The Sunset Review bill for the Colorado Motor Vehicle Dealer Board passed Thursday in the Business Affairs and Labor Committee with a unanimous vote.

The more “telling” vote was one on the make-up of the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board (MVDB), in which the committee voted seven to three (7 to 3) in our favor to maintain the current composition of the board. 

  CLICK HERE to read this article by CAR lobbyist Jeremy Cottrell. 
 

Federal guidelines regarding dealer responsibility pertaining to Monroney labels are strict and specific. This “refresher” update is provided to help keep you and your dealership staff knowledgeable and compliant with the letter and spirit of the law.

DEALER QUESTION: Is it unlawful for me—the dealer—to remove the Monroney label on a sold vehicle at the time of delivery? Or must the customer remove the respected Monroney label? I am worried about fines and jail time and was wondering about this. 

ANSWER: As business advice, CADA recommends that the dealer deliver the car to the consumer and have the consumer remove the label upon delivery (this is to be extra safe as opposed to the dealer removing the label for the consumer), as opposed to the dealer removing the label for the consumer. Federal laws and guidelines address this fairly directly:

• FTC Car Buyer's Guide states the sticker "may only be removed by the purchaser."
   

• Federal statute, 15 USC. Section 1233(c) states:

§ 1233. Violations and penalties

"Any person who willfully removes, alters, or renders illegible any label affixed to a new automobile pursuant to section 3 [15 USCS § 1232], or any endorsement thereon, prior to the time that such automobile is delivered to the actual custody and possession of the ultimate purchaser of such new automobile, except where the manufacturer re-labels the automobile in the event the same is rerouted, repurchased, or reacquired by the manufacturer of such automobile, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Such removal, alteration, or rendering illegible with respect to each automobile shall constitute a separate offense.

• In a criminal case involving several salespersons and other employees of a Mitsubishi dealership in Connecticut. The Dept. of Justice charged the individuals with preventing the customers from obtaining the Monroney label so the customer would not realize how much over the MSRP they were paying. In that case, the people who cleaned the cars prior to delivery were instructed to remove the labels from the vehicle. The first person sentenced was given leniency because of his extensive military service.
   

• Some consumer guides suggest that the consumer keep the label to prove that the car was delivered with certain features (e.g. traction control).

 For more information, CLICK HERE to read the attached file, Automobile Information Disclosure Act, from U.S. Department of Justice. 
 

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If you have additional questions on any legal or regulatory topics, please contact either Tammi McCoy or Tim Jackson:

• Tim Jackson, President, tim.jackson@cadaonline.org, 303.282.1448

• Tammi McCoy, VP, tammi.mccoy@cadaonline.org, 303.282.1449

Don’t miss this important compliance seminar!
 

CADA has arranged to bring to you an industry compliance expert to review several key “hot topic” areas of dealer compliance, including the following: 

• Safeguards and Privacy rules are coming under increasing enforcement activity and scrutiny.

  • Dealers must have a Safeguards Program Coordinator, conduct a risk assessment, implement written safeguards to control risks, oversee service providers, and re-evaluate periodically

  • Document shredding, definition of “non-public information,” consumer privacy notices, opt-out rights

• Fair Credit Reporting Act / Adverse Action notices – dealers may not be able to rely on financial institution notices alone; recent court decisions against dealers

  • Restrictions on credit reports, “permissible purposes”, OFAC checks, fraud alerts, ID theft

• Cash reporting rules – overview of responsibilities, IRS audits and selling vehicles to customers without Social Security numbers.

• Negative equity (over-allowance) disclosures and relevant court cases against dealers.

CLICK HERE to view the April 6, 2007, *Special Edition* of Open Road for full details on this seminar.

 

  CLICK HERE for a registration form you can return by mail or fax.
Select the respective link below to register online. 

 

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SECRETS TO CREATING A SUPER CONTROLLER
 

On March 29, the South Metro Denver Chamber Board of Directors honored Lloyd Chavez with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the South metro community.

A Littleton native, Chavez’s desire to work in the automobile industry started early and grew to become a family affair. His father worked for Nate Burt, the original owner of a small General Motors dealership in Englewood, which became Burt Chevrolet in 1939.
 

"My dad was a laborer—he was Nate Burt's gardener," Lloyd said.

When Lloyd graduated from the University of Denver, his dream was to work for General Motors. He was hired by GM, but the car company hadn't made the transition from manufacturing war machinery to domestic transportation, so they told Lloyd to stay in Colorado and work at Burt Chevrolet. GM eventually contacted Lloyd for a job, but he enjoyed working for Burt so much that he turned GM down.
 

At 78 years old, Lloyd said he just happens to be in the car business and is blessed with an entrepreneurial family that is helping to guide the auto industry.  The Burt Automotive Network, owned by the Chavez family, now includes 10 dealerships in the south metro area.

 "The Chavez family has a rich tradition of leadership, and have been active in the Englewood Chamber and our Chamber," John Brackney, South Metro Denver Chamber president said. "The commitment they have shown through the years is remarkable. Burt has sponsored Driver's Ed in both Englewood and Littleton since 1952. The company has been a leader in youth baseball and football for decades and has supported Craig Hospital for 30 years with cars and vans. Lloyd is a humble leader who has made an extraordinary impact on our community and we congratulate him on a lifetime of service."

LET US KNOW ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

Have you or anyone else at your dealership won an award recently? Has your dealership provided any outstanding community service? We want to recognize such accomplishments. Please send us a brief write-up of the award or event along with any other information to openroad@cadaonline.org.  Also include your contact information for further follow-up.