Driving Your Success
If Every Car Manufacturer Wants to be Apple, Why Don’t They Get the Point?
Just ask the executives of any car manufacturer what company they want to be like, and you’re likely to get a pretty consistent answer – Apple! They love the high-techniness. They love the great consumer buzz about the company. They love the sleek stores packed with customers. But if they’re so hot to be like Apple, why don’t they get the point?
Who is Filling In the Customer’s Credit Application?
In a recent story, Automotive News reported on an informal online survey of F&I managers in which 29% responded that salespeople or sales managers fill in credit applications for customers at their stores. They’re just trying to help the customers fill them out the right way. What could go wrong? Plenty. Read More.
Audits
Dealers: You must take audits very seriously. From reports around the country, franchisors have been increasing their audit activity. Read more.
Lease Termination
Dealers generally assume that a customer who leases a vehicle will have the right to buy it at the end for the residual value. That is not always the case. Read more.
Lincoln Dealers: Pay Up or Get Out?
There has been significant publicity recently about Ford Motor Company’s ultimatum to Lincoln dealers. According to reports, if they want to remain Lincoln dealers, they must invest an average of $1 million to upgrade facilities. Not to handle the cars that Lincoln now builds, mind you. But in the hope that Ford can introduce vehicles that compete with world-class luxury cars now on the market that are consistently being improved. Invest or take a hike is apparently the message. Read More.
IRS Updates Form 8300
The IRS has revised Form 8300 for reporting receipt of cash in excess of $10,000. The revisions do not appear to affect the two pages of the form that are filled in by a dealer. The changes appear to be limited to minor editorial revisions and revisions to the instructions concerning taxpayer identification numbers. Read more.
FAQ: Salesperson Pay
Dealers must be careful about violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. These actions can be filed either as individual actions or as group actions in federal court, and they can be lucrative for plaintiffs’ law firms. In fact, there are law firms springing up around the country that do nothing but FLSA work on behalf of employees. Here are three questions regularly asked with respect to salesperson pay. Read more.
Used Car Damage - Are You Checking
Many dealers assume that if they simply pull a vehicle history report and it shows no damage, that they are safe in assuming that the vehicle has no serious prior damage. This is simply not the case, however. Read more.
The Employee Handbook - No Longer an Option
A handbook should advise employees what is expected from them. It should establish the standards of conduct that the dealer expects. It is an excellent vehicle to describe the dealership’s philosophy and the expectations of the dealership that its employees shall work to satisfy customers 100% of the time, operating in a forthright, ethical, and honest manner. Read more.
Check Your Franchisor Accounts
When was the last time you checked your open account with your manufacturer? When was the last time you checked other accounts, such as a co-op advertising account? Read more.
Be Careful of Exotic Fees
Litigation over fees and excess charges in connection with vehicle sales have been a staple of plaintiff lawyers over the years. Dealerships should be aware of this and should be taking steps to be sure that they do not put themselves into the plaintiff lawyers’ range of vision. Read more.
