Texas Dealer September 2020

LEGISLATORS

EDUCATION

We did it!

ROUNDTABLES

SPONSORS In This Issue: – Highlights from TIADA’s First Virtual Conference – Michael W. Dunagan on Lien Holder Rights and Bonded Titles – The Latest on PPP Loans and Forgiveness on your Dealership – webDEALER Now Available to More Dealers

VENDORS

TIADA Board of Directors PRESIDENT Robert Beck/Stop N’ Drive Motors 711 N. General McMullen Dr. San Antonio, TX 78228 PRESIDENT ELECT Mark Jones/Mike Carlson Motor Company 264 Exchange Burleson, TX 76028 CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Juan Sabillón/Mi Tierra Auto Sales 7935 Gulf Freeway Houston, TX 77017 SECRETARY Ryan Winkelmann/BJ’s Autohaus 5005 Telephone Road Houston, TX 77087 TREASURER Eddie Hale/Neighborhood Autos 1717 US 287 Decatur, TX 76234 ICE PRESIDENT, WEST TEXAS V (REGION 1) Brad Kalivoda/Fiesta Motors 2599 74th Street Lubbock, TX 79423 ICE PRESIDENT, FORT WORTH V (REGION 2) Chad Lancaster/Chacon Autos 11800 E. Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75218 ICE PRESIDENT, DALLAS V (REGION 3) Greg Reine/Auto Liquidators 39670 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75237

Vo l u m e X X / I s s u e 9 / S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 0

TexasDealer 4 Officers’ Message

contents

by Eddie Hale, TIADA Treasurer

6 Letter to the Editor 7 Membership Corner 7 Local Chapters 9 Legal Corner: Protecting a Lien Holder’s Rights When a Bonded Title Is Applied For

by Michael W. Dunagan

12 TIADA Auction Directory 2020 15 The Current Status of PPP Loans and Forgiveness on Your Dealership

by David Wiggins

20 On The Cover: 2020 TIADA Virtual Conference & Expo Wrap Up

by TIADA staff

29 One on One with Tricolor Founder and CEO Daniel Chu

by TIADA staff

ICE PRESIDENT, HOUSTON V (REGION 4) Vicki Davis/A-OK Auto Sales 23980 FM 1314 Porter, TX 77365

33 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 34 Justice is Coming — Will You Be Ready?

ICE PRESIDENT, CENTRAL TEXAS V (REGION 5) Greg Phea/Austin Rising Fast 8024 IH 35 North Austin, TX 78753

39 Implementation = Results!

ICE PRESIDENT, SOUTH TEXAS V (REGION 6) Jose Engler/Irving Motor Corp 211 Braniff Dr. San Antonio, TX 78216 ICE PRESIDENT AT LARGE V Robert Blankenship/Texas Auto Center 6809 N IH-35 Austin, TX 78744 ICE PRESIDENT AT LARGE V Armando Villarreal/McAllen Auto Sales 4215 S. 23rd Street McAllen, TX 78503

TIADA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jeff Martin 9951 Anderson Mill Rd., Suite 101 Austin, TX 78750 Office Hours M-F 8:30am – 4:30pm 512.244.6060 • Fax 512.244.6218 jeff.martin@txiada.org

by Steve Levine

by Jay Rose

42 webDEALER Available to More Dealers

by TIADA staff

44 New Members 45 TIADA Member Application 46 Behind the Wheel

by Jeff Martin

Did You Know?– Virtual Conference Attendees have

on-demand access to all 22 breakout sessions until November 16.

Just visit https://yourconference.live/tiadaannualconference/ and login with your conference credentials. If you missed the conference, you too can have access to outstanding education. Turn to page 28 to find out how.

Notice to all members concerning services and products: TIADA was established in 1944 to develop professional standards of service and conduct for the independent auto industry. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the TIADA management, the Board of Directors or the membership. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers or their indemnifications of TIADA does not constitute endorsement of the products or services featured.

Editor: Teresa Orkun

Magazine Ad Sales: Patty Huber, 512-310-9795

officers’ message

by Eddie

The Heart of a Servant

E

very year during our annual conference I am reminded of why I am part of the association and what our association is really about. I always feel our conference brings out the true character of our members and our staff, and this conference was no exception. Sure, it looked different and felt different sitting in my office, but the character was the same. I moderated and sat in on a handful of roundtables and, no matter what the topic was, the discussion always came back to how we can better serve our customer; we talked about going the extra mile, recognizing these are unprecedented times.

And dealers serving dealers, I can’t say enough about that. Through our education and dealer roundtables I have always found our members willing to open up and share ideas and thoughts. This year was certainly no exception. I would hear dealers tell other dealers to stop by their dealerships or come by for a visit so they could show them how they do things at their business.

One conversation that struck me was a dealer who basically said, “I am going to tell you a bunch of things not to do, because I know!” It made me laugh, but sometimes that advice is the most valuable.

While I know most of us wanted to have an inperson conference, I met a couple of dealers who were attending their first conference ever. Closing the

Hale

Neighborhood Autos (Decatur) TIADA TREASURER

dealership and traveling to a live conference was just not something they could do in the past, but this virtual option gave them their first opportunity to interact with other dealers, see some great education and visit with vendors they had never seen. They were in awe of the quality of the education and how willing our members would share and try to help. I hope in the future we can find some way to continue serving those dealers who want to participate but can’t attend the inperson conference.

Speaking of our vendors, we usually have over 100 during our live events. This year we had almost 50. I know, I visited every booth. I understand it was just too difficult for some to participate this year, but I noted those who were there, and I can’t thank them enough. These are the companies that get it, they are part of the association and they are also here to serve the association. I strongly encourage every member to reach out to this year’s sponsors, see if their product or service might be right for your dealership and give them a shot at your business.

In a time of such uncertainty, when it seems there are so many people looking for ways to cause problems, I am proud to be a member of TIADA. This conference just reminded me that we still have the heart of a servant.

In a time of such uncertainty, when it seems there are so many people looking for ways to cause problems, I am proud to be a member of TIADA. 4

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September 2020

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letter to the editor Dear Jeff and TIADA,

T

hank you so much for your willingness to support the Tax Assessor-Collectors Association of Texas with your online sponsorship. Because our June Conference in Austin was cancelled, we missed seeing all of our sponsoring friends, and are greatly appreciative of your continued support in this new virtual format. I hope you find it to be successful, and I congratulate your willingness to try something new!

