UNINSPECTED-CAR SALES BRING COMPLAINTS WARNINGS

Complaints about uninspected vehicles sold at auto auctions in the area have prompted the Missouri Motor Vehicle Commission to send a letter of warning to local dealers.

Dealers that sell uninspected cars explicitly for transportation at an auction can be sued for three times the cost of the car and lose their license. Cars that are sold for salvage or historic vehicles are excluded.

The regulation is stipulated in the license that dealers buy every year, said Terry Wilsford, chief inspector for the Motor Vehicle Commission.

Wilsford addressed a group of about 30 car dealers Monday night at the Holiday Inn. The meeting was to discuss legislation the Missouri Auto Dealers group is trying to get passed in the state legislature.

Wayne Morton, a vehicle auction dealer in St. Louis, organized the meeting. Morton said car dealers often sell vehicles at auction without disclosing mechanical problems. Doing so allows dealers to sell vehicles without spending the money to get them to pass inspection.

Purchasers might think they are getting a good deal when they buy a car for a few hundred dollars. When they realize it will take a lot more money to bring the car up to state standards they are often told by the seller that they bought the car "as is," and they have no recourse, Morton said.

"The letter is going to tell them that without a safety inspection their licenses are going to be revoked," he said. "A lot of this is going on right here in this vicinity."

Wilsford said all cars sold in Missouri for transportation, not for salvage, have to be inspected. That includes individuals selling to individuals. In addition, any time a vehicle is sold in Missouri its mechanical history must be disclosed in full.

That applies to an individual selling a car or trading one to a dealer. If the dealer resells the car, and it breaks down because of an undisclosed problem, the dealer can sue the individual who sold it to them.

Wilsford said 465 car dealers in Missouri were sued in 1996 over faulty cars and every one lost. Judges require dealers to prove they gave full disclosure of mechanical problems in writing. If that is not done, judges always side with the plaintiffs.

A car sold as junk for parts or for salvage has to be towed from the dealers' lots. A car that is driven off the lot has to have passed inspection or the dealer is responsible.

Also, auction houses must invite at least 50 percent of all dealers in the area to every auction or they violate state regulations. All dealers selling cars at auction must be invited. If Wilsford is informed that a dealer has sold a car at auction that has not complied with the regulations the dealer could lose his license.

Butch Borrow, owner of Dixie Auto Sales in Malden, is among dealers trying to push legislation in the Missouri Senate that would rewrite the definition of a salvaged vehicle. He said insurance companies label cars junk through a largely unregulated process.

The legislation he proposes would set specific guidelines outlining the type of vehicle damage before it is classified as salvage. He said that would cut the number of cars in the state labeled as salvage by about 80 percent.

Salvageable cars sell for much less.

Borrow said vehicles without major damage to structural integrity should be allowed to be sold as good reusable cars.

"That basically means between the front wheels and the back wheels," he said.