News

Effective July 1, 2010, all Florida auto dealers will be required* by law to electronically report a Temporary Transfer of a Metal License Plate on a metal plate that is being _moved_ from one vehicle to another prior to a customer driving off the lot. Dealers who have been issuing a temporary tag rather than transferring the metal plate will now be able to electronically report the Temporary Transfer of a Metal Plate directly to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), and move the metal plate to the purchased vehicle.

Last summer, Americans traded in over 675,000 vehicles as part of the CARS Program, or Cash for Clunkers, as it became popularly known. The federal stimulus program lured buyers into dealerships nationwide, but it was after the much-publicized program officially ended that the real work began for the automotive recycling industry.

This year the Professional Wreckers of Florida (PWOF) International Tow Show was held in Orlando, Florida, at the Hilton located in Downtown Disney from Thursday, April 15 to Sunday April 18, 2010. I have been with Auto Data Direct since September 2009, and this was my first chance to attend one of these events.

Working in the towing industry for more than 30 years has taught Jane Fleming, co-owner of Fleming Salvage and Wrecker Service in Panama City, Florida, just how valuable access to a vehicle’s history can be. The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) gives businesses and consumers access to vehicle histories at a low cost.

As of February 12, 2010, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is sending dealer license renewal notices to auto independent, wholesale, auction and salvage dealers via email, rather than through the US Postal Service. By communicating with license holders by email, the DHSMV will save approximately $5,000 in taxpayer money over the renewal period.

A new law offers Florida buy-here pay-here dealers another recovery option when a standard repossession attempt fails. Often, dealers are unable to retrieve vehicles because they cannot locate a delinquent customer or the customer conceals a vehicle in an effort to avoid its repossession. Now dealers have the support of House Bill 293, which was signed into Florida law in 2009 [FS 320.