law and fail to report total loss vehicles to NMVTIS. So even if a vehicle doesn’t show up in NMVTIS, it’s not necessarily a clean bill of health. It’s still really important to take the next steps and get a car that passes the “NMVTIS test” inspected by a trustworthy automotive expert you choose yourself, and also check out the car yourself, in person.

Next: Visual inspection and test drive

Step 4: Look carefully for tell-tale signs of flood damage, including:

• Silt or other residue in odd places, like under the floor mats, in crevices, in the trunk, and inside the wheel well
• Rust or signs of corrosion
• Fogging inside headlamps or taillights
• Water lines in the passenger cabin, engine compartment, or trunk
• Musty smell, particularly when you turn on the air conditioning or heat
• Heavy scents from air fresheners or cleaning solutions
• Mold or mildew
• Used cars with brand-new upholstery
• Stalling, difficulty starting, electrical glitches, or other driveability issues that act up during a test drive
• Warning lights that illuminate on the dashboard

Other tell-tale signs:

• Title document stamped with a “brand” that indicates the vehicle was “salvage,” “junk” “rebuildable,” “water/flood” “rebuilt” “water-damaged” or simply “flood”
• Seller who refuses to show you the vehicle’s title prior to sale, making lame excuses for not letting you look it over carefully before you buy
• Signs the title was altered. Some crooks use white-out to cover up the “flood” brand or literally punch holes in the title to remove the brand, using a hole punch
• Vehicles with titles from Florida or other states hit hard by Hurricane Ian

Step 5: IF the car passes all of those tests, then the last step is to get it inspected by a trustworthy automotive technician you choose and pay for yourself. Do NOT rely on the seller to give you an honest inspection report. Many dealers advertise they only sell cars that pass their “150 point” or “172 point” inspection. This is designed to keep you from getting your own inspection done.

But they fail to fix deadly safety recall defects, and may also lie about flood damage. They count on the fact that most of their victims won’t bother to sue, and if they do, they can force them to submit to arbitration – a rigged system paid for by car dealers where victims almost always lose.

Here’s a good resource for finding a trustworthy, qualified automotive technician, based on ratings provided by other car buyers and vehicle owners: Mechanics Files

Usually, it costs about $100 for a thorough inspection. Look for auto techs who have been in business a long time and consistently receive top ratings. Ideally, they should be expert in repairing and inspecting the same brand / make that you are interested in buying. That way, they may also be able to tell you about problems you can expect that are common to that particular vehicle, and how much it would cost to fix them. Ask the technician if they would be willing to work with you and the seller to inspect the car where it’s located, using diagnostic tools that are portable. Unless they have something to hide, the seller should be willing to cooperate with you to get the inspection done.

More tips for avoiding flood car headaches:

Beware of “title washing.”

Crooked car dealers and others who traffic in flood cars sometimes engage in an illegal practice known as “title washing” to make it easier to sell severely damaged vehicles to unsuspecting car buyers. The crooks exploit loopholes in state laws to obtain supposedly “clean” titles, erasing title brands such as “salvage” or “flood.”

NMVTIS makes it more difficult for crooks to get away with laundering car titles across state lines. But it still happens.

Some states have a reputation for being title-washing states. Sleazy car dealers send titles with a “flood” brand to one of those states and within weeks, they obtain clean titles. Presto! Now they can advertise those dangerous cars as having “clean” or “clear” titles, show prospective buyers a “clean” title, and charge top dollar. The cars may never actually leave Florida, but now they have new, “clean” titles from another state.

For example, the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro cracked down on a title washing fraud ring that allegedly involved car dealers and companies in multiple states.

What about vehicle history reports from Carfax or Autocheck?

Sometimes obtaining a vehicle history report from Carfax or Autocheck can tell you more useful information about the vehicle’s history. For example, Carfax may have information about odometer readings, prior repairs, airbag deployments, and safety recalls, and may also show when a vehicle was sold before. In general, the more you find out about a vehicle’s history, the better. But….

Warning!

Carfax and Autocheck are notorious among auto fraud experts for being unreliable. Both databases tend to have a lot of holes. Many consumers complain they were shown a “clean” Carfax when they bought their car, then found out about a prior wreck or flood damage that didn’t show up until after it was too late.

Plus Carfax and Autocheck slip disclaimers into the fine print, aimed at taking away your rights. Their “buyback guarantees” are extremely difficult to enforce.

Bottom line: Vehicle history reports are definitely NOT a substitute for a personal inspection and an inspection by a trustworthy automotive expert you choose yourself.

What if you already bought a flood car?

If you find out that someone already sold you a flood car, get advice from an experienced auto fraud attorney. Even if it was sold “AS IS,” you may have protection under your state’s consumer protection laws, such as laws against committing fraud, engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or violating an implied warranty. The way the vehicle was advertised and what you were led to believe about the vehicle’s condition when you were shopping may be major factors in whether you have a good case. The website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates is a good resource for finding an auto fraud expert in your state.

Car dealer greed fuels inflation

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If you’re shopping for a new car, or a used car, you already know what the experts are saying. Car prices are soaring. For new vehicles, greedy car dealers are demanding $10,000, $20,000 or more over the manufacturers’ retail sticker price, which is usually already inflated by the manufacturers.