Thank you again, and although I will be retiring at the end of this year, I hope you will be able to attend our June 5–10, 2021 Conference in Corpus Christi! Our Board of Directors and new TACA President, Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae, look forward to seeing you there!

I wish you health and success and thank you again for your support!

Cathy C Talcott, CTOP, PCC, PCAC TACA Immediate Past President Comal County Tax Office Tax Assessor-Collector

635 Fritz Dr. Ste 210 Coppell, TX 75019 469-637-0150

Time to renew your dealer’s license? visit TexasDealerEducation.com 6

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September 2020

membership corner

G

ber s h m i e

Track TIADA’s Latest Progress

2020

p

M

reat news — as of printing time, TIADA is 1,242 members strong, a 16 percent increase within the past 60 days. This means TIADA is only 61 members away from reaching its goal of 1,303 for 2020! As a longtime member and supporter of the state association, Frazer recruited over 100 new TIADA members over the past 60 days. There is certainly strength in numbers, so thank you Frazer and other members of the association who are participating in the association’s referral program and making a concerted effort to grow membership and the voice of the industry at the Capitol and beyond.

At the local level, the Houston and Fort Worth local chapters have already exceeded the membership they each had at the end of last year (2019). The San Antonio, Victoria and Corpus Christi chapters are on track to exceed their membership based on last year’s numbers. It is great to see the industry at the local level strengthening. Collectively, local chapter membership has reached nearly 400 dealer members.

That said, if you are a TIADA dealer member in any of the following counties: Harris, Bexar, Nueces, Tarrant or Victoria, you are invited to get involved with your local chapter.

Additionally, don’t forget that by being a TIADA member, you are also a member of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA).

Here at TIADA, we encourage you to Goal for2020 take advantage of the 1303 benefits available to 1300 you throughout the year—at the local, Currently 1250 state and national 1242 level. Please contact the state office 1150 for questions on how you can make the most of your 1100 membership or visit the TIADA website: www.txiada.org 1000

Local Chapters CORPUS CHRISTI G.R. Moore The Car Shack (dates announced at www.txiada.org)

EL PASO Cesar Stark S & S Motors Meeting – 3rd Friday (Monthly)

FORT WORTH Chris Templin Auto Land Meeting – 4th Thursday of Jan–May and Sep–Oct

HOUSTON Rudy Roudbari Sarco Enterprise Meeting – 2nd Tuesday (Monthly)

SAN ANTONIO Jose Engler Irving Motors Corp (dates announced at www.txiada.org)

VICTORIA Dennis Schroller Victoria Autos Direct Meeting – 1st Monday (Monthly)

900

@TXIADA #2020Goals

September 2020

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7

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legal corner

Protecting a Lien Holder’s Rights When a Bonded Title Is Applied For Dealer Question: I was just

notified by the state that someone has applied for a bonded title to a vehicle that has been on my skip list for two years. How do I protect my lien, and will a bonded title be superior to my lien?

Response: We have seen an increase in recent months of dealers/lien holders receiving notice letters from the Vehicle Titles and Registration (VTR) division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) regarding applications being filed for bonded titles to vehicles the lien holders have been trying to find.

W

hile the issuance of a bonded title certificate will create an administrative presumption that the bonded title is superior to your lien in the state’s motor vehicle title system, most courts recognize that your prior, unsatisfied lien is still valid. However, the surety bond that is filed with the bonded title application (which must be issued by a licensed surety company) may offer a better and less costly remedy for the prior lien holder in recovering its loss than in fighting for possession of the collateral.

The bonded title procedure was established by the legislature as a way of allowing a person to obtain a title certificate to a vehicle when the original certificate is unobtainable and the applicant is the apparent owner of the vehicle. The procedure presumes that the prior owner and lien holder can’t be found and

September 2020

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no longer have an interest in the vehicle. We’ve observed that this presumption is often incorrect.

The bonded title legislation addressed a problem many vehicle owners had faced in obtaining title certificates to their vehicles after indebtedness was paid off. The problem was particularly acute when the banking and finance industries were faced with massive shutdowns and consolidations in the late 1980s.

There has also been a persistent problem with other lien holders who go out of business or close down, and can’t be found when the time comes to get liens released.

And, owners often lose title certificates that have been given by lien holders upon pay off, along with lien release on the certificate. If the lien holder, who properly fulfilled its obligations, is no longer in business when the owner needs the certificate, the bonded title process offers a solution.

Before institution of the bonded title procedure, the methods for obtaining a title to a vehicle without having a title certificate were (1) apply for and obtain a certified

by Michael

Dunagan

W.

TIADA GENERAL COUNSEL

...the surety bond that is filed with the bonded title application (which must be issued by a licensed surety company) may offer a better and less costly remedy for the prior lien holder in recovering its loss than in fighting for possession of the collateral. copy of the original title, or (2) request a hearing from the county tax assessor to establish the right of ownership to the vehicle.

The problem with the former procedure is that the owner or lien holder must sign the application and represent that the original title certificate was lost (although this requirement hasn’t stopped many thieves who have no qualms about forging lien holders’ names and 9

lien releases to applications).

Some tax assessors are reluctant to cause a new title to be issued without knowing more facts than the applicant often has available at the hearing, so that procedure was not always an efficient way to determine the true ownership of a vehicle.

The bonded title procedure seemed to be a good compromise for allowing a person to get a title when the normal channels were not available, but at the same time JULY-TLSAA Lubbock_TIADA ad.pdf

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offering financial protection for a real owner or lien holder whose interest was overlooked.

Under Section 501.053 of the Texas Transportation Code, a person may file a surety bond issued by a licensed surety company in an amount equal to one and one-half times the value of the vehicle. If the paperwork is in order, a title certificate is issued.

Usually, a notice of the filing of the bonded title application is sent by the VTR to the registered 6/30/20

10:55 AM

owner and lien holder prior to the time the bonded title is issued. The registered owner and/or lien holder are given the opportunity to oppose the process by filing a petition in a county or district court to seek a declaration of proper ownership (a costly and potentially time-consuming process.)

The law provides that any registered owner or lien holder can recover on the bond any expense, loss, or damage, including reasonable attorney’s fees, occurring because of the issuance of the bonded title. The bond is valid for three years from its effective date.

