CARS has generated and contributed to many award-winning news reports, and is often contacted by highly respected news media seeking expert commentary and contacts among consumers impacted by harmful auto industry practices, or their surviving family members. Among the news organizations who have published reports where CARS' president has provided expert information, leads, and perspective are:
New York Times, the Associated Press, Consumer Reports, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, ABC's 20/20, NBC's Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, Vox Media, Politico, Checkbook Magazine, Parade Magazine, Reader's Digest, National Public Radio, and numerous other news organizations.
"Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law"
Public News Service
By Suzanne Potter
November 1, 2024
"Millions of Californians buy used cars still under a manufacturer's warranty - but consumer groups say those warranties are now essentially unenforceable.
It's the result of a ruling Thursday by the California State Supreme Court. The panel of judges agreed with car manufacturers that the state's so-called 'lemon law' only applies to new cars.
'You won't be able to tell the manufacturer, "Hey, you have to fix my car or I want a refund." The manufacturer can just blow you off,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
Owners of these used vehicles could be faced with big unanticipated repair bills if the manufacturer opts not to honor the remainder of the warranty. The court ruling means they will no longer have a right to a refund or replacement vehicle.
Shahan said she thinks that now the California Legislature should step in. She said other states already have acted to better protect used-car buyers."
Read more:
"Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law"
"State Supreme Court curbs cases that qualify for lemon law claim"
The Daily Journal
November 1, 2024
"The state supreme court ruled on Thursday that a still-active warranty on a used car does not grant a new owner the right to sue the manufacturer under the state's lemon law.
'This will have enormous consequences for millions of vehicle owners who pay extra for used vehicles that include the manufacturer's warranties, with the reasonable expectation that if major problems arise they won't have to pay out of pocket for repairs,' read a statement sent by Rosemary Shahan, president of the non-profit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety."
Read more: Daily Journal:
"State Supreme Court curbs cases that qualify for lemon law claim"
"Consumer advocates: Bill to require used car dealers
to notify customers about recalls is flawed"
"Advocates say the bill gives buyers little recourse if they buy a used car
with an open, potentially dangerous recall."
News 12 New Jersey
October 23, 2024
by Walt Kane
"New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that they say will protect used car buyers. But many consumer advocates say the bill could have the opposite impact, giving buyers little recourse if they buy a used car with an open, potentially dangerous recall.
Click on the image to go to the News 12 website to watch the video.
(The video starts muted, so click the volume icon to get sound.)
A 2018 Kane In Your Corner investigation examined how used car buyers might end up unknowingly purchasing vehicles with dangerous open recalls. Trinity Wixner was left with a vehicle that she was afraid to drive and no fix for the issue was readily available.
A new bill, under consideration in Trenton, would require used car dealers to notify the consumers if a car has one or more open recalls, but they would not be required to fix it. Consumer advocates say this bill might actually make things worse for consumers.
"It makes it easier for car dealers to get away with selling unsafe vehicles that have potentially lethal safety recall defects," says Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. "Why should a dealer be able to sell a car that has bad brakes or a steering wheel that could come off into your hands?"
Shahan says if lawmakers really want to protect car buyers, they should just require used car dealers to fix any recalls.
Car dealers have long been opposed to being forced to fix recalls on used cars. And Kane in Your Corner found the industry has spent a lot of money getting that message across, making over $329,000 in campaign contributions to New Jersey state lawmakers through a political action committee called Car-Pac. Some of the biggest recipients of that funding are sponsoring the legislation, including state Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R – Montville), state Assembly members John DiMaio (R –Hackettstown) and Lou Greenwald (D – Voorhees), and state Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D – Clark)."
Watch full report:
"Consumer advocates: Bill to require used car dealers to notify customers about recalls is flawed"
"Trenton's latest disgrace: An anti-consumer bill that compromises highway safety | Editorial"
New Jersey Star-Ledger
"It is remarkable that even though New Jersey's consumer protection laws already make it illegal for dealers to sell used cars with active recalls -
many do it anyway - the Legislature wants us to believe that forcing a dealer to check the NHTSA website is a laudable commitment to transparency. Three cheers for this arduous effort,
which takes three seconds.
But it's a cynical scheme. The bill only requires the dealer to print out the open recall and include it in the paperwork of the sale – which will effectively
make it legal to sell damaged used cars in New Jersey.
Even worse, the bill makes it harder -- some say impossible -- to file a lawsuit, because the dealer has disclosed that there is an open recall that requires repair.
'It actually lifts a big legal burden off the dealer to sell safe and road-worthy vehicles,' said Chuck Bell, the program director for Consumer Reports. 'We think that burden should belong with the dealer, who is in a much better position to repair the vehicle or understand what's wrong with it.'
Rosemary Shahan, the president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (
CARS), put it this way: 'In this case, disclosure isn't meant to be about disclosure. It's legal C-Y-A,' she said. 'This bill seeks to foist the responsibility of fixing the car onto the consumer while shielding the dealers.'
Read more:
"Trenton's latest disgrace: An anti-consumer bill that compromises highway safety | Editorial"
"Newsom wants a do-over on the lemon car law he just signed.
Will it hurt buyers?"
CalMatters
October 3, 2024
By Ryan Sabalow
"In the chaotic final days of the legislative session,
lawmakers jammed through major changes to California's "Lemon Law" that protects consumers from defective cars even as members complained that the complex legislation was rushed too quickly.
Gov. Gavin Newsom nonetheless signed the measure into law earlier this week, saying it was important to address a rising number of lemon law cases clogging the state's court system.
But he did so reluctantly, only after lawmakers agreed to reconsider the legislation next year and make the reforms voluntary for automakers.
'This bill has drawn substantive opposition from several consumer groups and the majority of automakers, who were not party to the negotiations,' Newsom
wrote in a statement to legislators. 'While
AB 1755 aims to speed resolution of lemon law claims and reduce litigation, many automakers … have expressed serious concerns.'
....
... proponents said General Motors was the bill's strongest supporter, and that company has the most lemon law cases,
nearly 26 times more than Toyota, which opposed the legislation. Proponents say that since GM agreed to the reforms, that alone should ease the burden on California's courts, even if other companies opt out....
"There wasn't a single person who represents the people of California who knew about this and was a part of those conversations – for months," Democratic San Ramon Assemblymember
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told her colleagues on the Assembly Judiciary Committee
on Aug. 30. "They dropped this in our lap, and they expect us to buy an argument related to the urgency that feels, to be honest, not real. And we're supposed to move this in a week's time."
....
"The companies that make the most lemons and fail to invest in what it takes to build quality cars and address problems early on are the ones that are being rewarded by this bill," said Rosemary Shahan of
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
....