Car dealers are also price-gouging consumers over the price of used vehicles, and routinely selling them dangerous unrepaired recalled used vehicles without bothering to get the safety recall repairs done first — even though federal law requires auto manufacturers to provide safety recall repairs for free, for at least 15 years from when the recall is issued.

Car dealers often downplay the risks posed by safety recall defects. Don’t fall for it. Your life is precious, and if you’re paying top dollar to a professionally licensed car dealer, you deserve to get a car that is at least free from deadly defects, like brakes that fail, catching on fire, steering wheels that come off in the driver’s hands, sticking accelerator pedals, and faulty airbags that propel shrapnel into the passenger cabin, causing severe or fatal injuries such as blindness, or bleeding to death.

Car dealers are bragging in the automotive press about how their profits are also going through the roof. Billionaire investors like Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates — who are heavily invested in the AutoNation dealership chain, and Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns multiple car dealerships outright — are making vast profits by ripping off new and used car buyers, selling unsafe vehicles, and exploiting the computer chip shortage.

Some states have laws against price-gouging, but don’t hold your breath waiting for your state’s attorney general to protect you. Car dealers are so politically active and well-connected, they hardly ever get sued by public law enforcement agencies, no matter how blatantly they violate the law.

So what can you do to avoid falling prey to greedy car dealers?  Many car buyers are purchasing vehicles from other consumers, who don’t have to pay for advertising, overhead, and glittering, impressive structures. or attract investment capital.  Other consumers also don’t impose forced arbitration clauses on car buyers — unlike car dealers, who typically refuse to sell you a car unless you first surrender your Constitutional right to fight back in court, if they violate the law by committing fraud, rolling back odometers, falsifying loan applications, selling unsafe junkers or flood cars, selling cars that they don’t even own, or engaging in other crooked practices.

You can save a LOT of money by buying a car from another consumer, instead of being ripped off by a greedy car dealer. But you still have to be careful. Some con artists pose as private sellers, when in fact they are unlicensed dealers. They may tell you that they’re selling their own car, or their cousin’s car, when in reality that got that potential deathtrap on wheels from an auto auction, after it was rejected by another consumer and other dealers decided they didn’t want it on their car lot.

Here are tips from experts about how to get a good deal on a safe, reliable used vehicle, by taking control of the transaction yourself and buying from another car owner. This step-by-step process takes some time, but it can save you tons of $$  — and potentially save your life, and the lives of those you love.

Wishing you and your family safe, happy motoring, and freedom from price-gouging, inflation-fueling greedy car dealers!

Miami, FL car dealer charged with rolling back odometer

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According to news reports, Miami-Dade police recently arrested a used car dealer and charged him with rolling back the odometer on a used 2101 Mazda CX9, erasing more than 81,000 miles.

Electronic odometers were supposed to make it harder for car dealers to cheat used car buyers by lopping miles off odometers. But the switch to electronic odometers just spawned a black market in odometer-tampering tools that are cheap and easy to buy online.

The multi-billion $$ fraud continues to plague used car buyers. In fact, it’s ridiculously easy for crooked car dealers to engage in odometer fraud, with little fear of getting caught.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is tasked with policing odometer fraud, but the agency is chronically understaffed and under-funded, and seldom acts unless they find a widespread pattern of illegal rollbacks.

One of the worst impacts of odometer fraud: victims of the illegal practice often end up having to pay out of pocket for expensive, unanticipated repairs that can leave them deep in debt or without a car.

A double whammy — even if you buy an extended service contract, they usually exclude coverage for vehicles with altered odometers.

How can you avoid falling prey to crooked car dealers who alter odometers? Check out CARS’ tips for how to get a good deal on a safe, reliable used car, without having to set foot on a car dealer’s lot.

Read more: Miami Herald: “Miami car dealer rolled back 81,000 miles off odometer, cops say”

Do you live where wildfires pose a threat? Beware of CarMax and their firebomb cars and trucks!

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Since 2015, auto manufacturers have recalled more than 26.5 million vehicles due to defects that can cause them to burst into flames. Some manufacturers recommend that the owners park the cars outside, where they may be less likely to burn down homes.  Recently, General Motors warned owners of 2017 – 2019 Chevy Bolts with faulty batteries they should park them outside, after battery fires erupted in Bolts.

But beware: if you buy an unrepaired, recalled firebomb car from a car dealer like CarMax, and it catches on fire and burns down your home, or destroys a whole town, they will try to pin the blame on you.

This is a lesson that Californian Anthony Santos found out the hard way, after a Ford F-150 pickup he purchased from CarMax caught on fire in his driveway and caused over $200,000 in damage to the pickup, his garage, and his home. Fortunately, he and his children were able to escape the flames.

Before he bought the pickup from CarMax, Ford had issued a safety recall because the truck had a dangerous defect that made it prone to catching on fire without any warning.

CarMax failed to get the FREE safety recall repair done before selling the pickup to Mr. Santos. Despite neglecting to get the repairs done, CarMax advertised that the pickup had passed CarMax’s “125 point inspection.” This of course would lead car buyers to believe that it must at least be safe and free from known, hazardous safety recall defects.

