Enterprise rental car that killed Raechel and Jacquie Houck
~ Endanger customers' lives
~ Try to defeat law to prohibit renting vehicles under a safety recall
All the major rental car companies -- including Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar and Thrifty, have admitted to federal regulators that they keep renting vehicles to the public, even when they know they are so unsafe they are being recalled by the manufacturer due to safety defects.
In response to a formal Audit Query by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rental car companies said that after they get recall notices, they fix only 80 - 90% of the unsafe vehicles within 30-60 days, and meanwhile they continue to rent them out.
Obviously, 30-60 days is too long, and 80-90% is not enough. In one tragic case, two sisters, Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, ages 24 and 20, were killed by an unsafe Enterprise rental car about 30 days after Enterprise received the safety recall notice from the manufacturer. Meanwhile, Enterprise rented the defective vehicle to 3 other people. Any of them could have been killed. The car, a Chrysler PT Cruiser, was being recalled because it had a defect in a steering component that would cause an under-hood fire and also a loss of steering control. Raechel and Jacquie were riding in the car when the defect occurred. Witnesses saw the vehicle on fire. The sisters ended up colliding with an 18-wheeler, and the PT Cruiser exploded into flames. Their mother, Cally Houck, and brother, Greg Houck, have become ardent advocates for changing the law so other families will be spared the same horrific loss.
Eventually, after more than 5 years of denying it had any liability, and trying to blame the crash on the young women, Enterprise admitted it was 100% responsible for the deaths of Raechel and Jacquie -- about a week before the case was heard by a jury.
While Hertz now claims it has changed its practices and grounds the unsafe vehicles until they are fixed, they still continue to oppose legislation pending in Congress that would prohibit renting recalled cars until they're fixed. This raises the question -- if what they say is true, why are they opposing the bill?
Read more: http://carconsumers.org/new.htm
Senator Boxer champions rental car safety law
Senator Rockefeller agrees rental car safety belongs in large auto safety bill
Citing the tragic crash that killed Raechel and Jacqueline Houck in an unsafe Enterprise rental car, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke passionately about the need to prohibit rental car companies from renting unsafe, recalled vehicles to the public. Sen. Boxer quoted a former Enterprise manager, who said in a court deposition: “When demand called, we rented out recalled vehicles. If all you have on the lot are recalled vehicles, you rent them out ... It was a given. The whole company did it. Enterprise’s corporate offices looked the other way regarding this fact.“
Sen. Boxer made this statement as a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, which voted to move forward with legislation to re-authorize the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. She pledged to work to ensure that the final bill presented on the Senate floor addresses the problem of unsafe rental cars.
Cally Houck, mother of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, praised Sen. Boxer for her strong stand for improving rental car safety, noting that it was " very politically courageous."
The owner of Enterprise Rental Cars, Jack Taylor, is the richest car guy in the nation. For years, he has been listed among the top richest people in the nation, in the Forbes list of the richest people in the U.S.
Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_19548639
See video of Sen. Boxer, speaking at Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Dec. 14, 2011:
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Boxer (D-CA), Feinstein (D-CA), Gillebrand (D-CA), and Blumenthal (D-CT) to prohibit rental car companies from renting or selling unsafe, recalled vehicles to the public. The bill is S 1445, and it is named The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2011, in honor of Raechel and Jacqueline, who perished in the unsafe Enterprise rental car.
Read more: http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=333680&
California Passes First-in-Nation Protections for Car Buyers
"This bill unleashes the power of technology to provide first in the nation consumer protections, cut red tape, and help save the state millions," said [California Assemblymember Robert] Blumenfield. "Buying a car, especially a used one, requires some detective work to determine its safety and value. By requiring junk cars and death traps to be flagged with a warning sticker, consumers can see these vehicles for what they really are when shopping for a car."
The bill implements a first in the nation requirement that car dealers post a red [warning} sticker on the used cars they sell that are flagged in a federally mandated database – the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System – as "junk," "salvage," or "flood" branded vehicles.
CARS spearheaded the successful effort to include the warning sticker provisions in the bill. Law enforcement agencies and officials joined in supporting the measure, after the pro-consumer changes were made. California Governor Jerry Brown has signed the bill into law. It is scheduled to kick in, beginning on July 1, 2012. Meanwhile, consumers can check the NMVTIS database directly, by
clicking on: http://www.vehiclehistory.gov.