...critics, such as Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, say the law Newsom signed contains other provisions that would harm car buyers.
She said it will shorten the time in which a customer can sue, reduce how much money they can receive in rebates and shrink the period they can use the lemon law to just six years instead of the entire life of a vehicle's warranty, which can last longer.
Shahan said the real winners from AB 1755 are the U.S. car companies that backed the bill since they're the ones most commonly sued under the state's lemon law."
Read more: CalMatters:
Newsom wants a do-over on the lemon car law he just signed.
"Critics say lawmakers watered down California's lemon car law after secret lobbyist negotiations"
CalMatters
September 23, 2024
by Ryan Sabalow
"Californians for the past 54 years have relied on the state's 'lemon law' to fight back against car makers that sell them defective vehicles.
Now, critics say Californians' ability to recoup their money after buying a clunker could become more difficult, due to a hastily passed bill that lobbyists representing U.S. auto manufacturers and powerful attorneys groups drafted in secret.
...how the bill came to end up on [Governor Newsom's] desk is the latest example of how influential lobbying groups write laws impacting millions of Californians
behind closed doors — and how the measures are often passed with little time for public input or legislative debate.
'There wasn't a single person who represents the people of California who knew about this and was a part of those conversations – for months,' Democratic San Ramon Assemblymember
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told her colleagues on the Assembly Judiciary Committee last month in the final days of the legislative session.
'They dropped this in our lap, and they expect us to buy an argument related to the urgency that feels, to be honest, not real. And we're supposed to move this in a week's time.' [Assemblymember Bauer Kahan is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, which normally would have had a hearing on the bill, based on how lemon law bills were assigned to committees in the past.]...
Former Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gatto said it's unlikely that lawmakers actually read all that in those final chaotic days of the session with hundreds of other consequential bills still pending....
Downey Democratic Assemblymember
Blanca Pacheco, an attorney, told her Judiciary Committee colleagues she wasn't comfortable voting for the bill because she wasn't sure what it would do.
'I want to make sure that consumers are protected as well,'
she said. 'Those are our constituents. And so that is what we really should be caring about. And I don't know if consumers are really protected.'
....
Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, and Kalra, a former public defender and law professor, told their colleagues that consumers would still be able to get their money back from a defective car. They argued that California's lemon law, which Gov. Ronald Reagan signed in 1970, still would be stronger than that of any other state.
But Rosemary Shahan, president of
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the bill would harm car owners stuck with a lemon vehicle in several ways.
It would limit the amount of "negative equity" refunds consumers could get for their defective car, and it would shorten the period in which consumers can use the lemon law to just six years, even when their warranty lasts longer, she said.
'This is a big deal for folks who pay extra for a vehicle with a warranty from the manufacturer, in order to avoid getting hit with a large unexpected repair bill,' she said in an email.
The bill also would require that consumers notify their manufacturer in writing that their car is a lemon, instead of just taking it into a dealer for repairs and starting the process of getting their money back there, she said.
It also would limit the amount of time a consumer can file a lemon lawsuit from four years after a claim is filed to just a year from the expiration of a vehicle's warranty, she said.
'This would make it easier for unscrupulous auto manufacturers to get away with doing cheap "Band-Aid" type repairs – instead of fixing the underlying problem – until the warranty expires,' leaving consumers on the hook for a massive bill, she said.
The bill's supporters include General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) and Ford Motor Company, as well as RV manufacturers....
Regardless of whether lawmakers fully grasped the issue, any time complicated legislation such as AB 1755 gets rushed through at the last minute, it harms the Legislature's credibility and makes it harder for voters to trust their elected leaders, said Gatto, the former lawmaker.
'Transparency suffers,' he said, 'And all the different stakeholders that keep the Legislature honest, whether it's the electorate or the media, it makes it a lot harder for us to do our jobs.'"
Read more: Public News Service:
"Critics say lawmakers watered down California's lemon car law after secret lobbyist negotiations"
Consumer groups blast bill to change CA lemon law
Public News Service
August 29, 2024
by Suzanne Potter
"Consumer groups are calling for the withdrawal of a bill [AB 1755] that would change the way California's auto lemon law works....
Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said it would also mean if a problem arises more than six years after the sale, the lemon law no longer applies.
'It would shorten the statute of limitations for filing a lemon-law case to just one year after the warranty expires. Right now it's four years after you find out you have a claim,' she explained.
The bill would also require consumers to file a formal written complaint instead of simply calling the dealer....
General Motors is the biggest backer of the bill. Shahan suggests car manufacturers are looking for ways to avoid paying to repair or replace vehicles.
'What they're trying to do is reduce their warranty compliance costs, like last year alone, Ford paid out $1.9 billion in warranty repairs, and they're under pressure by Wall Street to reduce their warranty costs,' she continued."
She added the bill would also mean that manufacturers would no longer have to pay off the amount people may still owe on a lemon car. So some people may not be able to get a buy-back unless they can come up with thousands of dollars up front."
Read more: Public News Service:
Consumer groups blast bill to change CA Lemon Law
"California's lemon law could get an update that would speed refunds under new deal"
San Francisco Chronicle
By Bob Egelko
August 20, 2024
".... [the Consumer Attorneys of California] and automakers [General Motors and Ford] say they've reached an agreement on legislation to streamline and speed up claims under California's "lemon law," which entitles buyers of vehicles with serious defects to receive a refund or a new car.
The .... [1970 law signed by then-Governor Reagan] requires the manufacturer of a vehicle sold in California to provide a refund or a replacement when the vehicle cannot be repaired after a "reasonable" number of attempts, usually ranging from two to four depending on the seriousness of the problem....
The new legislation [is] AB1755 by Assembly Member Ash Kalra, D-San Jose.
The bill would also require customers to file claims under the lemon law within six years of receiving the vehicle, and within one year of the expiration of the vehicle's warranty. It would set new deadlines for proceedings in court, and would require customers who seek civil penalties to submit their claims to the manufacturer in writing, not a mandate under current law.
Every state has a lemon law that applies to new cars, but California's law is one of the few that also applies to used cars. In a statement announcing the bill, Kalra said AB1755 would ensure that California's law "remains the strongest in the nation, by streamlining and expediting the process for consumers to get their money back — or get a new car — when their vehicle has a serious defect the manufacturer can't fix."
Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, who co-authored the measure, said it would "get drivers out of the judicial system and back on the road more quickly."
Kalra used the so-called gut-and-amend tactic to take an existing bill, scrape out the language and replace it with the new lemon law measure. It must be approved by both houses by Aug. 31 and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom by Sept. 30 in order to become law next year....