After the truck caught on fire, CarMax tried to pin the blame on Mr. Santos for not finding out about the recall, taking his truck to a Ford dealership, and getting the safety recall repair done himself. Mr. Santos fought back and sued CarMax, but eventually the huge, publicly traded auto dealership chain won, on a technicality.

Bottom line: Buying cars from CarMax is risky, especially if you live where there’s a serious threat of wildfires.

P.S. Another hazard: Sometimes car buyers have experienced lengthy delays in getting safety recalls fixed, due to severe shortages of repair parts.  CARS has heard from unfortunate car buyers who ended up waiting over a year for a repair. Meanwhile, they were afraid to drive their own cars. In some states, legislators have introduced bills to make driving your own car illegal, if the safety recall repairs haven’t been done.

Learn more: NBC Bay Area: Risks of Buying a Used Car and What the Dealership Isn’t Telling You

Did you pay too much for your car?

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You work hard for your money. You have better things to do with it than give it away to a greedy, conniving car dealer. But if you shopped at an auto dealership last year, chances are you paid too much. By a lot.

Car dealers across the nation are crowing about the record-breaking profits they’re making during the pandemic.  Their fat profits are being fueled by people who are flocking to buy cars — understandably fearful about taking public transportation, flying in airplanes, or using ride-shares or other modes of transportation where they risk being in an enclosed space with others who may be spreading the Coronavirus.

According to Automotive News, “AutoNation, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., hit a record-high quarterly F&I [Finance and Insurance] profit per vehicle retailed on a same-store basis with an average of $2,172, an increase of 12 percent, or $240, from year-ago figures.”

AutoNation is publicly traded on Wall Street. They operate over 315 new car dealerships nationwide. Over the years, their biggest investor has included an entity affiliated with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Keep in mind that $2,172 is just AutoNation’s profit on the financing and insurance products they foist off on consumers. They also profit handsomely on the price of the car itself.

Imagine what you could do with $2,172.  Maybe feed your family for months. Pay college tuition and get a better job. Get a much better vehicle you really like, that’s friendlier to the environment and safer for you and your family.

Plus — something AutoNation apparently doesn’t like anyone to mention publicly — they deliberately sell their customers cars with dangerous unrepaired safety recall defects. Especially cars with killer safety defects that you cannot get fixed because there are huge shortages of repair parts.

So if you buy that recalled car, there’s no way you can get it made safe. Sometimes the parts delays can last for months, or over a year. Meanwhile, you are your family are at serious risk of being injured or killed.

Please don’t assume you will have time to get the recall fixed before tragedy strikes. Auto safety defects are like ticking time bombs.  In San Diego, four members of one family –a highway patrol officer, his wife, their 13-year-old daughter, and the officer’s brother-in-law — were killed by an unsafe car the same day, just hours after a dealership handed the CHP officer the keys. They were on their way to a soccer match when the fatal defect happened.

If you don’t feel like overpaying for a dangerous deathtrap, please consider buying from another consumer and avoiding car dealers altogether. You still have to be careful, and do your homework. But at least you won’t be stuck dealing with a dealership chain that is out to maximize their profits at your expense.

How can you take control of your car buying experience, and get a good deal on a nice, safe, reliable used car? Check out these step-by-step tips from pro-consumer experts.

Your life is precious. You deserve to get the full value of what you pay for. Stay safe — and save!

“Arizona Auto Dealer Arrested, Charged with Fraud”

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“TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A Tempe used car dealer arrested Wednesday is facing multiple charges of theft and fraud, accused of cheating clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Detectives with the Arizona Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General say Farhad Kankash, owner of Onyx Motorsports, allegedly committed fraud against both customers and lenders.

ADOT officials say Kankash had allegedly committed several types of fraud, including failing to provide titles to customers who purchased vehicles, not paying off liens on trade-in vehicles, and defrauding lenders by obtaining multiple loans for the same vehicle.”

Want to avoid being ripped off and having your life ruined by a greedy, sleazy car dealer? Here’s how to get a good deal on a safe, reliable used car without having to set foot on a car dealer’s lot:

12 Top Tips from auto consumer experts– step-by-step How to Buy a Used Car

Read more: AZFamily.com:  Arizona Auto Dealer Arrested, Charged with Fraud

NEVER trust a car dealer to make sure a car is safe.

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When you shop at a car dealership, you shouldn’t have to worry that they’re deliberately selling you a deathtrap. But that’s what many unscrupulous new and used car dealers all over America are doing.

Car dealers keep getting caught selling vehicles with deadly safety recall defects, like faulty brakes, loss of steering, catching on fire, sticking accelerator pedals, and exploding Takata airbags that shoot metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment, causing drivers and passengers to lose their eyesight, suffer brain damage, or bleed to death.

Car dealers coast-to-coast are exploiting the widespread misconception that if you shop at a dealership, they must have gotten any deadly safety defects fixed. Otherwise, why pay extra, if the car is no safer than if you bought it from a stranger who posted it on Craig’s List?

Even highly sophisticated consumers, including Members of Congress and reporters who cover the automotive industry, suffer from this mistaken belief that somehow vehicles are safer if they’re on a car dealer’s lot.

That erroneous belief tends to be even stronger when the dealer claims the vehicle was thoroughly inspected, and when the dealer is a major franchised dealership.

