- Judge Orders Wrecked & Stolen Car Database Made Public
Sixteen years ago, Congress enacted a statute requiring the federal government to
implement the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), a single
database that would provide public access to vehicle-history information gathered from
states, insurance companies, and junk and salvage yards. Before purchasing a potentially
dangerous used car, a consumer using the database would be able to instantly check the
validity of the vehicle’s title, verify its mileage, and learn whether it had been stolen or
deemed a junk or salvage vehicle. Congress viewed the database as an important solution
to the problems of auto theft, auto fraud, and the dangers associated with unsafe and
unreliable vehicles, and set a deadline of January 31, 1997, for establishment of the system.
After a 16-year wait, in an emphatic victory for consumers, on September 22, 2008, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the Northern District of California ordered the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to make this information available to consumers by the end of January 2009.
Public Citizen, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, and Consumer Action brought the lawsuit against the DOJ saying that the agency’s unlawful delay in implementing the database was putting consumers at risk.
In a press release, Public Citizen said that when Congress passed a law in 1992 calling for the database, no one expected it to take this long to deliver such critical information to consumers. During that time, countless people have unwittingly purchased rebuilt or stolen vehicles.
- Digital Odometers Make it Easy to Cheat Car Buyers
High-tech digital odometers are making it easy to chat unsuspecting used car buyers according to a USA Today article. Unscrupulous sellers can obtain the software or services from the Internet to reset the odometers. Old style mechanical odometers could be reset, but it was fairly easy to detect that the tampering had taken place.
A NHTSA study six years ago estimated that tampered odometers could found on 450,000 cars a year costing consumers $1 billion annually. State and federal prosecutors continue to bring charges against car wholesalers and dealers for odometer fraud.
- Honda Trying to Halt Sales of Discounted Service Contracts
Savvy car buyers know that they may save money by buying an extended warranty (service contract) backed by a manufacturer from any authorized dealer. A NY Times article published August 2, 2008, on the subject of extended warranties features a Rhode Island Honda dealer, Saccucci Auto Group, that has made a business of selling discounted Honda Care service contracts over the Internet (www.myhondawarranty.com). According to Saccucci Auto Group, Honda formerly encouraged its dealers to sell the contracts over the Internet. However, in February 2008, Honda announced a new policy banning Internet sales to protect its dealers' profit margins.
Saccucci Auto Group sued Honda in a state court and a judge temporarily enjoined Honda from enforcing the new policy. Honda then removed the case to the federal district court. On August 25, 2008, the federal court began a hearing on the dealer's request for an injunction. According to Automotive News, the hearing is not completed. A complication for California consumers is that Saccucci is temporarily not selling contracts in California while it researches a California law that may restrict dealer operations to a fixed location. For the sake of competition and car buyers, let us hope Saccucci wins this one!
- BMW's Mini Sales Soar, but Quality Stumbles
Automotive News reports that BMW's Mini brand sales were up 52.8% in May 2008 from a year ago, but that J.D. Power reports that Mini owners reported 163 defects per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. That figure was only topped only by the Jeep brand with 167 defects in the first 90 days.
- Aged Tires Being Sold New Are Dangerous
An ABC news report reveals that aged tires--some as old as 12 years--are being sold as new at leading retailersl After about 6 years of sitting on the shelf, tires dry out and lose their elasticity. The tread will peel off these tires when put in use causing the car to swerve out of control and crash. These tire failures are killing people yet the Rubber Manufacturers' Association and their member tire manufacturers oppose a ban on the sale of tires more than 6 years old, which auto makers and others are recommending. The federal safety agency, NHTSA just this month issued a vague general guideline to "err on the side of caution if you suspect your tires are over six years old."
The tire's date of manufacture is stated on the tire, but in a code consumers cannot readily decipher. The 3 or 4 digit code, which is at the end of a long string of characters,represents the week of the year it was manufactured and the year. For example, 414, means the tire was manufactured the 41st week of 2004. 4202 means the tire was manufactured the 42d week of 2002. Until recently, the code was on the inside of the tire where no one can see it when the tire is on the car!
ABC investigators, some from Channel 7 in San Francisco, shopped tire retailers such as Sears and found tires 4 years, 6 years, and even older available for sale. What is needed is a ban on the sale of tires old tires.
- Car Dealer Fee Bill Dies in the California Legislature
California law allows cars dealers to add a so-called document fee of $55 to each auto purchase contract. There is no good reason the law should allow dealers to add this fee because document preparation is just part of the cost of doing business. Not satisfied with the $55 fee, this year, the car dealers sponsored a bill in the California Legislature to raise the fees to $65, which we estimate would cost California car buyers an additional $40 million per year.
The Assembly passed the bill, but this week the author of the bill withdrew the bill in the face of opposition from key senators, including Senator Ellen Corbett, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Opposition to the bill was led by Rosemary Shahan, who is head of the consumer advocacy group, Cars for Auto Reliability & Safety. Consumers have Rosemary to thank for saving them $40 million!
- Checkbook Rates Bay Area Auto Repair Shops
Bay Area Checkbook has published a survey of 495 auto repair shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. It found plenty of good and bad shops--195 shops were rated superior for overall performance by 90% or more of their customers while 54 shops were rated inferior, the lowest rating, by at least 1/4 of their customers. The leading complaint was work not performed properly (39% of complaints) followed by poor customer service, high costs, performed unnecessary work, and slow turnaround.
Checkbook subscriptions are only $34 per year. Checkbook is a non-profit well worth our support. Checkbook uses survey techniques to rate vendors and service providers of many descriptions.
- No Lemon, But this Car Has No Reverse
Nissan has a new concept car with no reverse. Plus, it is electric. Check it out.http://http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/05/23/nzekwu.uk.rotating.car.itn
- RV Makers in Tight Squeeze
RV manufacturers are experiencing drastic declines in sales and revenue. Buyers are scarce due to high gasoline prices and a poor housing market. RV manufacturer National RV went out of business in November 2007. Just in the last two months, Alfa Leisure, Western RV (Alpine), and Travel Supreme closed down.
On May 13, 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fleetwood Enterprises, which has posted five years of losses, recently sold its Riverside, California, headquarters and is looking for buyers for other properties. Fleetwood's motor home shipments were down 27% from a year ago. Coachmen Industries' sales have declined 40% over the past three years.
Anyone owning a lemon RV manufactured by a defunct manufacturer is typically out of luck in terms of seeking damages.
- Smart ForTwo Car Has Safety and Mechanical Issues
The Smart ForTwo car is now being sold in by M
