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Wall Street Reform Gives Auto Dealers Special Exemption

All Republicans and many Democrats in Congress side with auto dealers -- against car buyers, consumer groups, civil rights organizations, community banks, credit unions, President Obama, the White House, U.S. Treasury, the Pentagon, and groups that represent more than 5.5 million active duty troops, veterans, and their families.

The new Wall Street reform bill "inexplicably exempts loans provided
by auto dealers from the bureau’s oversight. This is as benighted
as exempting loans underwritten by mortgage brokers."

-- Pulitzer-Prize winning financial columnist Gretchen Morgenson,
New York Times, June 25, 2010

Read more: New York Times report

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 hands Cpl. Woods the keys to 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

Wall Street Reform

Dept. of Defense Seeks New Cop on the Beat to Protect Troops from Unscrupulous Auto Dealers.
Will Congress Protect Troops, or Sleazy Auto Dealers?

~ Photo by Neil Michel, Axiom Photo Design, 2006.

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.

Obama Administration, leading newspapers speak out for stronger consumer protections from auto dealers.

President Obama and his administration urged Congress to close the auto dealer loophole. Highly respected news organizations spoke out strongly in support of protecting consumers from unscrupulous auto dealers and their predatory lending practices.
Read more about why auto dealers should be regulated by the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Welcome to C.A.R.S.

C.A.R.S. Mission

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