U.S. Rep. MarkWayn Mullin, of Oklahoma, a GOP Member of Congress, stated at a Congressional hearing on auto safety that “I understand the responsibility of the driver. But at the same time, if you buy a vehicle new or used, you assume everything’s perfect on it.”

The former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Dr. Mark Rosekind, who was testifying at the hearing on behalf of the Obama Administration, agreed.

Recently, Automotive News reporter Richard Truett wrote:

“For me, there’s a certain trust the comes with buying a used car from a franchised new-car dealer. I feel I’m not going to get an unsafe car. And it’s worth paying a small premium to know that the vehicle has been inspected and that technicians examined the critical items. Most techs, I believe, would not let a used vehicle go out for sale if they wouldn’t put their own family in it.”

Sadly, that trust is terribly misplaced. As many news organizations have reported, and the CARS Foundation and our research partners at U.S.PIRG and the Frontier Group have repeatedly found, both new car dealers and used car dealers routinely fail to get deadly safety recall defects repaired, even though the repairs are free.

A car dealer in Hartford, Connecticut sold a young African-American man who was buying his first car a 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE with an appalling 11 unrepaired safety recalls. The safety defects included: faulty airbags, bad brakes, stalling in traffic, and other life-threatening defects. He fought back and won a favorable decision in arbitration, including a refund and his attorneys fees.

More reports about car dealers who sell unrepaired recalled cars with deadly safety recall defects:

‘It’s Recalled Car Roulette’: Some Used Cars Sold With Unrepaired Safety Recalls

Click here to see CARS’ tips for how to get a good deal on a safe used car without having to deal with professional crooks who put their short-term profits ahead of your safety, and the safety of your family and friends.

California DMV punishes car buyers for others’ debts

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Yes, it’s unfair. And yes it’s crazy.  Especially now, when California Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration are working hard to protect consumers from debt collectors during the pandemic, to mitigate the economic fallout.

But if you buy a used car in California, the California Department of Motor Vehicles can sock you with having to pay for past-due registration fees and penalties owed by the former owner.

Imagine the shock car buyers feel when they buy a used car, only to find out later that it comes with an unwanted accessory —  a boatload of bad debt.

This happens even to consumers who shop at auto dealerships. And there’s no limit on how much extra you can be charged. An overdue registration can cost you $300, $1000 or more in hidden, unexpected fees and penalties.

California law allows the DMV to impose a lien on the registration, until it is paid in full. It’s illegal to drive a car with expired license tags or registration. So if you refuse to pay, or can’t afford the unexpected expense, you can lose your car. The California Highway Patrol can pull you over, issue a “fix-it” ticket that you can’t afford to fix, or impound your car. If you aren’t the registered owner, you can’t get your car out of impound, even if you scrape together the cash to pay the hefty towing and impound fees.

Glenn Harris, a U.S. Army veteran and devoted family man with a wife and three children, testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and described their ordeal:

“While I was driving to work recently, the CHP pulled me over. They noticed that I was driving with a temporary sticker that had expired, and my car was impounded. The CHP also said there was over a year of back fees owed to DMV that Express Auto Sales never paid.

They said we had to pay the DMV those extra fees, from before we even bought the car, before it could be registered in our names. We can’t afford to pay DMV those unexpected fees, that were not disclosed when we bought the car, on top of what we’re already paying the bank.

I can’t afford to pay the hefty impound fees, which are hundreds of dollars. I also can’t get the car out of impound because I am not the registered owner. Even if I got the car out of impound, I couldn’t afford to get it registered, so I may get pulled over and ticketed again.”

What will it take for the California DMV and lawmakers to end this grossly unfair practice, which can ruin the lives of innocent used car buyers who have done nothing wrong?  All they did was to buy a car from a licensed dealership.

How many Californians have already been made homeless because the DMV and law enforcement agencies seized their vehicles — often their only means of transportation to get to work or school, buy groceries and access medical care and other necessities of life?

Read more: California Vehicle Code Section 9562. (a) When a transferee or purchaser of a vehicle applies for transfer of registration, as provided in Section 5902, and it is determined by the department that registration penalties accrued prior to the purchase of the vehicle, and that the transferee or purchaser was not cognizant of the nonpayment of the fees for registration for the current or prior registration years, the department may [or may not] waive the registration penalties upon payment of the fees for registration due.

This means that the DMV might choose to waive the penalties, but not the past-due registration fees, even if the consumer can somehow convince the DMV that they are totally innocent and were unaware of the prior owner’s debt.

Too Risky: Buying A Car from a Dealer can Ruin Your Life

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The car dealership looks like a gleaming palace. But what is really happening inside?

Some car dealers sell vehicles they don’t own. They also fail to pay off the loans on vehicles that are traded in. They ruin their customers credit and sometimes also their lives.

Robert Anglen, consumer reporter for the Arizona Republic, investigated dealerships in Arizona that ripped off consumers in multiple states, leaving them with faulty vehicles and stuck trying to make loan payments on two cars — even ones they had traded in, that were sold to someone else. Here’s what he found:

Read more: Arizona dealer didn’t pay off trades or transfer titles

How can you avoid become a victim of an unscrupulous auto dealer?  CARS tips for how to get a good deal on a safe, reliable used car, without having to set foot on a car dealer’s lot:  How to Buy a Used Car, Painlessly.

