Ethics and compliance are different from each other, but both are vitally important to the long-term success of dealerships and automotive professionals. Often the terms “unethical” and “illegal” are used interchangeably. Ethics is personal - it means the process of discerning what the correct action is. Law is impersonal and requires no discernment, just compliance. Ethics…

Just over 4 years ago, I wrote an article about how much damage an irate customer can do in the digital age: Unhappy Car Buyer Gets 110,000 Views on YouTube.…

On March 19^th, 2014 two FTC attorneys, Mark Lassman and Carole Reynolds, participated in an NADA University sponsored webinar titled Comply with Federal Advertising Regulations. While much of the information is unchanged from what we’ve seen in the past few months, Mr. Lassman and Ms. Reynolds revealed some additional, and sometimes troubling, revelations…

Here we go again.

As if the CFPB/DOJ $98 million penalty against Ally Bank in December wasn’t enough, more regulators are starting off 2014 with a bang. On January 9^th, the FTC and the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs held a press conference announcing a nationwide enforcement action targeting deceptive auto dealer advertisements. The…

Despite NADA’s landmark victory in getting most auto dealers exempted from direct oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), it looks like the agency has found a back-door way to make life more difficult for dealerships. The Bureau recently announced that lenders that offer auto loans through dealerships will be held responsible for…

The National Do Not Call Rules (DNC) have been around for quite a while but I find that a surprising number of dealership employees think that the rules don’t apply to them. I often hear statements like “Hey, we’re not telemarketers, we’re just doing follow-up”. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. So I thought it was time for a refresher on the rules and some suggestions on…

Dealers are constantly looking for ways to get an edge in the digital age, yet many continue to follow the same sales and advertising practices that they’ve been using for decades.

The problem is that the game has changed and consumers have access to much more information and choices than ever…

There’s no doubt that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to maintain your online reputation, and it may be tempting to look for ways to ease the burden. One way is to hire a company that specializes in reputation management. There are plenty of companies out there that offer seemingly quick and easy ways to improve your online ratings. Unfortunately, some of these…

California recently joined New York in requiring that all sales commission pay plans be in writing. This may seem like common sense since many dealers realize that from a legal and practical standpoint, all commission agreements should be in writing whether it’s required or not.

Even if you already utilize written pay plans, the questions are how well are they…

Let’s face it – service customers can be really hard to please sometimes. Despite the best efforts of dedicated dealership fixed-ops professionals, auto repair-related issues are traditionally among the most commonly-cited consumer complaints. Although many of these grievances may be the result…

Since my post last week, Trust Me, I’m Your Vendor, I’m happy to say that some automotive marketing companies have reached out for advice on how to protect their dealer clients from advertising violations. This is a very positive step and I applaud…

The news broke this week about a Louisiana marketing company that has been permanently banned from automobile advertising and marketing in North Carolina. Since Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and Pennsylvania joined North Carolina in bringing the case, there will likely be repercussions for the vendor in other states as well.

On the surface, it looks like a…

In many dealerships, the thought of putting together a compliance program is similar to contemplating a diet and exercise regimen: you know it’s something you need to do or eventually it will catch up with you. Like getting in shape, keeping up with regulatory changes can seem like a daunting task – not to mention costly. Many compliance programs on the market are quite…

Failure to properly disclose a vehicle’s history is one of the most common legal claims against dealerships. Dealers are frequently held liable for misrepresenting or failing to disclose what they knew or reasonably should have known about vehicles in their inventory. Courts have long held auto dealers to a higher standard than their customers when it comes to…

After reading Mike Myers' excellent post AutoCon Summary and FREE Presentation Download, I thought DealerElite members would like to have access to as many of the AutoCon presentations as possible, so here's my contribution:…

If this doesn’t make you think about how your dealership does business, I don’t know what will.

News broke this week about a dealer and 9 of his employees that were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud as a result of deceptive advertising, fraudulent sales practices, and falsely reporting sales to the manufacturer. Besides the…

I recently visited 2 different dealerships where I noticed that all of their used vehicles, other than cars that were covered by manufacturer’s warranties, were being sold “As-Is”. One of the dealers, a high-line establishment, had a number of very expensive pre-owned vehicles being sold without any warranty, including a low-mileage Bentley selling for almost $120,000. Maybe…