The auto marketplace is a complex place. Manufacturers, retailers, after-market product makers and sellers, financers, advertisers, and more: all combine to make the market work–and all are increasingly under the eye of federal, state and even local regulators. As well as private lawyers!
Sometimes my clients complain that there’s no way to predict what the regulators will focus on next. After 20 years in government–the last chunk of that working in the FTC’s “auto” regulation program, I’ve found that regulators “telegraph” their punches way before they throw them. You just have to know to watch for the “tells.”
This section aims to show you what the hot buttons are in the regulatory world–and suggest ways that you might address them.
ARTICLES
Auto: Fixed Pricing in F&I? A Turkey of An Idea
THE AUTO MARKET Should car dealers be required to set fixed prices to end discriminatory pricing?
CAUTION FLAGS ON “CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED”
THE AUTO MARKET This was a distressing end of the year for sellers of “certified pre-owned” (CPO) vehicles. Both a federal Court of Appeals and the Federal Trade Commission slammed CPO “inspections.” Worse: the language of the opinions indicates that CPO is now in the cross-hairs of the regulators’ interest.
A DEALER’S NIGHTMARE
THE AUTO MARKET Every embezzlement, every fraud, every theft has one key ingredient that makes it possible. What the key weakness is will surprise you.