Hicksville Car Dealership Knowingly Sold Unsafe Vehicles: AG Settlement

A Hicksville company is among 104 New York auto dealerships that reached a settlement with Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Friday for failing to disclose when vehicles were under recall for dangerous, unrepaired safety issues.

The recalls were for reasons such as unintended acceleration, airbag problems, vehicle fires, steering, brake loss and more.

This settlement requires LA Auto, located at 506 W Old Country Road, to pay a fine and adhere to a set a guidelines that would properly notify prospective buyers and car owners of any safety recalls.

“The safety recalls we uncovered were serious — and potentially deadly," Schneiderman said in a press release. “Consumers deserve to know of any unresolved safety issues before buying a car for themselves or their family."

According to the AG, an investigation revealed that many prospective car buyers typically assume that the dealer would disclose any known safety issues. However, the AG says that is often not the reality of car buying in New York.

Car dealers who sell used cars from unrelated automakers are required by Federal Law to have a manufacturer authorized repair person at their location or transport the vehicle to a dealer related to the vehicle’s maker to have the recall work completed.

According to Amy Spitalnick, press secretary for the New York State Office of the Attorney General, there is no law in New York State that prohibits the sale of these sorts of vehicles. These settlements simply add a layer of disclosure that did not previously exist.

“Attorney General Schneiderman supports legislative efforts to change New York state law so that no dealer can sell an unrepaired vehicle," Spitalnick said in a statement. "But until the law is changed, the new disclosure requirements reached through today’s settlements ensure that every consumer will at least be informed of these issues before buying. And requiring dealers to disclose these issues to consumers incentives them to fix them on the front end, before the cars are up for sale. That is an important step forward."

As part of the settlements, the AG says the 104 auto dealers are required to follow the below set of guidelines in order to notify consumers that their vehicles may have unrepaired recalls:

• Dealers that advertise used vehicles online must include information that enables consumers to check the recall status of advertised vehicles; that information includes the SaferCar.gov website operated by NHTSA.
• Dealers who advertise in print or other media must also disclose in the advertisement that the vehicle is subject to a safety recall.
• Dealers must place a decal notice in the window of used cars that include information that allows consumers to check the recall status of the vehicles, including the SaferCar.gov website and mobile application operated by NHTSA.
• Two days prior to any sale, dealers must provide consumers with a copy of the NHTSA recall status report for a vehicle with an un-repaired safety recall, and obtain a written acknowledgment from the consumer.
• Dealers must send notices to customers who have purchased vehicles with un-repaired safety recalls that are still un-repaired, from January 2016 to present. Manufacturers’ franchise dealers must also cover up to five days of a loaner car for consumers if their vehicle requires repairs that will take longer than one day.
• Each auto dealer will also pay a fine of $1,000 to New York State.

The Attorney General’s office investigation is ongoing.

Consumers who purchased vehicles after January 1, 2016 who believe they have possibly unrepaired safety recalls should contact the Attorney General’s office at 1-800-771-7755 or via web form.

Consumers can check the recall status of your vehicle by entering its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the NHTSA website.

Patch reporter Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report

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