The Center for Auto Safety along with five other consumer and safety groups have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its recent decision to permit dealerships to advertise a vehicle as Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) despite having open recalls. The FTC reached an agreement last year with General Motors and two other dealerships, allowing them to advertise automobiles as “certified pre-owned” even though they might have an issue related to a safety recall that still needs to be fixed. The agency did require the companies to disclose any uncompleted safety recalls to the buyer.

The groups suing the FTC say that dealerships could previously sell vehicles with dangerous, unaddressed safety recalls, but allowing them to designate them as CPO will permit unscrupulous auto dealers to engage in false and deceptive advertising about the safety of the vehicles they are selling.

In response to the NHTSA pushing congress to change rules that will force car rental companies and used car dealerships to fix recalls, California car dealers have come up with their own version of a fix they say will protect consumers. The organization is proposing a state bill that would require 100% disclosure of recalls for used car sales. Dealerships would be obligated to tell you about all defects and where you can go to get it fixed, same line dealerships would have to make repairs before they could sell a recalled car, and serious recalls, as defined by manufacturers, would have to be fixed no matter which type of dealership is selling it. Continue reading

Once again, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and elected officials are pushing congress to pass laws that require car rental companies and used car dealerships to fix recalls before vehicles can be rented or sold. Under current federal law, rental companies and used car dealers are not required to fix a defect, or even tell you that there is a problem, before you drive a vehicle off their lot. This lack of regulation puts drivers at risk and has lead to fatal crashes. Continue reading

A Fresno, California man says he may have died after buying a used 2009 Dodge RAM with an open recall on it. The vehicle had undergone a 125 point inspection, but after owning it for approximately four months, the drive shaft separated from the rear axle while he was driving on Highway 41. According to the general sales manager of the dealership, the missed recall was a case of human error, but an Action News investigation shows that the problem is wide spread with dealerships across the Valley. Continue reading

According to a report in the New York Times, the city hopes to implement legislation that will address the problem of vehicles being sold with unfixed recalls on them. Federal legislation to address the problem has been stalled in Congress for years as dealers say it would cost companies and consumers unnecessary time and expense to implement the guidelines. Continue reading

According to recent reports from the New York Times, a group of eleven consumer and safety organizations are petitioning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate used car dealership, CarMax, for deceptive advertising practices. The group claims that the dealership is advertising their pre-owned vehicles as passing a rigorous 125 point quality inspection, but the inspection fails to carry out the basic step of checking to see if there are any unfixed safety recalls affecting the vehicle. Continue reading

Santa Barbara Senator, Hannah-Beth Jackson is proposing a bill that will prohibit automobile dealers from selling, leasing, renting, or loaning used cars that are under recall until the problem can be repaired. Federal law already prohibits new cars from being sold when they have known recall defects, but Jackson’s bill would extend the ban to prevent unsafe automobiles from getting into the hands of unaware used car buyers. According to a poll carried out by Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), a key supporter of the bill, almost 90% of Californian voters support the legislation. Continue reading