Truck from CarMax catches fire, nearly destroys home

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Californian Anthony Santos’ house nearly burned down, after CarMax sold him an unrepaired, recalled, defective Ford F-150 truck that was prone to catching on fire. Before CarMax sold him the truck, Ford issued a safety recall, warning that the truck could short-circuit and cause a fire. But CarMax failed to take the truck to a Ford dealer for a free repair.

Making matters worse, CarMax also advertised that the truck passed its “125 point inspection.” But what good is an “inspection” that doesn’t catch safety recalls and get them fixed?

Mr. Santos hired a law firm to pursue justice against CarMax, under California state laws against fraud and other bad practices, aimed at protecting consumers from unscrupulous car dealers and other crooks. CarMax is evading responsibility and trying to foist off the blame on him.

Please help spread the word: Beware of CarMax. They sell dangerous cars and if the worst happens, they try to shift  the blame onto you.

Watch NBC Los Angeles news report about Mr. Santos and his flaming truck from CarMax.

California’s new temporary license tag law: for some car buyers, a nightmare on wheels

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California car buyers face new headaches and hazards, thanks to a new law that took effect on January 1, 2019.  Some unlucky car buyers may end up losing their cars, and their jobs, or in prison — because someone else screwed up.

The new law requires car dealers to install temporary license tags that expire 90 days after consumers purchase a new or used car.

Until this year, dealers who sold cars without permanent plates taped a folded-up “report of sale” inside the back window, where the expiration date was difficult, or impossible, to read. The new temporary tags have prominent expiration dates and bar codes that make them easy for toll collectors, police, repossession companies, parking enforcement, and others to target, simply by scanning the tags with an inexpensive scanning tool.

In many other states, when you buy a car from a car dealer, the dealer must install permanent metal plates on your car before it leaves the lot. But in California, now dealers give you temporary tags, while you wait for the permanent plates to arrive.

Under California law, you must install the permanent plates as soon as you get them, or within that 90-day window. But here’s the catch:  if you don’t get the permanent plates on time, you can be pulled over by the police or Highway Patrol while you’re driving along and minding your own business, and ticketed for having expired tags — even if it’s not your fault.

You read that right. YOU are the one who suffers, even when it’s the car dealer, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or “first line service provider” chosen by the car dealer who failed to send you the permanent plates on time.

After 90 days are up, you are suddenly subject to being pulled over and ticketed, or worse.  The penalties don’t fit the “crime,” especially since the license numbers on the temp tags are clearly visible for an extended period, and may be legible for many more months, making your car easy for law enforcement, toll collectors, or others to spot.

Temporary tags may cause tickets to skyrocket

What will happen in California, now that temporary tags make it ridiculously easy for police, repossession companies, and others to track cars and scan the tags, so they can target consumers stuck with expired tags?

Here’s what happened in a small village on Long Island, New York, when police started using scanners to track cars: “Since the scanners went live Nov. 2, they have been triggering an average of 700 alarms a day, mainly about cars on the road with expired or suspended registration stickers. Officers have impounded 500 vehicles. They’ve written more than 2,000 court summonses, mostly for minor violations.”

When that’s what happens in a small village, how many more car owners will be ticketed, lose their cars, or be hauled into court in California?  Fasten your seatbelts. We’re in for a rough ride.

In response to a recent Public Records Act request from Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, the California Highway Patrol provided data showing that from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, the CHP impounded 54,442 vehicles. Those numbers are likely to skyrocket.  Plus police and parking enforcement in cities, towns, and rural areas will issue more tickets and add even more cars to the pool of impounded vehicles.

No warning

The DMV fails to have a system in place to warn consumers about the potentially serious consequences of having an expired temp tag, or to remind hapless car buyers when the deadline is near. In fact, DMV officials tout being pulled over on the freeway, with traffic zooming by, or on a remote, isolated rural road, as an appropriate, effective way to learn your temp tags have expired and you are entering the twisted Twilight Zone of attempting to deal with deadbeat dealers and the DMV.

Serious risks

For most motorists, at a minimum, traffic stops cause anxiety and delays. The tickets are also costly and can cause real hardship.  For some, they can be fatal. What starts out as a routine traffic stop may escalate and rapidly spiral out of control. Relatively trivial violations sometimes lead to violent death. Especially when drivers are African-American, Latino, or other persons of color, they face a higher degree of serious, potentially life-threatening risks. Remember Philando Castile? And Sandra Bland?  They lost their lives during traffic stops for minor violations. But California’s DMV and other state officials blithely dismiss concerns about the safety of motorists who are pulled over by police or the CHP just because they have expired tags.

A fix-it ticket you cannot fix

The DMV also scoffs at the notion that being ticketed can have devastating economic consequences.  According to the DMV, “The fine amount can differ depending in the county where a violation occurs. The fines range from $25 with proof of correction up to $197 without proof of correction.” That may not seem like much to a highly paid, high-level DMV executive, but for many families struggling to make ends meet, that can be a real hit.

As if that’s not bad enough, the DMV adds: “Drivers may receive multiple tickets if they delay making the correction.” Uh-oh.

