NJ CAR is working with members of both the New Jersey Senate and Assembly to move the Coalition-backed Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act (A4380/S3309) through the legislative process. The bill was successfully and unanimously approved by both the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee and awaits a vote by the full assembly. The Senate version of the bill awaits a hearing before the Senate Transportation Committee. Last June, NJ CAR launched a grassroots campaign, targeting the members of both committees and asking them to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill, which address serious public safety and consumer protection issues. Manufacturers have long done the bare minimum to notify consumers about safety defects, which has resulted in less than half of all vehicles under recall ever getting repaired. This is a serious highway safety risk, a financial windfall for OEMs, and a financial burden to consumers and dealers. The bill is intended to dramatically improve recall completion rates by requiring automakers to provide the NJMVC with a list of all registered vehicles with unresolved recalls more than six months old and to create a more robust notification system and outreach to the owners of affected vehicles. This legislation is also designed to prevent automakers from unfairly manipulating the compensation they pay local dealerships and the technicians who repair vehicles on behalf of affected consumers. The legislation amends the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act and addresses a variety of issues important to dealers and consumers. Some of the provisions that NJ CAR hopes will be included in the final legislation include the following: • Requiring automakers to compensate their franchisees for specified costs associated with a “stop sale” or “do not drive” order. • Defining the dealers’ recall costs more clearly and requiring OEMs to compensate dealers 1.5% per month of the book value of any used vehicle subject to a “stop sale” recall. • Clarifying provisions in existing law, which require an automaker to pay dealers a fair retail rate of reimbursement on parts and labor to repair vehicles under recall. • Protecting auto retailers from being subject to financial or other penalties levied by an automaker in the event they bring a claim for reimbursement of recall costs. • Prohibiting manufacturers from recovering their cost of compliance with state law and requiring retail reimbursement to dealers for parts and services provided for warranty and safety recalls. • Prohibiting manufacturers from arbitrarily and unilaterally reducing the retail price of parts required for warranty and safety recall services immediately preceding or during a recall campaign to avoid paying dealers fair compensation for warranty and safety recall work. • Providing NJ CAR with the statutory standing to sue its manufacturers to protect the interests of our dealer members. NJ CAR Continues Working to Strengthen Dealer Protections and Boost Consumer Recall Completion Rates 10 NEW JERSEY auto retailer
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