A national seller of used vehicles, AutoNation Inc., will pay $650,000 to counties throughout California to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and other agencies, it was announced Wednesday.
AutoNation reached an agreement that was certified Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Along with Los Angeles County, district attorney’s offices in Riverside, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Ventura counties joined in the civil action that was filed last year.
“Californians who buy a used car have a legal right to own the car they purchased without the stress of not knowing if or when they will receive title and registration,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “These laws exist to protect consumers from companies that take hard-earned money from consumers without upholding their end of the deal.
“The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate any excuses for breaking consumer protection laws.”
AutoNation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said the suit stemmed from the company’s lack of compliance with California Vehicle Code regulations regarding registration transfers.
According to the civil complaint, AutoNation dealerships sometimes failed to comply with the 30-day window of notifying the Department of Motor Vehicles whenever a vehicle was sold and the registration transferred to a new owner.
Under the settlement, AutoNation agreed to rectify and enforce policies at its 42 dealerships in California so that registration and ownership documents are submitted on time.
“These include placing a `stop’ on the sale of used vehicles when they do not have title in hand or a clear path to getting it within 30 days; deferring sales commissions on the sale of any used cars that are not capable of a timely transfer; requiring that prior to any sale, a smog check or VIN verification is performed, as necessary; having at least 10 employees available at all times to process ownership transfers; and ensuring that a designated employee at the level of regional manager or higher is responsible for overall compliance,” according to the D.A.’s Office.
The agreement stipulates the payment of $450,000 in civil penalties, $150,000 in investigative costs and $50,000 for programs supporting consumer protection laws.
The settlement did not require AutoNation to admit wrongdoing, prosecutors said.