For many car buyers, trying to get “proof of correction” from the DMV is an exercise in extreme frustration. A common scenario: a car dealer goes out of business without submitting the registration documents, leaving hundreds of consumers unable to get their permanent plates.  When that happens, it can take the DMV more than a year to sort things out.

Meanwhile, YOU are the one waiting in line at the DMV, pleading for help, and getting hit with tickets — over and over again, sometimes until your car is towed away and impounded. Then you get hit with hefty towing and impound fees. Catch 22: If you’re not the registered owner, even if you pay all the fees, you still cannot reclaim your car.

Bottom line: Those tickets can add up. Fast. Even if you are trying desperately to get things fixed. Get too many citations, and your car is impounded by the police or CHP.  For someone who needs their vehicle to keep their job, or take their disabled child for medical treatments, or get their kids to day care or school, losing a car because it was impounded can be a disaster.

Whose idea was this absurdly unjust system?

Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) authored this anti-consumer legislation (AB 516) at the behest of toll companies, car dealers, “service providers” chosen by car dealers, and police agencies.

In 2013, toll companies complained to Mullin that they were losing millions of dollars in revenue when scofflaws driving newly purchased cars with car dealer tags on them blew through toll booths without paying the tolls.  The car dealer tags typically trumpet the name of the dealership — like “Toyota of XXX” — but provide no identifying number so that toll operators can locate the drivers and collect.

The toll collectors convinced Mullin to carry a bill to require temp tags, to stop the scofflaws and increase their revenues. But the first version of Mullin’s legislation, introduced in 2014, failed to pass, because it was opposed by the California New Car Dealers Association.

The dealers view tags that display their names as a terrific way to advertise. Temp tags could interfere with their unique way of getting their names in front of more eyeballs, on the roads and in driveways.

To appease the car dealers, the next year Mullin added an increase in the so-called “document fee” and other fees that car dealers and their “service providers” are allowed to charge consumers.  He also allowed the dealers to include the name of their dealership on the temporary tags, for advertising purposes.

The toll company / car dealer legislation was opposed by non-profit pro-consumer and civil rights groups, who sought reasonable protections for car buyers who cannot get their vehicles registered, or get their permanent plates, through no fault of their own. Those groups and attorneys who represent victims of abusive car dealer / DMV practices cited numerous examples of totally innocent consumers who have been pulled over and ticketed, even before the new law was on the books.

Some victims were also threatened with arrest, or actually handcuffed and arrested. Some had their cars towed away and impounded. Then the DMV refused to allow them to get their cars out of impound, even if they paid all the tickets and the hefty impound fees, because they weren’t the registered owners.  All because a car dealer, “service provider,” or the DMV messed up or deliberately stalled handing over their permanent plates.

New law threatens to harm low-income consumers and communities of color

One of the civil rights non-profits opposed to Assemblymember Mullin’s legislation, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area, wrote:

“LCCR recently published, in collaboration with other groups, a report entitled Not Just a Ferguson Problem: How Traffic Courts Drive Inequality in California, which shows the many ways that low-income California drivers, and particularly communities of color, are impacted by unfair laws that result in license suspensions and hefty fines, and that lead people into an endless cycle of debt and court involvement from which they cannot extricate themselves. Rather than reverse this trend, AB 516 would contribute to it.”

Read more:  Letter from Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area

Making matters worse: In California. car dealers are not required to provide car buyers their permanent plates within 90 days.  In fact, California’s DMV actually allows car dealers to have the plates sent to themselves, instead of the car buyers. This is an open invitation for dealers to cheat their customers.

Adding insult to injury: the car buyers pay the car dealer for the permanent plates and the registration when they buy the car. But they have no control over when their car is registered, or when they get their plates. They are at the mercy of the car dealers, the dealers’  “service providers,” and the DMV.  But it’s the car buyers who are penalized if the plates are late, or never arrive.  Obviously, this insane “Catch-22” system is rife for abuse.

Looking for help from the DMV? Good luck with that.

In response to complaints about abuses, DMV officials shrug and dismiss them, claiming that when a ticket is issued, it is merely a “fix-it” ticket.  But here’s the hitch: you cannot get it fixed.  Hapless car buyers have spent countless hours waiting in lines at the DMV, going back over and over again, pleading to have their registrations completed, only to be told:

  • “Sorry, there’s nothing the DMV can do.”
  • “Sorry, it’s under investigation and we have no idea how long that will take. It might take years.”
  • Sorry, before you can get the registration, and your plates, you need to post a bond.
  • “Sorry, there’s a problem with the registration, and you need to work it out with the dealer.”
  • “Sorry, someone needs to pay off a lien, that costs thousands of dollars, before the dealer can get the title and complete the registration.”
  • “Sorry, you need to pay off all the parking and speeding tickets — issued to the former owner — first.”
  • “Sorry, you need to pay the DMV for past registrations that were overdue, including the penalties.”

Temporary Operating Permits Scarce, Unpredictable

Occasionally, the DMV  doles out a “Temporary Operating Permit” to a consumer caught in this bind, but according to an official with the California State Transportation Agency, the DMV has no standards for deciding who gets a permit, or how long it lasts, leaving it up to the office manager’s “discretion.”  That lends itself to discrimination, based on whatever the manager’s biases may be.

