Terry O'Loughlin is the director of compliance for Reynolds & Reynolds. Prior to joining Reynolds in 2006, he was employed by the Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, from 1990, in the Economic Crimes Section. For most of those years he was involved in the investigation and prosecution of automobile dealers, manufacturers and finance and leasing companies. He was also the mediator of Florida’s Motor Vehicle Lease Disclosure Act, a statute that he assisted in drafting. He has served as a consultant to the Federal Reserve Board’s Leasing Education Committee, an observer/advisor for the Uniform Consumer Leases Act Committee, and has been a consultant to “PrimeTime Live,” “Dateline” and various other media and publications. In addition, Terry routinely assisted numerous states agencies nationally regarding motor vehicle fraud. In 2010, he was elected to the Governing Committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law.
If dealers observe a modicum of compliance protocols, they can contain almost all regulatory perils. Dealers and their trade organizations are a formidable political force and should be lobbying together.
The coronavirus appears to be driving the automotive industry to selling vehicles remotely, a radical departure from the traditional dealer model. By identifying the issues that dealers need to contemplate, we find some solutions to the new direction we’re heading.
The disparity between the cost of new vehicles versus used vehicles has been increasing over the past 10 years. With this changing sales dynamic, compliance issues regarding used vehicle sales are growing in significance.
Every member of the F&I industry can help protect its reputation by sticking to the terms that elevate, rather than denigrate, this important part of the car buying and ownership process.
Self-reporting compliance issues is an honorable notion and one propagated by CFPB guidance. Former regulator suggests dealers take such matters seriously but stop short of reporting — with certain exceptions.
A code of ethics adopted by every dealership would go a long way toward improving the industry’s image and would likely result in increased F&I production.