But other consumer groups said Wednesday that AB1755 would weaken the existing lemon law for the benefit of automakers.
'Manufacturers are now responsible for figuring out if you have a lemon. This shifts the burden to consumers,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other objectors included the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and the California Public Interest Research Group.
Shahan said the bill restricts customers' rights by requiring them to file complaints within six years of purchase, even if their warranty was longer. And if the car's value has decreased since its purchase, she said, the manufacturer would be required to repay the owner only the diminished value, not the additional amount, known as 'negative equity,' that the owner still owes."
Read more: San Francisco Chronicle:
"California's lemon law could get an update that would speed refunds under new deal"
____
Note: the bill is opposed by the nation's leading pro-consumer and auto safety organizations, and many leading California-based consumer and safety organizations, including:
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
The Center for Auto Safety
Consumer Federation of America
National Consumers League
Safety Research and Strategies
National Consumer Law Center
Kids and Car Safety
National Association of Consumer Advocates
Trauma Foundation
Rise Economy
CALPIRG
Public Counsel
University of San Diego Consumer Protection Policy Center
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
It is also opposed by many auto manufacturers who have a record of building better-quality vehicles and are relatively rarely sued under California's auto lemon law, compared with GM and Ford. (See The California Auto Lemon Index to see which auto manufacturers are sued the most /least under California's auto lemon law.)
"Feds fine bank for illegal car insurance practices"
Public News Service
Suzanne Potter, Producer
July 11, 2024
"Fifth Third Bank just agreed to pay a $20 million fine to settle charges it forced car buyers to purchase unnecessary insurance and created fake accounts in customers' names.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the bank required customers with car loans to buy insurance, even if they already had coverage or got their own within 30 days.
Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said some customers then could not afford the payments.
'There were about 1,000 consumers who had their cars repossessed,' Shahan recounted. 'Most people rely on their car to get to and from work, and get their kids to school, and get to medical appointments. So that is really devastating when they lose their car.'
....
Shahan pointed out car dealers sometimes make verbal promises differing from the written contract or fail to even print out the financing paperwork. She wants people to know they cannot be required to buy insurance if they already have coverage.
'The best way to avoid all these scams is join a credit union, get your own financing, and deal with a reputable bank,' Shahan recommended. 'Don't let the dealer get financing for you.' ""
Read more:
"Feds fine bank for illegal car insurance practices" by Suzanne Potter, Public News Service
CFPB takes action against Fifth Third Bank for wrongfully triggering auto repossessions and opening fake bank accounts
For Immediate Release
March 22, 2024
BLUMENTHAL, MARKEY, & WARREN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION
TO PROTECT CAR BUYERS & BOLSTER SAFETY OF USED CARS
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation today to ensure the safety and reliability of used cars. The legislation, the
Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act, requires car dealers to repair any outstanding safety recalls in used cars prior to selling, leasing, or loaning them to consumers. Current federal law does not prohibit car dealers from selling cars with open recalls, threatening the safety of everyone on the road. The
Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act addresses this gap in consumer protections and better safeguards car buyers who often believe they are purchasing a vehicle with safety assurances.
"This bill makes sure that used cars with dangerous defects are repaired before they are driven on our roads," said Blumenthal.
"While many people believe the used cars they are purchasing are safe and reliable, that is all too often not the case. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act closes this glaring safety loophole, ensuring consumers have peace of mind when they get behind the wheel."
"Whether a car is brand new or used, nobody should be at risk of purchasing an unsafe car," said Markey.
"And it doesn't matter if a car is still on the lot or in a driveway, it needs to be made safe. I am proud to work alongside Senators Blumenthal and Warren on this important legislation to ensure unrepaired cars, subject to an outstanding recall, remain off our roads. Let's close this loophole so that drivers, passengers, and pedestrians are safe once and for all."
With over 35 million used cars purchased in the United States in 2023, bolstering the safety of used cars remains an increasingly pressing issue. The
Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act prevents the sale of used vehicles with safety defects by prohibiting auto dealers from selling, leasing, or loaning vehicles with unrepaired open recalls to consumers.
To ensure that open recalls are repaired, the
Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act incentivizes auto dealers to swiftly repair recalls by allowing them to sell recalled vehicles to other dealers who have the ability to fix the defects instead of sitting in their lots. The legislation also requires manufacturers to provide dealers with parts to repair safety defects within 60 days or reimburse dealers if the manufacturers cannot provide the necessary parts.
The
Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act is supported by a number of auto safety and consumer groups, including Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Reports, Consumer Action, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, MASSPIRG, USPIRG, Safety Research and Strategies, Public Citizen, and Consumer Federation of America.
"No one should have to worry when they buy a car from a dealership that the dealer is deliberately selling them a hazardous, defective recalled deathtrap -- whether it's new or used. Senator Blumenthal's bill is crucial for helping protect America's used car buyers and their families from suffering devastating injuries or being killed. While used car buyers and their surviving family members do have important rights under state laws, those may not kick in unless someone has suffered damages or died. We still need NHTSA to be able to crack down on dealers who violate federal law, to help prevent tragedies from happening," said Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
"Millions of unrepaired and dangerous recalled vehicles are operated on America's roads every day, threatening drivers, passengers and other road users. The widespread practice of selling these dangerous vehicles without first fixing obvious and identified safety hazards unacceptably shifts the burden from manufacturers and used car sellers onto the party least equipped to address the danger – the consumer. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act incentivizes manufacturers to get recall repairs completed quickly and protects everyone on the road by closing the federal loophole permitting the sale of unrepaired recalled used cars," said Michael Brooks, Executive Director of Center for Auto Safety.
William Wallace, associate director of safety policy for Consumer Reports, said,
"At the bare minimum, people should be able to trust that a used car they're buying is not coming to them with known, unrepaired safety defects—and right now, that's not assured. Consumer Reports strongly supports the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act. We urge every member of Congress to support the bill and press for it to become law expeditiously."
"Many consumers will never buy a new car, and second-hand cars should not mean second-rate safety. An unrepaired safety recall can put road users at risk of death or injury, yet these tragic occurrences can be prevented by repair before resale. We commend Senators Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey, and Elizabeth Warren, for reintroducing the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act which ensures commonsense actions to keep vehicles with unrepaired recalls off the roads," said Tara Gill, Senior Director, Federal and State Government Relations, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
"This bill will put the brakes on the sale of dangerous used cars," said Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG's legislative director.
"Consumers, rightly so, have the expectation that when shopping at used car dealerships they are being sold safe cars, and at the very least, they certainly would not expect for sale any car that is still under a safety recall."
