Important video from President Ted Smith
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October 1 brings new requirements for all Florida dealers
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HB 7055 passed in the 2017 Legislative Session, and with it Floridians will be able to make contributions to the
Hope Scholarship Fund
which enables children who are facing any form of bullying to apply for a grant of up to $7,100 to attend a private, chartered school. These contributions to the Hope program will be funded by what happens
under your roof on every used and new car sale
beginning October 1.
Read More
.
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FADA busy preparing for the 2019 Legislative Session
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Hot topics being considered include sales incentives being mandated by OEM’s and their impact on your store(s), the impact of subscription programs and efforts to bypass dealers, and the possible effects of car sharing, ride sharing and autonomous vehicles. We continue to be concerned about the impact of automobile brokers in South Florida as well and the need to ensure that Tesla does not get any beneficial treatment in Florida.
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FADA member, car dealer Frank White makes historic bid for Attorney General
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In a few short months we could have an
FADA member
and
CAR DEALER
sitting in one of the four Cabinet seats and leading one of the most important agencies of state government.
Frank White
is asking for dealer support as this race is a close one on the Republican side of the aisle. We have two good candidates running in the Republican primary, but
Frank White
is an FADA member, and his presence in the Cabinet and his ability to sort through complicated dealer issues make him the preferred choice for most dealers I talk to. We are asking every dealer to consider supporting
Frank White
right now by donating online
HERE
.
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NADA takes its stand against tariffs
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If you are an NADA member you must have seen NADA’s recent posture against President Trump’s tariffs. Many OEMs are asking their dealers to jump in the fray. FADA’s Board has not met to consider a position because this emerged since our last Board meeting. Since some OEMs are potentially impacted more than others, some franchises will be more emphatic in their zeal to oppose. If parts are impacted then the impact broadens to all dealerships. There is really nothing that FADA can do to add to NADA's documented position. We have been advised that action is not likely until much later on as the Department of Commerce completes its investigation and the White House continues its negotiations with our major trading partners.
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50% of dealers are not providing proper used car Buyer’s Guides – penalties are high!
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The FTC is on the road in Florida looking at used car Buyers Guides and several stores have been cited. The federal
Used Car Rule
requires dealers to display on each used car offered for sale a window sticker, called a “
Buyers Guide
,” that includes warranty and other important information for consumers. The FTC recently revised the
Used Car Rule
and issued a revised
Buyers Guide
that dealers have been required to use since January 28, 2018.
Read More.
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Genesis License Still Not Approved
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Other OEMs should learn this important lesson. Florida’s Department of Highway Safety enforces the law when it comes to appointing a new manufacturer license! OEMs cannot introduce a vehicle and brand it under an existing line make and then just decide to pull it out, create a new franchise, terminate the existing dealerships, appoint new ones of their choosing and change the sales and service agreement, requiring a myriad of new, over-bearing rules. Hyundai did just that in Florida and their Genesis license is still not approved. FADA has been actively working this issue and we see it as very significant for all dealers.
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Florida Elections in November
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Did you realize that the Florida House and Senate have nothing to do with Washington, DC? Our Florida Legislators are citizen Legislators and leave their businesses and families to serve you each year in Tallahassee. There are 120 House members and 40 Senators. They make a whopping $28,000 a year in their job but an election can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars! So how can you help them? Make a contribution to their campaign
and
make a corporate contribution to CAR-PAC. We use CAR-PAC to help pro-business members return or help new pro-business candidates defeat someone we believe will not be open to dealer issues. Every FADA member can donate to
CAR-PAC online here.
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Incentives - You don’t like them, but you need them
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With gross profits on new vehicles almost a thing of the past, OEMs have devised new ways to get dealers to earn what once were their grosses through an extraordinary array of creative and multi-faceted incentive plans. Our four-city FADA tour and meetings with legislators revealed how you feel. FADA members feel violated by these programs and many are not just unreasonable they are complicated and lack fairness for all dealers in all markets.
While your tolerance for these programs is growing thin, the transparency of the market, presence of so many third party intermediaries and the growing trends by factories to back load your profits makes it difficult to come up with a solution. FADA will be looking at some new, creative ways to force our factory partners to construct more equitable and reasonable programs that do not harm our brands and the basic integrity of our franchise system.
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Thank you to our
2018
CAR-PAC All Stars
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Florida Automobile Dealers Association | 850.224.1466 | 400 N. Meridian Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 | FLADA.org
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