What has become apparent recently is that the bonded title procedure is being used in situations other than where lien holders have disappeared. It seems that more and more individuals are “selling” their vehicles to third persons, who are “buying” the vehicles without obtaining a title certificate or investigating whether there are outstanding liens. When the buyers seek to title and register the vehicles, they are informed that they can’t because of outstanding liens. Most tax offices then give out information on alternative means to obtain title, including tax office hearings and bonded title procedures, and often give a list of surety companies that write bonds.

If records indicate that the vehicle has a lien that is less than ten years old, the surety bonding company is responsible for insuring that the lien has been satisfied or released. We’ve found that the surety companies that issue the bonds generally do no investigation as to the existence of liens or whether they’ve been satisfied.

Once a lien holder gets notice that a bonded title has been issued, it can obtain information about the applicant and the issuer of the bond from VTR. We have assisted a number of lien holders recently in collecting T e x a s

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September 2020

Under Section 501.053 of the Texas Transpor tation Code, a person may file a surety bond issued by a licensed surety company in an amount equal to one and one-half times the value of the vehicle.

written-off balances on collateral long given up on. When a lien holder finds that a bonded title has been applied for, we suggest the following options: If the bonded title has not been

issued yet, the lien holder can certainly repossess its collateral under the usual repossession rules.

Repossessing after a bonded

title certificate has been issued, even though probably justified under the law, may result in costly repercussions, such as theft charges being filed.

Remember that the police (and other law enforcement officials) will generally rely on the state’s title records and will probably not understand the complications of competing title interests.

If a lien holder finds out that

a bonded title has been issued

without notice to the lien holder, the legitimate lien holder should consider making a claim against the surety company that issued the bond, presenting evidence of the valid prior lien and the balance owed against the vehicle.

Unlike a claim on a dealer bond,

a court judgment is not required to recover. However, if the surety company balks at paying, it may be necessary to file suit.

Attorney’s fees can be sought as additional damages.

Michael W. Dunagan is an attorney in Dallas, Texas who has represented the Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association for over 40 years. He has written a number of books and hundreds of articles for trade journals and law reviews. His clientele includes dealers, banks, finance companies, auto auctions and credit unions.

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TIADA Auction Directory 2020

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www.cmauctions.com

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Corpus Christi

IAA ABILENE*

CORPUS CHRISTI AUTO AUCTION

www.iaai.com 7700 US 277, Hawley, TX 79601 325.675.0699, Fax 325.675.5073 GM: Terrie Smith Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

www.corpuschristiautoauction.com 2149 IH-69 Access Road, Corpus Christi, TX 78380 361.767.4100, Fax 361.767.9840 GM: Hunter Dunn Friday, 10:00 a.m.

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$AVE : $200

Amarillo

IAA CORPUS CHRISI*

IAA AMARILLO*

www.iaai.com 4701 Agnes Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78405 361.881.9555, Fax 361.887.8880 GM: Patricia Kohlstrand Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

www.iaai.com 11150 S. FM 1541, Amarillo, TX 79118 806.622.1322, Fax 806.622.2678 GM: Shawn Norris Monday, 9:30 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

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Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex

Austin

ADESA DALLAS

ADESA AUSTIN

www.adesa.com 3501 Lancaster-Hutchins Rd., Hutchins, TX 75141 972.225.6000, Fax 972.284.4799 GM: Allan Wilwayco Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

www.adesa.com 2108 Ferguson Ln, Austin, TX 78754 512.873.4000, Fax 512.873.4022 GM: Rich Levene Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

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NEW

ALLIANCE AUTO AUCTION DALLAS

www.allianceautoauction.com 1550 CR 107, Hutto, TX 78634 737.300.6300 GM: Brad Wilson Wednesday, 9:45 a.m.

www.allianceautoauction.com 9426 Lakefield Blvd., Dallas, TX 75220 214.646.3136, Fax 469.828.8225 GM: Chris Dean Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.

AMERICA’S AA AUSTIN / SAN ANTONIO

AMERICA’S AA DALLAS

$AVE : $200

www.americasautoauction.com 16611 S. IH-35, Buda, TX 78610 512.268.6600, Fax 512.295.6666 GM: John Swofford Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. / Thursday, 2:00 p.m.

$AVE : $200 12

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

www.metroautoauction.com 8605 Cullen Ln., Austin, TX 78748 512.282.7900, Fax 512.282.8165 GM: Brent Rhodes 3rd Saturday, monthly

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ALLIANCE AUTO AUCTION AUSTIN

www.iaai.com 2191 Highway 21 West, Dale, TX 78616 512.385.3126, Fax 512.385.1141 GM: Geoffrey Rabb Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

www.americasautoauction.com 219 N. Loop 12, Irving, TX 75061 972.445.1044, Fax 972.591.2742 GM: Ruben Figueroa Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. / Thursday, 1:00 p.m.

$AVE : $200

IAA DALLAS*

www.iaai.com 204 Mars Rd., Wilmer, TX 75172 972.525.6401, Fax 972.525.6403 GM: Joshua Boyd Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

IAA DFW*

www.iaai.com 4226 East Main St., Grand Prairie, TX 75050 972.522.5000, Fax 972.522.5090 GM: Robert Brown Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

IAA FORT WORTH NORTH*

www.iaai.com 3748 McPherson Dr., Justin, TX 76247 940.648.5541, Fax 940.648.5543 GM: Jack Panczyk Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

MANHEIM DALLAS**

www.manheim.com 5333 W. Kiest Blvd., Dallas, TX 75236 214.330.1800, Fax 214.339.6347 GM: Rich Curtis Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $100

MANHEIM DALLAS FORT WORTH**

www.manheim.com 12101 Trinity Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76040 817.399.4000, Fax 817.399.4251 GM: Nicole Graham-Ponce Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

$AVE : $100

METRO AUTO AUCTION DALLAS

www.metroaa.com 1836 Midway Road, Lewisville, TX 75056 972.492.0900, Fax 972.492.0944 GM: Scott Stalder Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

TEXAS LONE STAR AUTO AUCTION www.tlsaa.com

2205 Country Club Dr., Carrollton, TX 75006 214.483.3597, Fax 214.483.3814 GM: Patrick Stevens Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. / Thursday, 2:00 p.m. $AVE : $200

El Paso EL PASO INDEPENDENT AUTO AUCTION www.epiaa.com 7930 Artcraft Rd, El Paso, TX 79932 915.587.6700, Fax 915.587.6700 GM: Luke Pidgeon Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200 T e x a s

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September 2020

IAA EL PASO*

www.iaai.com 14651 Gateway Blvd. W, El Paso, TX 79927 915.852.2489, Fax 915.852.2235 GM: Jorge Resendez Friday, 10:30 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

www.iaai.com 2535 West. Mt. Houston, Houston, TX 77038 281.847.4700, Fax 281.847.4799 GM: Alvin Banks Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

IAA HOUSTON NORTH*

MANHEIM EL PASO

www.manheim.com 485 Coates Drive, El Paso, TX 79932 915.833.9333, Fax 915.581.9645 GM: JD Guerrero Thursday, 10:00 a.m.

