From your Executive Director: Headed for the Holidays!
by Amy Bennett, Executive Director, GIADA
Ready or not the holidays are coming! Enjoy spending time with your families and friends. Our state has gone
through some rough times and many dealers have felt the pain. It is so important to appreciate what you have!
Several GIADA board members and I went to Washington DC September 23rd -25th for the NIADA Policy Conference. This visit is so important to our Industry. We separated into groups and met with US Senators from
Georgia.
We discussed several issues with them but hit on 3 main issues…
Catalytic Converters
Catalytic converters are being stolen at increasingly higher rates due to their valuable metals, such as rhodium, platinum and palladium. Thieves can easily steal catalytic converters from unattended vehicles, and since catalytic converters are not readily traceable, there is a lucrative market for these stolen parts. These thefts are costing businesses and individual vehicle owners millions of dollars. Replacing a catalytic converter is costly and often difficult due to skyrocketing demand and supply chain shortages. Congress should pass H.R. 621/S. 154, the “Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act” (PART Act), which would assist law enforcement in combatting catalytic converter theft by marking catalytic converters and creating a more transparent market that deters its theft.
Consumer’s Right to Repair Their Vehicle
Consumers and their designees should have access to their motor vehicle data, critical repair information, tools to repair their vehicles, and not be limited in their choices for the maintenance, service, and repair of their vehicles. Congress should pass H.R. 906, the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act” (REPAIR Act), as it promotes consumer choice, consumer control and safety. Additionally, Congress should pass H.R. 1707, the “Save Money on Auto Repair Transportation Act (SMART Act), as it would permit alternative parts suppliers to sell aftermarket collision repair parts after a certain time period expires, reducing the consumer’s costs and expenses.
FTC’s Vehicle Shopping Rule
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently finalized Vehicle Shopping Rule (“VSR”) (also known as the FTC’s “CARS Rule”) would needlessly overwhelm car buyers and small businesses with added costs, more paperwork and a longer car buying process. The FTC finalized the rule amid ongoing congressional oversight into the agency’s vast regulatory overreach in proposing the rule, its lack of credible data-driven analysis, and other significant process flaws. All harms the rule is purportedly designed to address are already addressed under existing law. This unnecessary rule will make vehicle shopping worse, not better. Members of Congress should cosponsor the “FTC REDO Act” to stop the flawed VSR and ensure that if the FTC opts to redo its rule, it must follow basic regulatory safeguards to avoid negatively impacting consumers and small businesses.
Several of us also met with the CFPB. We are striving to protect consumers from bad dealers and help keep good dealers from bad policies!
When dealers ask me why GIADA membership is so important… This is why – 16 of your fellow dealers flew to
Washington DC; taking time away from their families and dealerships to represent your industry! We walked over
5 miles the day we went to the capital on your behalf. We were able to speak to many US Congress members,
who actually listen because at 3000 members strong, GIADA really stands out!
Keep your membership current and help us make a difference for you!
Enjoy your holidays and please be safe!