"New cars can't be sold with an open recall, why should used cars be an exception? This bill is important to close the gap on safety and protect buyers," says longtime safety advocate Sean Kane, of Safety Research & Strategies.
The full text of the bill can be found
here.
-30-
Follow Senator Blumenthal online:
CONSUMER ADVOCATES APPLAUD FTC FOR MOVING FORWARD WITH CARS RULE
December 12, 2023 | Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final rule targeting deceptive conduct in the sale and financing of motor vehicles, titled the "Combatting Auto Retail Scams" (CARS) Rule.
After a decade of attempts to fix a broken auto marketplace, the FTC announced in July 2022 that it was pursuing an auto dealer rule aimed at ending bait and switch pricing tactics and junk fees in the form of worthless add-on products and services. After receiving over 25,000 comments from the public and widespread support for addressing auto dealer misconduct, the FTC has published its final rule, summarizing the comments and laying out its plan for the CARS rule.
"The time is long overdue for the FTC to level the playing field for car buyers and honest dealers," said Erin Witte, Director of Consumer Protection at Consumer Federation of America. "The CARS Rule will bring some improvements to the auto market, and we look forward to working with the FTC to ensure that all consumers, especially those in vulnerable populations, are prioritized throughout the process."
The CARS Rule prohibits misrepresentations about key information, like price and cost, and requires dealers to provide the offering price, tell consumers add-ons are optional, and give information about the total payment when discussing monthly payments. The rule also prohibits dealers from charging for any add-on that has no benefit to the consumer.
"We applaud the FTC's efforts to help millions of Americans through the use of its rulemaking authority to bring a level of transparency to auto sales," said John Van Alst, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center and Director of its Working Cars for Working Families Project. "We look forward to continuing to work with state and federal policymakers to address discriminatory practices and bring transparency to the car sales and finance markets."
The Rule also includes clear protections for members of the military and their families who are targeted with deceptive information about whether dealers are affiliated with the military and face other issues specific to servicemembers.
"The FTC has taken the courageous step of addressing the top consumer complaint in the country: auto sales," said Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. "This rule should benefit both consumers and honest car dealers, who wrote in support of the proposed rule and complained about being at a competitive disadvantage because of unscrupulous car dealers who lure car buyers with false promises of low prices, then jack them up using sneaky tactics."
"Consumers are beyond frustrated with the deceptive practices some unscrupulous dealers use to jack up the price of cars," said Chuck Bell, advocacy programs director for Consumer Reports. "The FTC's new rule will protect consumers from shady bait and switch sales tactics and help ensure that car dealers provide fair and accurate prices for vehicle purchases."
The CARS Rule will take effect on July 30, 2024. The FTC has created new guidance for consumers to help them understand their rights when they buy a vehicle as well as guidance for auto dealers with advice to help them prepare for the rule to go into effect.
"We know all too well how car buyers across the country are ripped off by unscrupulous auto dealer sales and financing tactics," said Christine Hines, legislative director at National Association of Consumer Advocates. "We appreciate that the FTC has taken action to provide protections for consumers in this market."
"We are thrilled that the Federal Trade Commission has issued its CARS rule today bringing some badly needed consumer protections to Americans looking to buy or lease a vehicle," said Mitria Spotser, vice president and director of federal policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. "This rule will help curb dishonest sales and financing practices in the industry. The steep rise in automobile prices over the past few decades means we need to be doubly vigilant of junk charges and financing scams, especially given current interest rates."
"Used-car dealers keep selling vehicles despite safety recalls"
"We found dozens for sale"
"There’s no federal law to keep them from selling used vehicles with open, unaddressed recalls for defects that could kill you. What we found available might surprise you."
Chicago Sun-Times
November 26, 2023
By Stephanie Zimmerman
"Under federal law, a rental car company can’t hand a customer the keys unless all safety recalls have been repaired, but there’s no such requirement for consumers buying a used car [from a car dealer that isn't a rental car company].
Which means what’s being touted as a 'certified preowned' car on a dealer’s lot could still be a vehicle that has open, unaddressed recalls for safety issues like having a known fire risk or a problem with sudden acceleration. Those used cars could even be subject to an 'urgent, do not drive' recall because their airbag inflators might explode.
Cars with unrepaired safety recalls are being sold at car dealerships all across America.
When you buy toys, appliances, food or pharmaceuticals, you don’t face a similar risk because those can’t be sold in the United States if they’re under a recall.
'You can’t even sell a recalled consumer product at a yard sale,' says Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, which advocates for vehicle safety.
How widespread is the practice? To see, a
Chicago Sun-Times reporter followed up on the newspaper’s
2019 investigation of open recalls and found dozens of used vehicles offered for sale on dealers’ websites and used-car listing websites over the past two months despite them being under recall for safety issues that the sellers hadn’t fixed....
[Under federal law, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can crack down on car dealers who sell unrepaired recalled new vehicles, and rental car companies that rent or sell recalled used vehicles, but the agency lacks the authority to penalize other auto dealers who endanger car buyers and their families by selling hazardous recalled used cars. However, people who are harmed as a result, or their surviving family members, may be able to fight back under various state consumer protection laws.]
Efforts to change [the federal law that applies to car dealers] have failed amid pushback from an automobile industry that says fixing the recalled vehicles before putting them up for sale would be too burdensome and costly [even though auto manufacturers are required to provide safety recall repairs for free, for at least 15 years from when the vehicle is first sold].
Consumer advocates say that means it’s 'buyer, beware,' when you’re buying a used car.
'It’s the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night,' says Rosemary Shahan, president and founder of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
Cook County lawsuit pegged to recall
An unaddressed recall was the crux of the lawsuit that Ahmad Ismail filed in Cook County circuit court in August 2022 against Hyundai Motor America and a dealership that serviced the used 2013 Hyundai Sonata his father later bought.
Ismail said in the civil case that, although a recall was issued in September 2018 for a defect in the airbag control unit, it wasn’t addressed by the previous owner. The car wound up at a dealership in Indiana, where Ismail’s father bought it in April 2021, apparently unaware of the danger.
Eight months later, Ismail, then 24 and living in Orland Park, had a head-on collision on Michigan Street in Hammond, Indiana, in which the driver’s airbag didn’t deploy, according to his lawsuit. It says that, trapped in the car, he was badly injured, flown by helicopter to the University of Chicago Medical Center for surgery. As a result of the crash, he suffered 'permanent pain and suffering, disability, loss of a normal life' as well as faced medical and therapy bills, according to his lawsuit, which was settled out of court in September.
Ismail’s attorney Eugene Hardiman says he and his client won’t comment because of a confidentiality clause in the settlement.