$AVE : $100

www.iaai.com 16602 East Hardy Rd., Houston-North, TX 77032 281.443.1300, Fax 281.443.4433 GM: Christina Nieves Thursday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

MANHEIM HOUSTON

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www.iaai.com 900 N. Hutto Road, Donna, TX 78537 956.464.8393, Fax 956.464.8510 GM: Ydalia Sandoval Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

BIG VALLEY AUTO AUCTION**

www.bigvalleyaa.com 4315 N. Hutto Road, Donna, TX 78537 956.461.9000, Fax 956.461.9005 GM: Lisa Franz Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

$AVE : $200

www.manheim.com 14450 West Road, Houston, TX 77041 281.924.5833, Fax 281.890.7953 GM: Brian Walker Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. / Thursday 6:30 p.m.

$AVE : $100

ADESA HOUSTON

www.adesa.com 4526 N. Sam Houston, Houston, TX 77086 281.580.1800, Fax 281.580.8030 GM: Angela Williams Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

AMERICA’S AA HOUSTON

www.americasautoauction.com 1826 Almeda Genoa Rd, Houston, TX 77047 281.819.3600, Fax 281.819.3601 GM: John Swofford Thursday, 2:00 p.m.

$AVE : $200

AMERICA’S AA NORTH HOUSTON www.americasautoauction.com 1440 FM 3083, Conroe, TX 77301 936.441.2882, Fax 936.788.2842 GM: Buddy Cheney Tuesday, 1:00 p.m.

AUTONATION AUTO AUCTION - HOUSTON www.autonationautoauction.com 608 W. Mitchell Road, Houston, TX 77037 822.905.2622, Fax 281.506.3866 GM: Juan Gallo Friday, 9:30 a.m.

$AVE : $200

HOUSTON AUTO AUCTION

www.houstonautoauction.com 2000 Cavalcade, Houston, TX 77009 713.644.5566, Fax 713.644.0889 GM: Tim Bowers Tuesday, 1:00 p.m.

$AVE : $200

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IAA PERMIAN BASIN*

www.iaai.com 701 W. 81st Street, Odessa, TX 79764 432.550.7277, Fax 432.366.8725 GM: Christopher Rogers Thursday, 11:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

ONLINE ACV AUCTIONS**

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$AVE : $200

www.manheim.com 8215 Kopman Road, Houston, TX 77061 713.649.8233, Fax 713.640.6330 GM: Darren Slack Thursday, 9:00 a.m.

Longview www.allianceautoauction.com 6000 East Loop 281, Longview, TX 75602 903.212.2955, Fax 903.212.2556 GM: Chris Barille Friday, 10:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

IAA LONGVIEW*

www.iaai.com 5577 Highway 80 East, Longview, TX 75605 903.553.9248, Fax 903.553.0210 GM: David Cooper Thursday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

Lubbock IAA LUBBOCK*

www.iaai.com 5311 N. CR 2000, Lubbock, TX 79415 806.747.5458, Fax 806.747.5472 GM: Lori Davee Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

$AVE : $200

Midland Odessa

MANHEIM TEXAS HOBBY

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Houston

September 2020

IAA HOUSTON*

TEXAS LONE STAR AUTO AUCTION** www.lsaalubbock.com 2706 E. Slaton Road., Lubbock, TX 79404 806.745.6606 Wednesday, 9:30 a.m

$AVE : $75/Quarterly

Lufkin LUFKIN DEALERS AUTO AUCTION

www.lufkindealers.com 2109 N. John Reddit Dr., Lufkin, TX 75904 936.632.4299, Fax 936.632.4218 GM: Wayne Cook Thursday, 6:00 p.m.

$AVE : $200

www.adesa.com 200 S. Callaghan Rd., San Antonio, TX 78227 210.434.4999, Fax 210.431.0645 GM: Clifton Sprenger Thursday, 10:00 a.m.

IAA SAN ANTONIO*

www.iaai.com 11275 S. Zarzamora, San Antonio, TX 78224 210.628.6770, Fax 210.628.6778 GM: Brian Sell Monday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : up to $200 Sell Fee

MANHEIM SAN ANTONIO**

www.manheim.com 2042 Ackerman Road San Antonio, TX 78219 210.661.4200, Fax 210.662.3113 GM: Mike Browning Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.

$AVE : $100

SAN ANTONIO AUTO AUCTION**

www.sanantonioautoauction.com 13510 Toepperwein Rd. San Antonio, TX 78233 210.298.5477 GM: Brandon Walston Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. / Thursday, 1:30 p.m.

$AVE : $200

Tyler GREATER TYLER AUTO AUCTION www.greatertyleraa.com 11654 Hwy 64W, Tyler, TX 75704 903.597.2800, Fax 903.597.3848 GM: Wayne Cook Tuesday, 5:00 p.m.

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Waco ALLIANCE AUTO AUCTION WACO

www.allianceautoauction.com 15735 I-35 Frontage Road Elm Mott, TX 76640 254.829.0123, Fax 254.829.1298 GM: Carmen Robinson (Sales Manager) Friday, 10:00 a.m.

$AVE : $200

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YES! I would like to serve on TIADA Committees Check the committee(s) you wish to join. All Dealer Members are welcome to participate. We need your input! Please complete form and return to info@txiada.org or fax to 512.244.6218.

Committee members will be appointed at the October 2020 board meeting Standing Committees: Awards Committee Budget and Finance Committee Legislative Committee Political Action Committee (INDEPAC) Bylaws Committee Ad hoc Committees: Ad hoc committees will be appointed by the president to focus on specific issues and given a specific timeframe. Issues may include but are not limited to: education, conference, compliance, member services, membership recruitment, website, magazine and surveys. Committee members will be notified prior to a committee being appointed to determine interest.

