March 10, 2009

Department of Licensing reminds vehicle buyers to shop smart

OLYMPIA — As the economy continues to slump and consumers look for ways to stretch their dollars, the state Department of Licensing is reminding people shopping for a used vehicle to be careful.

“A vehicle is a major purchase and we would like every transaction to go smoothly and be fair for both the buyer and the seller. Unfortunately, things can go wrong,” DOL Director Liz Luce said.

DOL recently produced a brief video called “Curbstoning” aimed at educating consumers from Washington and beyond about the pitfalls associated with unlicensed vehicle dealers. It is posted on the agency’s new YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/WALicensing.

A curbstoner is an unlicensed vehicle dealer who buys and sells vehicles for profit. They typically exceed our state’s limit of five personal vehicle transactions in a one-year period and sell cars that are not registered in their own name. They do not comply with state or federal laws, and consumers have few legal protections when dealing with them, provided the seller can even be found after the transaction.

Curbstoners can usually be identified during a transaction from these warning signs:

• The seller parks the vehicle for sale along the street or in a vacant lot and insists on conducting transaction in a public place.
• The seller will only accept cash as payment.
• The seller is unwilling to show identification.
• The seller’s name is not on the vehicle’s title.

Consumers who purchase a vehicle from a curbstoner often:

• Have trouble transferring the vehicle title into their name.
• Buy a vehicle with an odometer that has been rolled back to decrease the mileage.
• Unknowingly buy a vehicle that has been wrecked and rebuilt.
• Unknowingly buy a vehicle reported as stolen.

Whenever you buy a used vehicle, DOL recommends:

• Having the vehicle inspected by a mechanic you trust.
• Checking the history of the vehicle through an online vehicle history provider.
• If purchasing from a dealer, check the dealer license status and recent disciplinary action pages on the DOL website at www.dol.wa.gov.

In 2008, the Department’s Dealer and Manufacturer Services Section opened 1,006 cases related to vehicle transactions, most of which started with a consumer complaint. This is a 20 percent increase over the 836 cases opened in 2007. The department also recovered approximately $1.1 million for consumers who were harmed by unlicensed dealers or through other illegal transactions.

Consumers can report a curbstoner or file a complaint against a licensed vehicle dealer using the dealer complaint form on the DOL website.

DOL licenses 6,500 vehicle manufacturers, dealers, wreckers, registered tow truck operators, hulk haulers, scrap processors and transporters. The agency also licenses snowmobile, ORV, motorcycle, mobile home, travel trailer and vessel dealers and conducts about 5,000 annual inspections of licensed locations.