....
Not unexpectedly, most [car dealer] websites play up the positive aspects of the vehicles. They include descriptions like '125-point inspection' or 'certified.'
Shahan says those can minimize potential dangers, that consumers are led to believe that being 'certified' or 'inspected' means a car is safe to drive even if it has a recall that poses a safety hazard.
'How can a car possibly pass this rigorous inspection if it has bad brakes or all these other [safety defects]?' Shahan says.
....
A notable exception is CarBravo.com, run by General Motors to promote its dealerships’ used-car inventories. When the site was launched last year, it promised that every car listed 'is certified and recall-free,' earning praise from the Consumer Federation of America.
Read more: Chicago Sun-Times:
"Used-car dealers keep selling vehicles despite safety recalls"
Pro-consumer / auto safety organizations urge Governor Newsom to VETO
Bill backed by debt collectors and auto manufacturers
Unprecedented Attack on Low and Moderate Income Californians
NEWS for IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 4, 2023
Contacts: Rosemary Shahan, CARS, 530-759-9440
Michael Brooks, Center for Auto Safety, 202-328-7700 x 408
Megan Varvais, Public Justice, 510-566-7768
SACRAMENTO, CA - A large coalition of leading non-profit consumer and auto safety
organizations based in California and Washington, D.C.
is urging Governor Newsom to veto legislation backed by debt collectors and auto manufacturers who seek to evade being held
accountable for engaging in illegal debt collection practices or selling seriously defective
lemon cars.
The bill, SB 71, is authored by Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and co-authored
by right-wing Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli. SB 71 would significantly increase
the dollar amount for legal disputes in “limited” civil courts, where consumers face numerous
procedural barriers and often lack any legal representation, from $25,000 to $35,000.
If SB 71 is enacted, millions of low and moderate-income victims of illegal debt
collection practices or defective auto lemons would lose access to “unlimited” civil courts
where currently they can get the legal discovery they need to prove their cases. Hapless
consumers would also find it difficult or impossible to obtain legal counsel when they are up
against giant corporations with legions of attorneys on their side.
The
Alliance for Automotive Innovation wrote in favor of SB 71 that it would “reduce
litigation,” fulfilling one of the Alliance’s top priorities – denying auto lemon owners access to
courts where the consumers almost always win.
“No other California governor has signed legislation to weaken California’s landmark
auto lemon law,” said Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and
Safety (CARS). The original auto “lemon law” was signed into law by former Governor
Ronald Reagan in 1970.
Since then, Democratic Governors Jerry Brown and Gray Davis, and Republican
Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger all signed legislation spearheaded by
CARS to improve and expand California’s auto lemon law – including strengthening protections against lemons with life-threatening
safety defects, protecting small business owners and self-employed individuals such as real estate agents and landscapers who need
safe, reliable vehicles to make a living and to keep their businesses afloat, and to protect
active duty military personnel and their families who are stationed in or deployed from
California, regardless where they purchased their lemon autos.
“If Governor Newsom signs SB 71, auto lemon owners who buy defective cars in
California for less than $35,000 will suddenly go from having some of the best lemon-aid in
the country to having some of the worst,” said Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the
Center for Auto Safety.
SB 71 also threatens to inflict disparate harm on Black and Hispanic consumers.
According to research into California’s civil courts, "Cases filed in California courts to collect
consumer debts disproportionately burden Black and Hispanic borrowers. Data drawn from
civil court records show that claims to collect defaulted consumer debts are filed at a higher
rate against borrowers of color than against white borrowers. The type of creditor also varies
by the borrower’s race and ethnicity. Black and Hispanic litigants are also less likely to be
represented by an attorney. The distribution of case participation and outcome also varies by
race, with fewer answers filed and more judgments entered against Hispanic and Black
defendants." 1
Among the procedural barriers in “Limited” civil courts:
◦ Severe limitations on discovery
◦ Severe limitations on depositions (with rare exceptions, only one)
◦ Drastically reduced time period for filing appeals, from 60 days to 30 days
◦ Lack of access to appellate courts for appeals
◦ Lack of authority to provide injunctive relief
◦ Lack of access in many cases to civil penalties or punitive damages, which would
otherwise serve to help deter violations of the law
◦ Arbitrary cap on damages that a jury or judge can award, even if appropriate
damages would exceed the jurisdictional amount
The official Assembly Judiciary Committee analysis of SB 71 says that it is supposed to
“provide an accessible forum for resolving minor civil disputes.” But as Megan Varvais,
speaking on behalf of Public Justice, points out, “for most Californians, $35,000 is not a minor
amount of money. California consumers need and deserve the full protection of the law.”
According to J.D. Power, complaints about new motor vehicles have risen sharply, with
more consumers complaining about problems due to faulty electronics and errors in software.
Spanish-language information about SB71 and steps consumers can take to help
make the case for a veto, provided by a prominent lemon law firm that represents many
lemon owners.
_____________________
1 “The Unequal Burden of Debt Claims: Disparate Impact in California Debt Collection
Cases,” by by Claire Johnson Raba, Debt Collection Lab, July 30, 2023, page 1. Posted at:
https://debtcollectionlab.org/research/unequal-burden-of-debt-claims.
"California Advocates call for crackdown on sales of defective cars"
Public News Service
By Suzanne Potter
September 14, 2023
"Car dealers regularly advertise cars with unrepaired safety recall defects in California, even though it is illegal for dealers to sell or even offer for sale vehicles that do not comply with one of the hundreds of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
For example, a recent check of CarMax.com revealed a 2020 Lincoln Aviator for sale; a car under recall for intermittent failures of the backup camera which has no permanent fix.
Janette Fennell, president of the nonprofit advocacy group KidsandCars.org, is calling on the Department of Motor Vehicles, which licenses car dealers, to crack down.
'They can issue fines. They can suspend or revoke licenses. They could refer the cases to law enforcement agencies,' Fennell outlined. 'But the DMV has failed to exercise that authority. By allowing those blatant violations, they've endangered lives.'
The rule on backup cameras came about after drivers unwittingly backed up and hit children....
Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, urged people to enter the vehicle identification number into the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration database before they buy, to see if the car is under recall.
'Check the VIN, even if the company said that the vehicle passed an inspection, it may have a lethal safety defect that has been killing people,' Shahan stressed. 'And always insist that they fix it before you buy it. But with some of these recalls, there is no fix available yet." "
Read full report: Public News Service:
California Advocates call for crackdown on sales of defective cars
"Consumer groups question bill to regulate car sales, repair"
Kiowa County Press
By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service
April 18, 2023
"Consumer groups are calling for changes to a proposed bill - needed to make sure drivers can continue to get free computer upgrades to repair serious car safety issues remotely. One of the provisions of California Assembly Bill 473 would forbid car manufacturers from competing with car dealers regarding sales or service.