Name___________________________________________________________ Dealership_______________________________________________________ Title ___________________________________________________________ Email ___________________________________________________________ Phone________________________ Mobile_____________________________

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feature

The Current Status of PPP Loans and Forgiveness on Your Dealership

by David Wiggins

Managing Tax Principal, CLA

Current Program Overview

T

he Paycheck Protection Program and its forgiveness provided incredible protection to many dealers and will likely be responsible for allowing dealerships to survive this year without devastating effects. As I talk with my dealer clients, I realize that many of them, like me, are growing very weary trying to keep up with the ever-changing rules and forms that have to be completed for this program.

My hope in this article is to focus on the current state of the PPP program forgiveness, and how it will play out for most of you. I will try to keep you from having to review all the bits and pieces of information that have come out and provide you with a summary of the current guidance for this program and how forgiveness will likely work out for most of you.

As you likely know, in June the PPP Flexibility Act was signed into law. This program: Changed the covered period from 8 to 24 weeks,

Changed the 75% payroll requirement to 60%

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Changed any PPP loans not forgiven from 2 years

to 5 year, and Allowed businesses to not pay employer FICA up

through 12/31/20, and pay 50% of amounts not paid in 2020, as of 12/31/21 and 12/31/22.

These changes were significant and should likely allow almost everyone, having received PPP loans, to have the entire amount forgiven.

The 8-week covered period can still be used for people that qualify to have their entire loan forgiven by just using 8 weeks payroll and “other costs”. “Other costs” are rent payments, mortgage interest on real or personal property and utilities. Many businesses likely will not qualify for full forgiveness based solely on 8 weeks of payroll and “other expenses” unless they had worked to not lay off anyone and still incurred significant “other expenses”.

If you don’t qualify based on the 8-week period, you will benefit and likely get full forgiveness of the loan amounts 15

if you instead use the 24-week covered period. For most borrowers this will allow them to include expenses that occur from May 2020 through some time in October 2020.

While most borrowers want to get forgiveness and forget amount any further compliance with this program, they will want to wait until they get full forgiveness using up to a 24-week period. It is also likely PPP borrowers will want to wait to apply for forgiveness until late this year or next year. Waiting may be the better way to go as it may allow you to defer paying any income tax on amounts forgiven until 2021 (get a one year deferral of paying this tax), or could allow you to avoid having to pay tax on the forgiven amounts at all.

This is due to the fact that many members of Congress have indicated they do want businesses to deduct expenses covered by PPP. Based on current IRS guidance this is not currently how the program works. By waiting, you may give Congress time to act and therefore change laws to allow your business to avoid ever paying any tax on expenses paid by PPP loans.

Forgiveness will likely take between 4 and 15 months from the end of the Covered Period. This is because the forgiveness application can be submitted anytime up to 10 months after the Covered Period ends. The lender then has 2 months to review the borrower’s forgiveness application and then the SBA has another 3 months to approve the lenders submission and notify the borrower how much of its loan is forgiven.

Car Lot for Sale 1818 E. Lancaster Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76103 Southside of Fort Worth at E. Lancaster Ave & Riverside Dr.

By using the 24-week period, you will also allow your covered PPP expenses (payroll and other expenses) to greatly exceed your PPP loan amounts. Based on current guidance this will likely make the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Salary Reduction calculations irrelevant. The current Forgiveness Applications allow a borrower to add all qualified expenses for the covered period and then reduce the total expenses by the FTE ratio or Salary Reduction amount. This is a big deal since a 24-week period will result in qualified expenses that significantly exceed the PPP loan amount. Thus, any reductions resulting from FTE or salary reductions will reduce the total PPP expense amount, but these will likely still exceed the total PPP loan amount therefore still allowing total forgiveness.

For example, if we assume a dealer has received a $300,000 PPP loan amount. His qualified expenses for the 8-week and 24-week period are $200,000 and $580,000, respectively. By using the 24-week period, even if a dealership’s FTE reduction is 25% and salary reduction is $20,000, the dealership still winds up getting its loan completely forgiven, as shown below: Total 24-week forgiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $580,000 Less: Salary reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 Net after salary reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $560,000 Less: FTE ratio reduction (25%) . . . . . . . . $140,000 Net Potential Forgiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $320,000 Total PPP Loan Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300,000 Total forgiven (Lesser of A or B) . . . . . . . $300,000 As you can see, by using the 24-week period, the entire loan is still forgiven even though the borrower had reductions in salary and FTEs. This also allows for greater reduction than using the 8-week period forgiveness of $200,000.

Recent PPP Guidance Just Released

•

Land is 0.5722 Acre, 24,927 sq ft Reception, Sales, and Payment offices with 3 large windows and custom-built cabinets Central HVAC Private office with a large window and custom-built cabinets & shelves Shop, garage, storage in the back • Sales Price: $350,000.00

Contact Staci

•

817-798-6240 16

In normal fashion with this program, as we were preparing this article, the SBA has just released further guidance which has surprised many people. The newest guidance provides that, with regard to self-charged rents as part of “other expenses”, only rents equal to the mortgage interest paid on the self-rented property can be included.

For example, if a dealership pays rent to a related property company of $20,000 per month, but the interest deducted by the property company is $11,000 for the month, only the $11,000 interest expense amount can be deducted as “rent”. If rent is paid to an unrelated company, then the entire rent payment may be included as part of “other expenses”. As mentioned above, due to the calculations for the 24-week period, this will still likely result in full forgiveness based on the excess of expenses allowed for a 24-week covered period.

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Unanswered Questions

Although we have received quite a bit of guidance, there are still a number of unanswered questions that affect dealership forgiveness. The key items still not answered that are relevant for dealerships are: 1) Can interest expense paid on floor plan, lines of credit or other debt be included in “other expenses”?

2) Can Related Finance Company qualify for PPP loans and forgiveness?

3) Can gasoline or other transportation costs qualify for forgiveness as part of “other expenses”?

4) If a salesperson or other commission-based person receives less compensation for the covered period, but has the same pay plan as the look back periods, do I have to consider this a salary reduction?

5) Does the covered period have to stop when total payroll expenses exceed the PPP loan amount as some banks have indicated?

6) Does monthly trash disposal or DMS maintenance cost qualify for treatment as “other expense”?

Many borrowers will want to enlist services of their accountant or other financial professional to review their applications prior to submission to their bank to determine its accuracy and compliance with the rules to avoid future problems from the lender or SBA. At this time, there are a number of provisions being discussed in Congress that could likely result in a smaller 2nd round of PPP. General discussions seem to indicate it would likely only be available to those

businesses with less than 300 employees for which revenues are down 25 to 50 percent in the first 6 months compared to prior years or periods.

We will be closely following such bills to update you as they develop.

