Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY Michael P. DiFeo Earlier this year, Bill S1031 was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature. The bill would require licensed dealerships to report their documentary preparation fees (Doc Fees) to the Attorney General’s office. Subsequently, the fees would be posted on the websites maintained by the Department of Law & Public Safety and the Division of Consumer Affairs. As you know, Doc Fees are professional service fees charged by dealers to complete dozens of administrative tasks required by regulators and finance sources to process a new or used car deal. As you can see by the accompanying list of services on page 8, dealers save consumers valuable time and aggravation of getting on the phone, online or physically standing in line to complete the necessary tasks. While the State of New Jersey does not regulate the amount of Doc Fees, and this bill does not propose regulating the Doc Fees Under Scrutiny in Trenton CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE continued on page 8 amounts either, their disclosure is already regulated in two ways. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-26BN.2(b) requires dealers to clearly disclose all pre-delivery service fees (including Doc Fees) on the Retail Order Form. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-26A.5 requires dealers to include their Doc Fee in any motor vehicle price advertising. These regulations ensure consumers know up-front what they will be paying (in detail) at the point of purchase. While S1031 may seem duplicative, NJ CAR didn’t oppose the legislation, preferring to show our elected officials that the industry supports transparency. At the same time S1031 was pending in the Senate Transportation Committee, NJ CAR began to hear whispers of possible legislation to impose a cap on Doc Fees. The Coalition has been aggressively making the case to elected officials that this is unnecessary. N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E 1 | 2 0 2 2 6 new jersey auto retailer
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