Rental car companies try to kill legislation to stop them from renting or
selling unsafe cars
Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, and other rental car companies have joined forces to try to kill legislation now pending in Sacramento to prohibit them from renting or selling vehicles so unsafe they are being recalled by the manufacturer, under a federally mandated safety recall. The bill simply says, instead of endangering their customers' lives, they should fix them first. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But not when rental car companies are raking in billions in rental car fees from unsuspecting consumers.....
Read more: Unsafe Rental Cars
CA bill to protect public from vehicle theft, dangerous wrecked cars
Want to know if the car you're thinking of buying was so severely damaged, the insurance company decided to "total" it instead of paying for repairs? Want to avoid getting stuck with a flood car whose electronic systems are rapidly corroding, making it totally unreliable? Then we have good news for you --
California legislators will soon decide whether to enact a historic first-in-the-nation bill that has attracted enthusiastic support from consumer groups and law enforcement officials across the North American continent, as well as the California Highway Patrol. If it becomes law, it will require every new and used car dealer in the state to check the federal database of vehicles, established by the U.S. Department of Justice -- the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System -- before they offer the vehicle for sale. And -- this is the best part -- if it shows up with a branded title -- like "flood," "junk," "salvage," "non-repairable," or "lemon law buyback" -- OR if it was reported as a total loss or salvage, the dealer must post a warning sticker on the car.
The North American Export Committee -- law enforcement officials from U.S., Canada and Mexico -- urges passage of AB 1215, to help curb auto theft, salvage fraud, and related crimes Read letter from the North American Export Committee (NAEC)
Military seeks improved protections from unscrupulous auto dealers
Cpl. William Woods served 2 tours in Iraq.
The U.S. Department of Defense, Secretary of the Army, and Secretary of the Air Force have
identified predatory auto dealer lending as a threat to military readiness and national security. They
were joined by Holly Petraeus, Head of the Better Business Bureau's Military Line, who helped raise
public awareness of the serious financial problems faced by Servicemembers and their families, due to
auto dealer scams.
For decades, the Federal Trade Commission has turned a deaf ear to pleas by military officials
and individual members of the Armed Forces for help. At a hearing before the House Subcommittee on
Consumer Protection, an FTC official even denied that auto lending is a problem for military personnel -
- despite overwhelming evidence of the problems documented in official studies, data calls, testimony,
memorandums, and news reports.
Read more: Letters from Military and news reports about sleazy auto dealers preying on Military Service members
Auto Dealers Tops in Consumer Complaints
Auto dealers are the least trusted businesses in the United States. Auto dealers are #1 most -
complained-about businesses in the nation. American women "despise" car buying more than any other
purchase.
Read more: Consumer complaints about auto dealers, sales top charts
~ Rosemary Shahan presents Cpl. Woods with his new car.
CARS works to improve protections for military Servicemembers and their families
The military has identified financing by unscrupulous auto dealers as the #1 financial readiness
problem encountered by troops and their families.
Report by KPIX-TV in San Francisco: Marine Veteran, after serving two terms in Iraq, is cheated by
shady auto dealer near Camp Pendelton.
See more: Watch the video report at cbs5.com
Lt. Nathan Kindig (U.S. Navy, shown in enlarged photo), Capt. Patton (U.S. Navy), Rosemary Shahan
(CARS President), Sergeant Major Wayne Bell (U.S. Marine Corps.), Ellen Turnage (Lt. Kindig's
attorney), and California State Senator Liz Figueroa, speak to reporters at Capitol press conference,
urging improved consumer protections for troops stationed in California from lemon vehicles, auto
frauds, and predatory lending practices. Lt. Kindig spoke via phone, live from his duty station in Iraq,
and described his ordeal over his lemon Chrysler truck.
CARS is a national, award-winning, non-profit auto safety and consumer advocacy organization working to save lives, prevent injuries,
and protect consumers from
auto-related fraud and abuse.
"CARS is one of the most consistently strong consumer groups... Consumers can thank
CARS for today's lemon laws, air bags and generally safer cars."
– Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director
Center for Auto Safety, Washington, DC
C.A.R.S. tips for car buyers
Want to avoid getting scammed when you buy a new or used car? Check out CARS video
Buyer Beware! Auto dealers' one-
sided contracts can ruin your life
Even if the dealer breaks the law, you might not be able to get justice. Forced
arbitration clauses hidden in the fine print can keep you tied up for years. The dealer even
gets to pick the arbitrator who hears your case. Here's what happened to a car buyer in San Diego:
Think this is outrageous? Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121, and urge them
to vote for the Arbitration Fairness Act. More about the AFA, now pending before Congress: http://www.fairarbitrationnow.org