However, before you can get a “Temporary Operating Permit,” the official wrote that “one requirement is that the registration fees have been paid”  — by the dealer. Good luck with that. That’s the deadbeat who ripped you off and went belly up without paying the fees to the DMV, or the arrogant characters in the gleaming palatial new car dealership who hang up on you whenever you call to inquire about when you can drive again without fear of being pulled over at gunpoint.

Why can’t you get your car registered, or get your permanent plates on time?

Common situations that lead to this nightmare scenario:

  • Glitches at the DMV, like entering the wrong Vehicle Identification Number, or losing track of the registration documentation.

 

  • Dealers who sell used vehicles without having the title, often because the former owner still owed money when he or she traded in their car. Their lender has a lien on the title, until the loan is paid in full. Until the dealer has a clear title, they may not be able to register the car.

 

  • Dealers who have the permanent license plates sent to them, instead of to the consumer.  The dealer refuses to send them the plates, and instead demands extra money  — holding the plates for ransom.

 

  • Dealers or “first line service providers” chosen by the dealer and approved by the DMV who fail to send the permanent plates on time, or send them to the wrong address

Dealers holding plates for ransom

Last year, a bus driver in Los Angeles  bought a used car from an independent used car lot.  As usual, she paid for the permanent plates and the registration. Without telling her, the dealer chose to have the permanent plates sent to the dealership, instead of to her. Over 90 days later, she was still waiting for her plates.  One day, the police pulled her over and handed her a so-called “fix-it” ticket. She explained the situation, but the officer was unsympathetic.

She called the dealership. The dealer said he had her permanent plates. But he refused to give her the plates, unless she paid nearly $300 extra for them. The dealer refused to put his demand in writing, or to accept a check or credit card. He told her to bring cash.

She was infuriated, and considered filing a lawsuit.  But her resistance wore down, after she was pulled over and ticketed again, and again. The tickets cost her hundreds of dollars.  But even worse — If she didn’t get the plates soon, she faced being arrested and having her car towed and impounded.  She finally paid the dealer nearly $300 more for permanent plates she had already paid for, when she bought the car.

Even Kansas has better laws against such practices

Consumers in other states, like Kansas, have better protections against car dealers who jerk consumers around and withhold car titles. For example, car dealers in Kansas are required to provide car buyers with title to their cars within 60 days. If the dealer fails to comply with the law, the transactions are void and consumers are entitled to a full refund.

Read more: Wichita car lot hit with $140,000 fine over business practices

Who opposed AB 516?

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety

Consumer Federation of California

California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

Lemon law / auto fraud attorney and Judge Pro-Tem Steven Simons

Lemon law / auto fraud attorney David Valdez

Lemon law / auto fraud attorney Greg Babbitt

Lemon law / auto fraud attorney Balam Latona

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the Bay Area

Citizens United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)

Law firm of Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg

Courage Campaign

News reports

News reports highlight car buyers’ nightmarish experiences with dealers who failed to complete their registrations, even though they had paid the dealers to handle the paperwork, and were dependent on them to do their jobs. Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety alerted the news media about these cases:

ABC Channel 10 (San Diego): U.S. Military Veteran faces ordeal because of car dealer who failed to register his car

ABC Channel 30 (Fresno): Clovis car dealer leaves hundreds in limbo

NBC Bay Area (San Jose): Dealer can’t register car, woman wants refund

Roger Lanctot in LinkedIn: Car dealers making yo-yo’s out of legislators

 

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial calling for a “quick fix” to address “legitimate concerns” with Assemblymember Mullin’s legislation:

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial: “License plate bill needs a quick fix”

Change an expiration date, go to jail

Raising alarms among groups that oppose adding more laws that result in imprisonment for minor offenses — selectively criminalizing  low-income consumers and people of color — AB 516 would make altering just the expiration date on a temporary tag a wobbler/ felony offense, subjecting car buyers to a potential prison sentence of 2-3 years.

Imagine: you are a single mom with three kids. You have only one car. You keep being pulled over by the police and ticketed because you have not received your permanent plates. You take time from work and go to the DMV, waiting in line over and over again, to no avail. Each time, you lose desperately needed income.

If you are detained by the police one more time, making you late for work, you will lose your job. In your desperation, you take a magic marker and change just the expiration date on your temporary tags. You do NOT alter the number on the tags, so toll agencies and law enforcement officers can still readily identify the car, for toll collection or public safety purposes.  For this offense, you could be heavily fined, convicted of a FELONY, and sent to prison for 2- 3 years.

Law enforcement agrees: consumers should not be punished for the wrongs committed by car dealers or the DMV

Consumer groups and the California Police Officers Association worked together and drafted amendments to AB 516 that would have addressed the serious problems with the bill, and presented those to the author’s staff, at an in-person meeting. The amendments would have changed the bill so that:

  • When law enforcement officials detect that your car has a temporary tag with an expired date, they would have to check an existing law enforcement database, that they can already access electronically, to find out whether you were issued permanent plates. In a matter of seconds, they can tell. If the plates have not been sent to your address, you would not be pulled over or issued a citation.

 

  • It would be an infraction — not a wobbler / felony —  to alter just the expiration date on a single temporary tag, leaving the rest of the tag unaltered and readily traceable.