Dave Wiggins is the managing tax principal of CLAs dealership industry team. He has over 25 years of experience working with tax and consulting needs of dealers across the country. Dave can be reached at David.Wiggins@CLAConnect.com or 314-960-9502.

To Summarize — Final Thoughts

Many PPP borrowers will find it beneficial to utilize the longer forgiveness period of up to 24 weeks. In general, based on current forgiveness applications, most borrowers will get most if not all PPP loan amounts forgiven.

Many dealerships will want to plan their timing of forgiveness applications based on their expected tax situation for 2019 or 2020. Loss carrybacks and tax effects should be planned for between the two years.

The SBA has released an Easy Form and Long Form to apply for forgiveness. Most borrowers will prefer to use the easy form if possible. There are strong rumors that it is likely for borrowers having received PPP loans of less than $150,000 that a simpler forgiveness form may be issued requiring borrowers to just sign that they have complied with provisions of the PPP program.

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Join the list of those who have already contributed for 2020.

Contributions Year-to-Date January–September 2020

Brad Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500.00 Eddie Hale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500.00 Greg Reine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500.00 Tommy Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,400.00 Robert and Erika Blankenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000.00 Vicki Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Theresa and Steven Greig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Blake Ingram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Phillip Lathrop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Juan SabillĂłn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Michael Thomasson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Ryan Winkelmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Gregory Zak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Mark Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800.00 Keith Hagler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800.00 Justin Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00 Robert Beck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00 Chris Knox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00 Jeff Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00 Russell Moore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300.00 Robert Edenfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300.00 Mike Goff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250.00 Geral DeWitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Michael Zak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Charles Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Jerry and DeDe Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00

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on the cover

by TIADA Staff

I Wrap Up

n August, well over 300 gathered online for TIADA’s first ever virtual conference and expo. The association welcomed industry experts, state lawmakers, dealers across the state, and nearly 50 sponsors. “While we look forward to seeing everyone in person, it was great to see such a diverse group of participants come together, exchange ideas and bring their own experiences to the table. This is what our conference is all about,” said Executive Director Jeff Martin.

In just four short weeks, TIADA transformed its annual conference and expo to a virtual event in order to offer TIADA members key education and a platform to network and share ideas regarding key issues impacting the industry.

“Thank you TIADA for putting on a conference. Period!

Would have been very easy to throw in the towel for the year as I’m sure many other associations have done.”

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~ Brent Carmichael, NCM Associates

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LEGISLATORS

EDUCATION

We did it!

SPONSORS VENDORS ROUNDTABLES

“You guys pulled together a comprehensive virtual conference in a record short time. We are very proud of our association with TIADA.”

September 2020

~ Christopher Kirwan, Berkshire Risk Services

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Legislators Still

a Big Part of Conference

“If you can’t have a face to face meeting or hear them address our general assembly, this is definitely the next best thing,” said TIADA President Robert Beck when asked about the legislative visits at this year’s conference. Having state legislators at the TIADA Conference has become a staple over the past five years. While legislators usually speak at the House of Delegates, opening general sessions and awards ceremonies, this year’s meetings looked much more like a Zoom call with smaller, more intimate groups. A special thanks to all the state legislators who agreed to be a part of this year’s conference: Hon. Robert Nichols, Texas State Senator, District 3 Hon. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Texas State Senator, District 20 Hon. Brandon Creighton, Texas State Senator, District 4 Hon. Oscar Longoria, Texas State Representative, District 35 Hon. Drew Springer, Texas State Representative, District 68 Hon. Will Metcalf, Texas State Representative, District 16 Hon. Stan Lambert, Texas State Representative, District 71 Hon. Cesar Blanco, Texas State Representative, District 76

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The education was as strong as ever with over 20 hours of breakout sessions. Dealers heard from some of the industry’s leading experts and biggest names in the independent space. For those who missed the breakout sessions, education recordings are available through November 16, 2020. See page 28 for more details.

Both new and seasoned dealers had an opportunity to share a common space to exchange ideas and experiences through roundtable discussions and Q&As. “I was able to connect with a few dealers that I had not met before and made some new friends in the process,” shared Brad Kalivoda of Fiesta Motors in Lubbock. For Karina Saenz of Encore Motors in Houston, this was her first year attending the conference: “I was very pleased to have heard from other people’s experience and how willingly they were to share information to make my business better. All of their input was very appreciated and I hope that next year I can also help others as I was helped this year.”

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Dealer attendees were also able to network with other participants throughout the conference via oneon-one messaging, group chat and live discussions. “When TIADA’s Executive Director calls you directly, this is a unique sign that you belong to the best organization advocating for your small business. We have been blessed since we joined TIADA two years ago,” said first-time attendee Cristo Mendoza of Mendoza Auto Sales in Donna.

Over the years, TIADA has worked diligently to grow the association’s political influence, and just like in past conferences, dealers were offered an opportunity to meet with lawmakers and state agencies to discuss policies affecting the used car industry. Following these meetings, Executive Director Jeff Martin met with dealers through live video chat at the TIADA booth to continue the discussion on legislative issues and other industry-related topics.

Behind the scenes, nearly 50 sponsors logged in from various cities across the country during the Live Expo to visit with dealers and provide key information on products and services. John Kamal of John Kamal Cars in Houston said about the Expo: “I enjoyed the virtual (cont’d on pg. 25)

“Just know that I had a great experience as did those on my staff who participated.” ~ Chad Lancaster,

Chacon Autos, Dallas

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Virtual Conference Education Offered

Live Q&A

“Our education lineup was fantastic, but I was most excited about Session: The Accelerated Future the interaction between our attendees and presenters”, said TIADA of Car Shopping and Buying Executive Director Jeff Martin. Below you will find a sample of the here is a good place for me to start when dealer Q&A that came from a few of the sessions at this year’s Q: W communicating with my customers? conference: (Dealers can still view the recorded presentations including the Q&As, see page 28.)

A: I understand some of the concepts we discussed are way out there or may not fit the size of your staff and your Session: Ad Copy Cures: Set a Positive Tone technology, but consumers are looking for some way to in Advertising Post-Pandemic shop on their own terms. I would start with leveraging your current staff to determine what you can do in your Q: H ow much budget should I allocate for Facebook advertising; day-to-day operation. It may just be as simple as allowI sell between 15 and 20 cars a month? ing your sales staff to text with customers. Start slow A: I t is less about the number of cars you are selling as it is and add tools or features as they logistically make sense about the size of the population in your area. Everything for your dealership. in Facebook operates like an auction, so if you are in a smaller market you can make your Facebook advertising Session: Going Back to Basics – Keeping dollar stretch a little further.

