Dealers know better than anyone that consumers increasingly rely on information found online, whether true or not. Bad online reviews hurt. So what can you do about bad reviews you think are bogus? For many dealers, the campaign to overcome a bad review that a dealer thinks is based on misinformation begins when the review
FTC Advertising Offensive Continues
In January 2014, the Federal Trade Commission stepped up its recent, ongoing regulation of car dealer advertising and announced consent orders with nine dealers. Showing the agency’s nationwide reach, the dealers were in California, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, and Texas. The FTC also announced it filed an administrative complaint against a tenth dealership in
Third Party Lead Providers
Dealers have given necessary attention to Tesla’s attack on state franchising and licensing laws. That is not the only threat to their business model that dealers face. Under the radar, third party lead providers are building their businesses and developing capabilities that can be just as threatening to dealer independence and success. This article is
Fair Labor Standards Act Enforcement
In this federal election year, you will hear political rallying cries like “income inequality”, “income unfairness”, and “damage to the middle class”. President Obama has made these themes in his speeches to support his party’s efforts in the upcoming Congressional elections. He has also proposed legislative changes to requirements for overtime pay under the Fair
Government Short Cuts
IRS Guidance on Manufacturer Imaging Payments The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on tax treatment of factory payments for facility upgrade programs. The guidance considered three types of situations in which a franchisor pays the dealer for upgrades: (1) lump sum payments for a portion of construction costs; (2) payments made quarterly based on
Compensation for Grounded New Vehicles
Are you being compensated by your factory when you must ground new vehicles because of recalls? The National Highway Traffic Safety Act requires a manufacturer or distributor of a new motor vehicle not yet sold to a customer that has a safety defect either to repurchase the vehicle or to provide the part or equipment
Supplier Agreements – Indemnity Provisions
From time to time, we like to cover critical issues in supplier agreements to which a dealer should give attention. This month we will cover indemnity provisions. What is an indemnity provision? It is an agreement by the indemnitor (in most supplier contracts the dealer is the indemnitor) to defend and pay the settlement or
Physical Protection of Your Dealership Data
Whenever a factory repurchases a dealer’s franchise, it always wants a computer readable copy of the dealer’s customer information. Dealers often ask why, since the factory already has information on every customer who bought a new car. There apparently are reasons for this (the factory does not have used car buyer information, the information it
Manufacturer’s Audit Completed: Now What Do You Do?
Your dealership has just been though an audit by your franchisor. You and your team sat with the auditor, you received a recap of the findings, and the amount of the chargeback was presented to you. Now what do you do? Your primary decision is whether or not you will challenge the chargeback. Most manufacturers
Seal Your Information Leaks
There are a lot of marketers out there claiming that they perform magic. There is no end to those who claim to have a secret formula to get customers to flock to your showroom. Whether it is a program to attract customers who haven’t been in to see you for a while, or a plan