Rosemary Shahan, president, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the measure could have unintended consequences.
'So it's a concern that it could be construed to mean that consumers could no longer get over-the-air repairs from the manufacturer. They'd have to take their car into the dealership,' she said.
Over-the-air fixes are software updates that can be done remotely by the manufacturer....
The bill [is] sponsored by the California New Car Dealers Association. The group's president, Brian Maas, said he is open to amendments to make it clear that over-the-air safety fixes are allowed....
Shahan noted that car dealers are sponsoring similar legislation in multiple states."
Read full report: Kiowa County Press:
"Consumer groups question bill to regulate car sales, repair"
"Is technology ready for self-driving cars? Some drivers have doubts"
KIYC-TV
April 13, 2023
By Walt Kane
Self-driving cars are using real roads as their testing grounds in many cases. Is it too soon?
Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Self-driving cars are on the roads in some cities, and Congress is considering making it easier for car companies to do that. But is the technology ready? It's a glimpse into a future that's almost here.
In cities across America, fully self-driving vehicles are being road tested in pilot programs....
Automotive advocate Rosemary Shahan worries the technology is getting rolled out too fast.
“They should have to pass basic driving tests in all kinds of weather conditions,” Shahan said. “The industry is basically wanting to use us all as their guinea pigs.”
Shahan points to the well-publicized problems with Tesla's self-driving software. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating more than 40 crashes involving Tesla’s that were on autopilot, including one in Connecticut. Telsa has repeatedly said its cars are not fully autonomous, and autopilot "is intended for use only with a fully attentive driver who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time."
View entire report: Bronx News 12:
Is technology ready for self-driving cars? Some drivers have doubts.
"California is a hot spot for catalytic converter theft.
Will new laws make a difference?"
San Francisco Chronicle
By Grace Gedye
October 15, 2022 /updated December 14, 2022
Seth Sawyers came out to his car one day, to find that his catalytic converter had been stolen.
Photo credit: Seth Sawyers via flickr, under the Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
"Catalytic converter theft has spiked across the country in recent years, from 1,298 reported thefts in 2018 to 52,206 in 2021, according to claims data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The bureau sampled member company claims data to identify catalytic converter theft trends, and a spokesperson wrote in a statement that the numbers don’t represent all thefts.....
Nationally, 37% of catalytic converter theft claims tracked by the bureau in 2021 were in the Golden State — a disproportionate share, even accounting for California’s large population. About
1,600 are stolen per month in California, per a 2021 presentation from the state’s Bureau of Automotive Repair. Hondas and Toyotas, particularly older Priuses, are most often targeted, according to claims data provided by the AAA Automobile Club of Southern California....
[Among the bills aimed at curbing catalytic converter thefts] is
SB986, which would require car dealers to etch a car’s unique VIN onto its catalytic converter if the converter is 'readily accessible.' It would also require a traceable method of payment for converters. [But SB 986] failed to pass a late August vote in the Assembly. That bill was sponsored by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and was aimed at making it easier for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute catalytic converter theft.
Car dealers, who would have been tasked with etching numbers onto converters, opposed the bill.
'It’s appalling that the manufacturers don’t just voluntarily put the VINs on the catalytic converters, because they know they’re a huge target,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a consumer advocacy nonprofit [that supported passage of SB 986]."
Read the full report: San Francisco Chronicle:
"California is a hot spot for catalytic converter theft"
"Consumer Groups Slam Settlement with CarMax"
Public News Service
Suzanne Potter, Producer
December 13, 2022
"Auto safety consumer groups are blasting a recent
settlement between 36 states and CarMax - which fined the company $1 million for claiming its cars are safe, when some of them are under manufacturer safety recalls and have not been repaired. California did not sign onto the agreement and has laws that allow consumers to sue in such cases.
Staff and supporters of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety protested at the CarMax location in Roseville in 2014, the same year that the lawsuit was filed (Mike Norris/CARS)
Rosemary Shahan is president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), based in Sacramento.
'It's going to make it easier for CarMax to get away with claiming their vehicles have passed a 125-point inspection without repairing deadly safety recall defects, as long as they don't use the word "safe" or "repaired for safety," ' Shahan said....
She added many of the defects are no small matter.
'They're being recalled for safety defects,' she said, 'such as the wheels fall off, they catch on fire, the steering wheel falls off in your lap, the hood flies up in traffic. Or it has Takata airbags, which have been killing people here in California and all over the country.'
CarMax reported
revenues of $33 billion in the fiscal year that ended August 31st."
Read more:
Public News Service:
Consumer Groups Slam Settlement with CarMax
"California is a hotspot for catalytic converter theft.
Will new laws make a difference?"
Cal Matters
by Grace Gedye
October 13, 2022
"A disproportionate share of catalytic converter thefts happen in California. Here’s what lawmakers are trying to do about it, and why one law-enforcement backed approach didn’t make it out of Sacramento....
Catalytic converter theft has spiked across the country in recent years, from 1,298 reported thefts in 2018 to 52,206 in 2021, according to claims data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The bureau sampled member company claims data to identify catalytic converter theft trends, and a spokesperson wrote in a statement that the numbers don’t represent all thefts.
California hasn’t been immune.
Nationally, 37% of catalytic converter theft claims tracked by the bureau in 2021 were in the Golden State — a disproportionate share, even accounting for California’s large population....
In April, staff at Yolo Food Bank in Woodland realized a catalytic converter had been stolen from a Prius they use to make small deliveries. Staff used their own cars to drop off food while the Prius was out of commission, said Maria Segoviano, director of marketing communications at the food bank.
The organization paid about $400 for a shield to protect the converter and began parking the car inside its warehouse. And, because this wasn’t the first time they’d had someone break through a wire fence to get to their parking lot, they decided to invest in an heavy-duty, 8-foot fence.
It set them back $69,200 — which translates to about 81,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables, Segoviano said....
• SB 986 would require car dealers to etch a car’s unique VIN number onto its catalytic converter if the converter is “readily accessible.” It would also require a traceable method of payment for converters.
...[SB 986] failed to pass a late August vote in the Assembly. That bill was sponsored by the Los Angeles district attorney’s office [and supported by CARS] and was aimed at making it easier for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute catalytic converter theft. Car dealers, who would have been tasked with etching numbers onto converters, opposed the bill.
