view newsletter online July, 15, 2024

Many members have recently voiced concerns for the upcoming legislative session, including:

As stated in the last newsletter, there is concern about the widespread cloning or theft of Dealer Plates. It’s not just in Montana but the cloning in Chicago to bypass tolls and Montana dealers getting charged. We should discuss what could be done to protect dealers from getting abused by this fraudulent scheme. If you have concerns, we would love to hear from you. Please call Chad Randash at 406-5705426 or Jimmy Brown at 406-698-7909.

The laws that protect the recycling companies. This is bad for finance companies as well as the consumer. Vehicles are being stolen and the law only require the junk or recycling center to have the person in front of them sign an affidavit stating that they are the rightful owner of the vehicle and there are no liens on the vehicle. I believe the recycling centers should at least verify through the TRP website if the title is not present to search if there is a lien on the vehicle. The Montana vehicle titles will show up through the MT-TRP, if a lien is still in effect.

It has been discussed in the past for independent dealers to attend a training session on titles and do’s and don’ts of being an independent dealer to receive their license.

Tilting issues independent dealers are experiencing from long wait times as well as each county having a different process for dealers to understand to get titles processed, and trying to get the process more streamlined.

In regards to titles, one of the biggest obstacles is the amount of people outside the state getting vehicles titles transferred due to the lack of sales tax. It has been discussed that there should be a mechanism in place, at what point or rather how many vehicles should or could be processed every year by an individual before a dealer’s license needs to be required? Companies that are planning on selling vehicles in different states or overseas are getting the titles transferred to an MT title and then shipping the vehicles to be sold outside the state of Montana. That is slowing down the process for ALL Montana Dealers doing business in the state to get their vehicles transferred in a timely manner.

One question I hear often is, “What does the Association do for me?” I’m sure you have asked that question yourself and I’m glad you asked. There are so many ways the Association is working behind the scenes to improve your opportunity to be successful that we could go through it for hours. As with any endeavor there is strength in numbers and with more numbers there is more strength and clout. We are having our Biannual Legislative session beginning in January. Our influence and efforts keep harmful legislation from going through with no resistance. We send Board Members to Helena on your behalf to lobby for laws that are beneficial and oppose laws that can hurt us. We scan the docket daily looking for items that may affect you.

We are involved in your and your employees' children’s education by giving scholarships to deserving students. We have donated to Project Hope in the Independent Auto Dealer’s Association’s name on your behalf. We have put ourselves in front of Bank Presidents and other influential parties to explain the difference between a used car lot with no consideration for the community and our members that are dedicated to improving the Independent Dealer’s community.

We also have hours upon hours of training you can access at any time and an annual convention where you can learn from industry experts. We send out monthly publications that include success tips you may want to try and legislative articles that keep you abreast of current and pending laws that will affect the car business on a national scale. There are 20 groups for retail and buy here pay here dealers and so much more.

The Internal Revenue Service would like to remind car dealers and sellers to be aware of evolving phishing and smishing scams that could impact day-to-day operations of the business.

In light of the recent ransomware attack aimed at car dealers, the IRS is warning individuals and businesses to remain vigilant against these attacks. Fraudsters and identity thieves attempt to trick the recipient into clicking a suspicious link, filling out personal and financial information or downloading a malware file onto their computer.

Scammers are relentless in their attempts to obtain sensitive financial and personal information, and impersonating the IRS remains a favorite tactic. The IRS urges car dealerships to be extra cautious about unsolicited messages and avoid clicking any links in an unsolicited email or text if they are uncertain.

Phish or smish: Don’t take the bait

The IRS continues to see a barrage of email and text scams targeting businesses and individual taxpayers. The IRS and the Security Summit partners continue to remind taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals to be alert for a wide variety of these scams and schemes. Businesses such as car dealerships should remain alert for targeted email and text scams aimed to disrupt their computer systems.

These businesses should be alert to fake communications posing as legitimate organizations. These messages arrive in the form of unsolicited texts or emails to lure unsuspecting victims to provide valuable information that can lead to identity theft or malicious malware installed on computer systems. There are two main types:

Phishing: An email sent by fraudsters claiming to come from a legitimate source. The email lures the victims into the scam with a variety of ruses such as enticing victims to provide sensitive information.

Smishing: A text or smartphone SMS message where scammers often use alarming language such as, "Your account has now been put on hold," or "Unusual Activity Report," with a bogus "Solutions" link to restore the recipient's account.

Never click on any unsolicited communication as it may surreptitiously load malware. It may also be a way for malicious hackers to load ransomware that keeps the legitimate user from accessing their system and files.

In some cases, phishing emails appear to come from a legitimate sender or organization that has had their email account credentials stolen. Setting up two-factor or multi-factor authentication with their email provider will reduce the risk of individuals having their email account compromised.

Posing as a trusted organization, friend or family member remains a common way to target individuals and businesses for various scams. Individuals and businesses should verify the identity of the sender by using another communication method, for instance, calling a number they independently know to be accurate, not the number provided in the email or text.

What to do

Never respond to phishing or smishing or click on the URL link.

Don't open any attachments. They can contain malicious code that may infect the computer or mobile phone.

Don't click on any links. If a taxpayer inadvertently clicked on links in a suspicious email or website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS’ identity protection page.

Send the full email headers or forward the email as-is to phishing@irs.gov. Don't forward screenshots or scanned images of emails because this removes valuable information.

Delete the original email.

By Ben Goodman
NIADA Senior 20 Group Moderator

Let’s start with some good news. As inventory levels continue to climb, market prices are coming down. 

2024 has been a more predictable year for us on the buying front, which has helped us stabilize our recon processes.           

Regarding recon, the first thing I’d like to do is remind everyone is to not overthink how you recon your inventory. Over the past few years, most dealers have had to adjust their buying strategy. Today, our sales lots have vehicles that are a few years older, have higher mileage or are a little more cosmetically challenged than we used to buy. 

It’s not a big leap to think these vehicles have a few more things that might be wrong that need to be addressed before selling them.  After all, selling a safe and reliable car is the whole reason we recondition in the first place. 

Where I see service departments running into issues is when we start trying to guess what “might” go wrong instead of just addressing things that are “actually” wrong. I’m sure we’ve all said or heard someone say, “Every one of this make and model has this go wrong at this time.”  While coming from a good place, this sentiment causes us to spend time and money on a repair that isn’t necessary today.  Frankly, it’s a repair that may never be necessary during the life of the contract. Going down this path is like falling into quicksand and before you know it, you’re rebuilding your cars instead of ensuring they’re safe and reliable. 

The next step is to have a consistent process in place that’s monitored and controlled. Separate your technicians into inspection teams and parts hanging teams. Your inspection team’s job is to diagnose your cars to make sure they meet your quality standard, cost expectation, and lift time allowance per repair order. Your parts hangers are your workhorses. They need to be efficient, fast, and accurate.

Think about your recon process as your assembly line. All the supporting personnel should be setting things up for your technicians so they can stay on task without interruption. There’s a 10-Step Recon Process that I teach when I consult that’s designed to keep things moving with minimal interruption.

Figure out what works for your team, put that plan in place, and hold each other accountable.