The California Police Officers Association, to its credit, expressed the sentiment that its members are not anxious to pull over and detain people who are already frustrated because they cannot get their permanent plates, so long as they properly display the temporary tags, and the car is readily identifiable for public safety purposes.

However, Assemblymember Mullin refused to accept those amendments. Instead, he added a “fig leaf” to the bill that would require consumers who have not received their permanent plates to prove their own innocence by obtaining a form from the DMV and showing it, if they are detained.

That may sound easy, but in reality, it’s just another Catch-22. The form cited in the bill requires that you sign, under penalty of perjury, that you are the “registered owner of record.” But that’s the problem. You are not the registered owner. The DMV has a history of rejecting car buyers’ attempts to fill out and submit those forms, unless their registration is already complete, and in their names. But that’s the problem. It’s up to the dealer to complete the registration.  Gotcha.

 

 

 

 

It IS against the law for car dealers to sell used cars with unrepaired safety recalls

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Contrary to the spin from unscrupulous car dealers, and erroneous reports in the news, it is illegal for car dealers to sell dangerous used cars with unrepaired safety recalls. Injured or misled consumers and their surviving family members who sue dealers that engage in such reckless practices usually win confidential settlements. The dealers insist on confidentiality to cover up their illegal activity.The legal settlements also are a telltale sign that the dealers know perfectly well what they are doing is illegal.

So if you discover that a crooked car dealer sold you an unrepaired recalled used car, you should get expert legal advice and fight back.

Here’s the scoop: There is a FEDERAL law against car dealers selling recalled NEW cars. There is a FEDERAL law against car dealers with fleets of 35 or more rental cars from renting, selling, or loaning recalled rental cars.  But — while there is no FEDERAL law against car dealers selling recalled USED cars, if they do, they risk being held accountable under various STATE laws.

No less an authority than the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has noted:

“…state product safety, tort, and other consumer protection laws, provide important safeguards to consumers affected by defective cars.”

An attorney who advises auto dealers has also warned them that if they sell used recalled cars, they face serious sanctions under state laws. According to a report in Automotive News:

“There are theories of liability that plaintiff attorneys may attempt to attach to these vehicles, even if dealers are using good-faith efforts to identify potential open recalls,” says Shawn Mercer, a partner at Bass Sox Mercer, a Tallahassee, Fla., law firm that specializes in dealership franchise law. There is no federal law against selling a vehicle with an open recall. But “depending on the jurisdiction,” Mercer says, “potential liability can stem from violations of state laws or common law tort claims.”  (Emphasis added)

The article also cautions car dealers:

“Selling a vehicle with an undisclosed safety problem makes for dissatisfied customers and can have legal repercussions, even if the dealership was unaware of the recall.” (Emphasis added)

One legal case that stands out, making the point that state law prohibits dealers and other businesses from failing to exercise due care, or acting with negligence, is Houck vs. Enterprise.  Sisters Raechel and Jacqueline Houck were ages 20 and 24 when they visited their parents in Ojai, California.  On their way back home to Santa Cruz, they were killed by an unrepaired recalled rental car — a Chrysler PT Cruiser that caught on fire, and also lost steering.  They ended up colliding with an 18-wheeler semi-trailer truck.

Their parents sued Chrysler and Enterprise under state laws, for failing to exercise the common law duty of care, and for negligence, resulting in wrongful death.  Eventually, on the eve of trial, Enterprise admitted 100% liability — under state laws.  A jury awarded the Houcks $15 million in compensatory damages.

Years later, the President of the California New Car Dealers Association made the false claim that it wasn’t illegal for dealers to sell unrepaired recalled used cars. The Houcks’ attorneys wrote a scathing letter pointing out that violating state civil laws is illegal. The attorneys cited the unanimous jury decision in the Houcks’ favor, and also cited state laws against negligence and common law torts.

CARS worked closely with Cally Houck, Raechel and Jacqueline’s mother, to get a new federal law enacted to prohibit rental car companies or car dealers from renting, loaning, or selling unrepaired recalled cars. The battle lasted for years, with auto manufacturers and dealers actively opposing the bill, even after the rental car industry had dropped its opposition.  But eventually we won.

That victory means that not only do rental car companies remain liable under state laws, but they also face enforcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the nation’s premier auto safety agency.

Thanks to the passage of the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act, NHTSA now has the authority to issue fines or take other action if a rental car company with a fleet of 35 or more vehicles violates the law — even if no one is injured or killed as a result.  Thus, the federal law works to help prevent more tragedies from happening.

CARS supports the ongoing efforts of Senators Blumenthal and Markey, and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, to enact federal legislation to make it a violation of federal law, enforceable by NHTSA, for car dealers to sell unrepaired recalled used cars.

Meanwhile, victims of crooked dealers who play “recalled used car roulette” with their customers’ lives, should get legal advice and fight back, using existing state laws. It’s also important for state attorneys general to enforce the existing state laws against fraud, violations of express and implied warranties, and other provisions of law.

CARS applauds the District Attorney in Sedgwick County Kansas — one of the few law enforcement officials in the nation who is standing up to the powerful car dealer lobby in order to protect car buyers and others who share the roads.

Read More: The Wichita Eagle:  Wichita car lot hit with $140,000 fine over business practices