The bill’s author, democratic state Senator Tom Umberg from Garden Grove, said he was 'honestly shocked,' in a statement after the bill’s failure.
'I’m not surprised that the auto dealers and car manufacturers would be reluctant to take on this task to support their customers — we engaged in multiple conversations with them in the last seven months. Frankly, I’m more surprised that the majority of the California State Assembly chose the concerns of the car dealers over the cries of help from their constituents.' "
'I kind of think it's appalling that the manufacturers don't just voluntarily put the VINs on the catalytic converters because they know they're a huge target,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a consumer advocacy non-profit.
Read more: Cal Matters:
California is a hotspot for catalytic converter theft. Will new laws make a difference?
Lea este artículo en español.
"Electric Vehicles Jump in Popularity; Prices Jump Too"
Public News Service
By Suzanne Potter
October 21, 2022
"Electric vehicles now make up almost 18% of the car-buying market in California. That's up 42% from 2021, according to the latest data from the
California Energy Commission.
Right now, low-income buyers can get up to $9,500 in
grants and rebates. But Rosemary Shahan, president of
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said these rebates become meaningless when dealer markups are out of control.
'Some of them are charging $50,000, $60,000 or even more, over the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the sticker price,' she said, 'and we're concerned that whatever rebates people get can just be swallowed by the dealers.'
....
Proposition 30 on California's November ballot would raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for more rebates on zero-emission vehicles, build more EV charging stations and fund wildfire prevention. But Shahan said more rebates could motivate dealers to raise their prices even more, unless the California Air Resources Board moves to cap prices.
'If they want taxpayers to help fund those transactions, and assist low- and moderate-income consumers into getting into cars, to make them more affordable,' she said, 'they have to [actually] be more affordable'."
Read more: Public News Service:
"Electric Vehicles Jump in Popularity; Prices Jump Too"
"Consumer Group Presses for Better Protections
for Used Car Buyers"
Public News Service
July 11, 2022
by Suzanne Potter
"Consumer advocates are out to stop cars with unrepaired recall defects from winding up with new owners.
Federal law bans car dealers from selling unrepaired new cars and rental agencies from selling or renting them. Now consumer activists want the feds to forbid car dealers to sell at retail used cars with unrepaired safety recall defects.
The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act would allow the feds to fine dealers that sell unrepaired recalled used cars, even if no one has suffered damages or been harmed.
Rosemary Shahan, president of the California based nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said these cars are ticking time bombs.
'In the case of the Takata airbags, they've killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more,' said Shahan. 'And as time goes on, and the vehicles get older, they're much more prone to having this problem.'
Shahan singled out CarMax, the largest retailer of used vehicles in the nation, because they sell cars with unrepaired recalled safety defects, once they pass a 125-point safety inspection....
Years ago, Shahan said, her group filed a complaint against CarMax with the Federal Trade Commission, but the FTC ruled they can keep advertising the cars as 'safe' as long as they make the disclosure.
'It's very deceptive, especially when they're advertising that the vehicles have passed an inspection,' said Shahan. 'How could it possibly pass inspection, when it has unrepaired safety recall defects?'
Shahan encouraged all prospective car buyers to check
the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration website to find out whether the car is under recall, and if so, walk away."
Listen to / read full report: Public News Service:
"Consumer Group Presses for Better Protections for Used Car Buyers"
"Used-car certifications often not meaningful"
"Dealers promise rigorously inspected rides and peace-of-mind warranties, but we found some consumers get rebuilt wrecks and even a former crash-test vehicle."
Consumers Checkbook
By Anthony Giorgianni
May, 2022
"Most used-car shoppers find the process a stressful ordeal filled with possible perils. They worry they'll end up with an unreliable vehicle, and they don't feel comfortable dealing with car salespeople:
A 2022 Gallup poll found them to be the second-most-hated profession in the U.S.; only lobbyists fared worse. Worst of all, supply-chain problems for new-car factories have created a surge in demand for used ones - during the first quarter of 2022, average prices for secondhand rides were up 35 percent compared to the previous 12 months. Competition is so stiff that many used cars are purchased sight unseen by desperate buyers.
To reassure used-car buyers worried about getting stuck with a lemon, manufacturers in the 1990s began offering "certified" used cars. They're marketed as the crème de la crème of the secondhand auto world and even come with manufacturer-backed warranties.
But our research uncovered that certified labels don't guarantee vehicles won't have serious hidden mechanical or structural problems. We were astonished by some of the flaws we discovered, many that should have been noticed during promised inspections. We also found certified cars that were totaled wrecks that were rebuilt and resold, and even an SUV previously owned by the government and used in crash tests."
....
Buying a manufacturer-certified car may not be worth the extra cost. While these programs are generally well-conceived, their warranties are often lacking, and their dealers too often certify cars with serious problems....
'The term "certified" gets bandied about all the time—certified mechanics, certified cars. They self-certify to their own standards, and it's really just a way to make you feel you are getting a superior product when you're not,' said Rosemary Shahan, founder and president of the
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS)....
Another common complaint was the sale of certified used cars with unresolved safety recalls.
In a previous investigation, we found that used cars are commonly sold without first addressing known, life-threatening defects.
In 2020, Los Angeles-based consumer attorney Denise Foley settled a lawsuit that accused a Mercedes dealer of selling a used 2015 C250 sedan with an undisclosed recall involving a dangerous passenger-side airbag. The recall notice warned that the airbag could unleash metal fragments during deployment, injuring or killing vehicle occupants.
During the sale, the lawsuit said, the dealer showed the customer a two-month-old car history report that predated the recall and thus failed to show it.
The lawsuit alleged that when the customer returned after learning about the recall, the dealer acknowledged knowing about it at the time of sale but said that a replacement airbag wasn't available. Even worse, the dealer told her she'd still likely have to wait months for a repair, assuring her that the $29,000 car was safe to drive in the meantime.
The consumer, who asked not to be identified, said she and her husband continued to use the car, but only sparingly. 'That caused us tremendous anxiety, and we didn't let anybody sit in the front passenger seat,' she said.
As part of the settlement, the buyers received an undisclosed sum and returned the car."
Read the full report: Consumers Checkbook, May, 2022:
"Used-car certifications often not meaningful"
New report shows which carmakers are sued the most using California's auto Lemon Law
KPBS Public Broadcasting Service, San Diego
May 24, 2022
by John Carroll
"In California, cars — and trucks — are king, with tens of millions out on the road. And in San Diego, many residents have to own one to be able to live and work.
But what happens when you buy a new car or truck, and it turns out to be a 'lemon?'
