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Archive June 2018

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Can You Sell a Vehicle to Somebody Under 18?

In Texas, there is no age restriction in place for individuals wanting to be recorded on the title and registration as the owner of a vehicle. However, many dealers and car insurance companies prefer not sell or insure a buyer who is still a minor (under 18 years of age) because of the legal ramifications it creates. This blog post examines some of those ramifications and what a dealer should know before he or she sells to a minor.  

 

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Busting Bankruptcy Myths

TIADA’s Compliance Consultation Service continues to receive calls regarding consumer bankruptcy filings and creditors’ rights in such situations. In this blog post, we review some myths about bankruptcy and creditors’ rights and give you the facts you need to know. 

 

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Can You Sell a Vehicle with an Open Safety Recall?

News headlines abound about auto manufacturers recalling thousands of vehicles each week. They affect so many different manufacturers and occur so frequently that it is almost certain independent dealers will eventually find vehicles in their inventory with open safety recalls. While there is no law that prohibits a dealer from selling a vehicle in this condition, that does not mean a dealer has no exposure in such a sale. In blog post, we discuss what steps dealers should take to protect themselves in this era of recalls.  

 

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Learn How to Spot Document Fraud

Fraud impacts every Texas auto dealer. Potential customers show up with everything from fake IDs to counterfeit pay stubs to fabricated utility bills and much more! Now that stealing a car using a key is close to impossible, thieves have turned to “stealing” vehicles on the front end through auto financing. 

At this year’s Annual Conference & 
Expo  we are bringing experts from the Houston Police Department’s Vehicle Fraud unit to demonstrate how to spot these fraudulent documents. Dealers will see confiscated fraudulent documents in this hands-on presentation and learn how to make sure the person is who they say they are. Below, Darren Schlosser of the Houston Police Department provides one example of the type of warning signs dealers should be looking for.

For more great tips like these be sure to REGISTER TODAY for the Conference and check out this presentation during the Outside the Box education session in the Expo Hall! 

 

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How Do You Compensate Your Staff?

Of all the business decisions that owners and GMs make, compensation for salespeople is among the most important – and most varied. This question frequently arises when dealers gather together and has been covered in previous articles in Texas Dealer as well as roundtable discussions at the Annual Conference. We recently asked several dealers about their basic compensation structures and shared their answers in this blog post. 

 

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Dealers Must Transfer the Title or Unwind the Deal

TIADA received several questions about last week’s video, most of which were about first payment defaults. When a customer fails to make the first (or second) payment, and the dealer repossesses the vehicle before applying for title and registration, does the dealer still have to transfer the vehicle? YES.

 

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