Your Dealership Accounting Records Clean

Session: TxDMV is Here to Help

Q: I s there anything related to COVID that dealers should be thinking about regarding accounting?

Q: I f I want to open a new location in Humble and my current dealership is in Houston, do I have to get a new P number, A: T he biggest thing I see currently that is not being reported properly, and I had to make a couple of adjustments or can I use the same one? for dealers, is how to record that loan. A lot of people A: T here are some instances when you can add a supplemental have just automatically placed that loan proceeds and license if you are in the same city. However, in this instance recorded that as income, and that is not the case. You you would need to apply for a separate license since the have not gone through the process of the forgiveness location will be in a different city. loan application. So, what we have been doing is having dealers set up an actual loan balance account under Session: Remote Sales, Internet Sales, general ledgers. Set up two accounts: a cash account, Appointment Only & Curbside Delivery — depending on if you have segregated or you have a sepaKnow the Legal Minefields rate account that you put those proceeds in and you are tracking what you are spending that money on. And then Q: W hat if I just offer a three-day money back guarantee on also, set up a liability, like what we talked about before. all sales, does that bypass all the rules?

A line of credit, loan from SBA or wherever you got those A: I wish that were true, but there is no magic bullet. A funds from. Once you go through the loan forgiveness three-day rescission, or any recission, will not allow you process you can decide how you want to allocate those to bypass the FTC rules, language that must go into the dollars, after you visit with your accountant or CPA. contract and oral disclosures.

Thank You to the moderators who helped with the live Q&A of the Breakout Sessions: Brent Carmichael NCM Associates

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Jay Rose

Richard Hudson

Global Training Solutions Ignite Consulting Partners T e x a s

Kenny Atcheson Dealer Profit Pros

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September 2020

2020 Conference Wrap-Up (cont’d from pg. 23)

experience—similar to the in-person conference, I had the option of gathering information from different booths and putting it in my backpack, to take a look at it later. The interaction with everyone at the booth allowed me to learn what questions other dealers had—this helped guide me on how to best utilize their products or services.” Having started in the independent auto industry at the age of 19, Kamal added,“I would have not gotten where I am now if it weren’t for HIADA and TIADA. Through workshops and conferences like this one, you get to connect and learn from a community of dealers who have been in the industry and want to see young dealers grow— and that is valuable.”

The ever-popular booth prizes and giveaways were also back this year.

Collectively, dealers walked away with over $5,000 in booth prizes and giveaways courtesy of our fantastic sponsors. A huge congratulations to TIADA’s ten $500 cash prize winners!

Participating in a virtual conference was undoubtedly a new experience for many, but our members’ willingness to dabble with new technology, work through several unknowns, and adapt to a

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“Really enjoyed the breakout this morning.” ~ Chris Donnelly,

Your Car Store, Conroe

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virtual experience demonstrated an unyielding resilience to the changing landscape and a commitment to the association and industry as a whole. “We all were quite nervous of what to expect, but I have to say that everything came together and worked well. I can officially say that I have worked at a Digital Booth in a Virtual Show,” said Chuck Helmer of AutoZone, a Gold Sponsor. “While

TIADA strives each year to produce an optimal experience for both our dealer attendees and sponsors, this year’s first virtual experience fell short of our expectations and what we envisioned for our sponsors who experienced varying levels of success at this year’s event,” shared Martin. “However, at the end of the day, TIADA is fortunate to have support of its sponsors. Thanks to

the hundreds of you, including our fantastic sponsors, who took this journey with us—we did it, and we did it together.”

As TIADA wraps up this year’s conference season, the association looks forward to seeing you July 25-27 at the Kalahari Resort & Conventions in Round Rock for the 2021 TIADA Conference & Expo — save the date!

TIADA Announces the Winner of This Year’s Marvin Norwood Scholarship This year’s winner, Madison Elkins, just graduated from Mansfield Legacy High School and will be attending Texas State University this fall, majoring in General Studies. Madison plans to further her education by later attending law school with the hopes of fulfilling her dream of becoming a Family Legal Attorney. Madison’s grandfather founded his independent used car dealership in the Dallas-Fort Worth area almost 40 years ago and at one point or another all of Madison’s family has worked there including herself. For the past several years Madison has assisted the family business in various duties as needed including filing, customer service, collections, transporting and taking pictures of the cars for the company’s website. Congratulations Madison Elkins, the 2020 Marvin Norwood Scholarship recipient.

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Thank You

TO

OUR

Sponsors

PLATINUM SPONSORS

AVP - Assured Vehicle Protection, Inc.

• Berkshire Risk Services

• CP Insurance Associates Frazer DMS • Goldstar by Spireon • Manheim

CLA – CliftonLarsonAllen

GOLD SPONSORS

• AGORA Data, Inc. • Alliance Auto Auction Ally SmartAuction • AutoTrader, Inc. • AutoZone Buckeye Dealership Consulting • DealerCenter • Ituran USA Inc. LGT - Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLC • Mullen Insurance Agency Inc. PassTime • PrimaLend Capital Partners • REPAY Spartan Financial Partners • STARS GPS • Texas Dealer Solutions ACV Auctions

SILVER SPONSORS

• ARS - American Risk Services • CARWAVE • O’Reilly Auto Parts • Podium • SecureClose • Texas Lone Star Auto Auction – Lubbock

AFS Dealers, LLC

Williams and Stazzone Insurance Agency, Inc.

BRONZE SPONSORS

• AutoAction • AutoRaptor Autotrader BHPH Center • AutoZoom • BlytzPay • First Texas Auto Credit Ignite Consulting Partners • Neo • PFS Auto Finance • SiriusXM Advantage GPS •Auto Master Systems, Inc.

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Buy Recordings

Access the Top Dealer Education Now! The heart and soul of the TIADA Conference is our education – over 20 hours’ worth. While the quantity is impressive, attendees always leave talking about the quality. From owners and GM’s to your newest greenhorn staffers, the TIADA Conference has something for everyone.

