PANEL STANDS BY INSPECTIONS

The Missouri Motor Vehicle Commission mailed approximately 4,400 letters Monday advising auto dealers about consequences of selling uninspected cars through public auto auctions.

Wayne Morton, owner of I-55 Auto Auction in St. Louis, said he and a group of dealers were preparing to bring suit against the commission if it didn't send out the letters.

Morton said a meeting of dealers in Cape Girardeau March 3 was held in part to collect money from dealers to pay an attorney's fees.

The commission has investigated complaints about dealers selling uninspected cars through Cape Girardeau Auto Auction Inc., near Nash Road and Interstate 55.

Morton said the commission has taken action against other public auctions and auto dealers for selling uninspected cars and the commission would be remiss if it fails to do so here.

"What my attorney has said is that the state, under the commission, has failed to do their job," Morton said.

Morton said the commission has shown favoritism by not going after the auction house and some dealers have been damaged as a result.

Greg Mitchell, commission executive director, said dealers should receive the letters by the middle of the week. He said any possible threat of a suit didn't influence the commission's decision to send the letters.

Said Mitchell: "We've faced litigation before. We're getting litigation from the other side. That would just be something else we would have to deal with."

Mitchell said under Missouri law individuals may sell uninspected cars through an estate auction or by liquidating inventory through auction. He said dealers can sell uninspected vehicles at public auctions, "however, a public auto auction is not the same as a public auction."

Mitchell said public auto auctions are ongoing events specifically for the sale of automobiles. Auto auctions are considered another way for dealers to sell their vehicles, and they are restricted to the same conditions as if they sold the cars from their lots, he said.

State Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, said he considers that kind of interpretation of the law "a big stretch."

Schwab said Missouri sells state vehicles at public auctions without having them inspected, yet "the Motor Vehicle Commission is trying to say these private guys have to have inspections."

Schwab said state Rep. Sam Gaskill, R-Washburn, introduced legislation this session that stipulates dealers could sell uninspected vehicles through public auto auctions. He said he knows of auction houses across the state that have never been bothered with the issue.

"It seems like just since the one started up here in Cape, with some competition from dealer auctions, that's when this whole issue came to a head," Schwab said.

Schwab said Gaskill's measure would not put unsafe vehicles on the road because they would have to be inspected before they are titled. He said many people buy wholesale cars at auction with the intent of fixing and reselling them.

The commission faces a lawsuit filed Sept. 16 by Stan Lowery, owner of Cape Girardeau Auto Auction. Lowery alleges the commission interfered with his business by mailing letters in July to dealers warning them of consequences of selling uninspected vehicles at public auctions.

Lowery said Cape Girardeau Auto Auction is abiding by the law. "Until they can prove to us that we are breaking the law then we're going to keep doing business as normal," he said.

Lowery said he doesn't understand how the commission thinks such a "flimsy" interpretation of the law is going to disrupt an industry that has been operating for 30 years.