Today, three nonprofit public interest research groups published a report showing which auto manufacturers were sued most often under the law from 2018 to 2021. Topping the list is General Motors with one lawsuit for every 78 cars sold in the state. Toyota was sued the least with one suit for every 2,029 cars sold here....
'The auto manufacturers constantly are attacking California's Lemon Law,' Rosemary Shahan said during a webinar held on Tuesday to announce the findings of the report.
After buying a car that turned out to be a lemon back in 1982, Shahan successfully pressured lawmakers to put more teeth into California's Lemon Law. She said the automakers that are sued the most under the law are the ones who try on a regular basis to get it repealed. But Shahan added that lemon lawsuits are filed on less than 1% of the vehicles sold in California.
'When you hear from auto manufacturers that there's too much lemon litigation, it should be taken with an enormous, enormous grain of salt,' she said.
Watch report: KPBS News:
"New report shows which car companies are sued most using California's Lemon Law"
"Active recalls on hundreds of thousands of Tennessee vehicles"
"News4 Investigates shows you what you need to do before buying
your next car"
WVLT (NBC) Nashville, TN
March 21, 2022
Reporting by Lindsay Bramson
"NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Tens of millions of vehicles are recalled and taken off the roads every year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
News4 Investigates found car dealerships in Tennessee can sell many vehicles with active recalls, and they don't have to tell you.
Jason Turnage bought a Dodge Ram from a Chrysler dealer, that had an unrepaired safety recall defect that could cause a crash.
News4 Investigates found out what you need to know before you buy your next car, and its advice Tim Rice wants others to take after his experience last year.
'It's a beautiful, beautiful car,' Rice, who bought his dream car in 2021, a black Mercedes Benz S 580 sedan, said. Rice couldn't wait to get his his hands on the car.
'Finding these cars is really, really difficult,' he said.
Just weeks after he brought it home, Rice received a letter in the mail alerting him to a safety recall related to the engine that could result in a crash.
'I have a wife and grandchildren. I don't want to be in a car I don't feel is safe,' Rice said....
'Tennessee is one of two states that has the worst auto safety laws in the country when it comes to vehicle safety recall defects,' Rosemary Shahan, President of the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), said.
Shahan said in Tennessee dealerships just have to put it somewhere in the documents that there is an unrepaired safety recall.
In most states the law requires dealerships to fix cars before they leave the lot.
Currently, just in Nashville, more than 600,000 vehicles have open recalls on them, according to Carfax.
Here's what you need to do so you don't end up with a car with an active recall.
Every car has a VIN on the inside of the car door. Even if you're looking at cars online, you can take that VIN and go to the NHTSA website and find out for free if it has any recalls.
'Insist that, whether you're buying from a dealer on a private party that they get that safety recall fixed before you put your family in that car,' Shahan said."
Watch news report: WVLT-TV Nashville:
"Active recalls on hundreds of thousands of Tennessee vehicles"
"GM's used-car megastore is poised to get a leg up on
the competition. Here's how"
Detroit Free Press
By Jamie L. LaReau
March 16, 2022
"General Motors is set to raise the bar in the world of used-car sales when it launches its CarBravo site this spring.
GM spokesman Sabin Blake told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday that the automaker will require its dealers to check for open recalls on a used car listed on CarBravo, not once but twice. If there is an open recall, the dealer cannot sell the vehicle until it is repaired.
'It is an unwavering CarBravo requirement for dealers to check recall status at least twice to make sure customers do not get into vehicles with open recalls,' said Blake.
To buyers, that might sound like a no-brainer, but there is no federal law prohibiting dealers or private parties from selling a used vehicle with an open recall on it...
Other giant used-car platforms such as CarMax and Carvana sell used cars with open recalls, but say they do disclose such recalls to potential buyers.
'It is unique and it's about time,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. 'It's great that it's GM because they're huge and they can really set the standard and I hope they really tout this and let people know that they're screening out these unsafe cars and their competition isn't. I hope it gives them a competitive advantage.'
Upcoming rollout
GM introduced
CarBravo in January. The website will list all the used-car inventory across GM's participating dealerships as well as used cars owned by GM and its finance arm, GM Financial. CarBravo will include used vehicles of any brand too.
GM will be enrolling its 3,800 U.S. dealers in CarBravo over the next couple of months before launching the site in a regional rollout late in the second quarter.
Blake said CarBravo will require dealers to check a vehicle's recall status prior to listing the vehicle on the site. The CarBravo program will accept only vehicles without an open recall.
But, said Blake, it is possible a new recall could be issued between the time CarBravo lists a vehicle and the time a customer looks to buy it.
'To guard against that, GM dealers are required to again check for open recalls — and repair them if one turns up — before delivery to the customer,' Blake said."
....
'There is no federal law that prohibits dealers, who are not rental companies, from selling unrepaired used cars,' Shahan said. 'We're hoping to close that loophole.' "
Read More: Detroit Free Press, by Jamie LaReau:
"GM's used-car megastore is poised to get a leg up on the competition. Here's how"
Why auto lenders suddenly face more legal risk
American Banker
by Polo Rocha
February 9, 2022
A recent action by the Federal Trade Commission may prompt more lawsuits against banks - and bigger payouts to plaintiffs - in situations where consumers have been defrauded by auto dealers.
"The FTC's move involves an obscure consumer protection rule from the 1970s, but its effects are likely to be substantial. It could result in lenders being on the hook more often for defrauded borrowers' legal costs, particularly in cases where the car dealership has shut down and customers have nowhere else to turn for a refund....
Consumer advocates hope the FTC's opinion and the California Supreme Court case will push auto lenders to vet the dealers they work with more closely.
Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said lenders should be ensuring that used-car dealers are not selling vehicles that are listed as totaled in a federal database.
'If they see a pattern there of dealers selling these totaled vehicles, that's a red flag,' Shahan said."
Read More: American Banker:
Why auto lenders suddenly face more legal risk
"Battle Shaping Up over CA Lemon Law"
Public News Service
January 24, 2022
by Suzanne Potter, Producer
"Consumer advocates are speaking out against a proposed ballot initiative that would reform California's so-called '
Lemon Law.'
Current law allows people who have been defrauded or sold a defective product to sue for damages plus attorney's fees.
The ballot initiative would limit the plaintiff's attorneys to 20% of the amount recovered.
Longtime activist Rosemary Shahan is the founder and president Sacramento-based
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. She said that change would hobble the victims but says nothing about the amount big companies can spend to defend the suits.
'It would make it practically impossible for consumers to get an attorney and fight back in court when they've been victimized by a really unsafe product or fraud,' said Shahan.
Read more: Public News Service:
Battle Shaping Up over California Lemon Law