• • • • • • • •

•

When a Pandemic Forces Us to Revisit the Basics BRENT CARMICHAEL NCM Associates

The Accelerated Future of Car Shopping and Buying

•

JESSICA STAFFORD Autotrader & Kelley Blue Book

HR Considerations During a Pandemic

•

JOE RIVERA Naman Howell Smith & Lee

TxDMV Is Here to Help CORRIE THOMPSON & DAVID GEORGE Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

•

Ad Copy Cures: Set a Positive Tone in Advertising Post-Pandemic

•

LINDSAY SHEARON Dealer OMG

ERIC JOHNSON & ANDREA COTTRELL Hudson Cook, LLP

Amplifying SEM for a Measurable Sales Lift RON MORRISON Pureinfluencer, LLC

Finding the Right Financial Partner for BHPH — The PostPandemic Sequel KEN SHILSON Subprime Analytics & NABD

Effective Communication Leads to More Sales and More Referrals JAY ROSE Global Training Solutions

Is the TIADA CPO Right for You? MARK JONES Mike Carlson Motor Company (MCMC)

One on One with Tricolor Founder and CEO Daniel Chu

•

DANIEL CHU Tricolor

Disruptive Innovation: Threat or Opportunity?

TIM KINTZ The Kintz Group

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Other CARES Act Tax Planning DAVID WIGGINS CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)

Remote Sales, Internet Sales, Appointment Only and Curbside Delivery — Know the Legal Minefields

•

Tax Audits: What to Expect and How to Stay Compliant JANITA JASTER Texas Comptroller

Survive and Thrive by Understanding the Evolving Customer Journey

• • • • • • •

In-Depth Q&A with Two Masters of Collections BRENT CARMICHAEL NCM Associates JAY ROSE Global Training Solutions

One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Dealer’s Guide to Facebook Ads DANE SAVILLE Reunion Marketing

How to Build It, Grow It, Protect It and Die Happy MARK BURKHOLDER Peachtree Planning

Stay Legal and Compliant — Repos, Bankruptcies, Disclosures MICHAEL W. DUNAGAN Jameson & Dunagan, P.C.

BHPH Unplugged

National Dealer Panel Discussion

Going Back to Basics — Keeping Your Accounting Records Clean KEVIN ROY CPA

Exams: During and After COVID

HUFFMAN LEWIS Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner

ALI FAWAZ Reputation.com

Session Recordings $250

Available through November 16 4 22 Presentations including Panel Discussions 4 24-Hour Access on Desktop & Laptops 4 For You and Your Co-workers

https://tiadaannualconference.com/buy-recordings/ 28

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feature

One on One with Tricolor Founder and CEO Daniel Chu

by TIADA Staff

D

uring TIADA’s recent Virtual Conference and Expo participants had an opportunity to listen to the wisdom of Daniel Chu, Founder and CEO of Tricolor, the nation’s largest used vehicle retailer focusing on the integrated sale and financing of vehicles to Hispanic consumers. This breakout session had the highest number of attendees during the live presentation when dealers also had an opportunity to ask Chu their own questions. Here’s an excerpt from that interview conducted by Kenny Atcheson from Dealer Profit Pros.

What is a mission driven company and why is it so important at Tricolor?

At our company we talk about building a business that is sustainable, not a business that is designed to maximize profits on any given year but a business that over time is sustainable — and when we talk about sustainability, we talk about being able to deliver value to the consumer. There is also an underlying belief that, to the extent we can deliver value to the consumer, the economic outcome will take care of itself. And so, being mission driven to us is all about aspiring to a purpose that is more overarching, it’s not about how many cars did we sell or how many locations do we have. It’s really about a view around how can we really enhance the customer’s life by providing some value that ultimately enables them to build a path to mainstream financing.

How are you using data analytics and technology to attract the right customer?

We finance a customer who oftentimes doesn’t have a history of credit bureau data.

In most cases they don’t exist in the credit bureau. We begin by gathering as much data as we can, as a BHPH operator we have the advantage of actually interacting with the consumer. If you look at the large lenders in sub-prime auto, like Santander, Wells Fargo, September 2020

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etc., those finance companies are buying paper from the dealer so they never build that relationship with the consumer. On the other hand, we are interfacing with that consumer, we are gathering an enormous amount of data on that consumer that over time we are able to observe specific profiles and see how those profiles actually perform on their loans and in turn, we then have the ability to align marketing and underwriting. We capitalize on the opportunity we have to actually go out and market the customers that our data tells us are going to pay well and that yields a good outcome. There is a lot of valuable insight in the data.

sustainable business model, we want our sales force to understand that we are trying to provide value to the consumer and, to the extent that they buy into that and communicate that, we believe they have a distinctive advantage in terms of being able to actually transact a sale. Our salespeople know that as a company we aspire to actually serve that consumer and, going down to the specific transaction they are working on, we have a very strong desire for that customer to have quality transportation at a reasonable price with financing that is not only affordable and realistic but financing that they can be successful with. That’s really important for us.

Would you say that makes the sales process easier for the salespeople because you are getting the right customer in, in the first place?

Are you using your own technology to compile that data? Can you reveal what you are using?

We do and you know, today in BHPH we have a product that we say is sold, it’s not bought. Apple has a product that is bought. You don’t go to the Apple store and people say “what does it take today to make you buy this iPhone?” You just go in and say “please, do you have an iPhone in stock, I want to purchase it.” We have a product that has to be sold and we want to facilitate the ability of our sales force and we do that by hopefully driving leads that are appropriate to our financing criteria. But also, going back to being mission driven and being a

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Sure, we actually have made a fairly significant investment in what we call “decision signs” we use today.

It is the ability to take an enormous amount of data that we’ve collected during our 12 years of operation and over 70,000 loans, and with technology available today, we can actually identify patterns. And that’s the key, identifying those patterns that in some way, correlate to performing on a loan. Prior to using that technology, what people call deep learning or machine learning — a component of artificial intelligence, we used simple regress analysis. We would look at the

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Kenny Atcheson attentively listens to Daniel Chu’s response during their interview which drew a large audience on the first day of the virtual conference.

customer’s attribute and how it correlates to payment; for example, how does how many years a customer has been in his job correlate to payment. That is one variable, that’s really simple analysis. Now we know all these different data points like how long have they been at their residence, how many income earners in the family, and many others. We try to find the patterns and how they correlate,

try to figure out what communalities among lots of attributes are really important and we use that to shape our marketing and to drive how we underwrite.

Since the larger the data set is, the more accurate the results, what about the dealer that just has one location and is fairly new?

We all started with one dealership and it is a process over time.

But in those cases, you do 1) rely on some third-party resources for some scoring methodology, and 2) you potentially are going to finance some portion of your borrowers who actually have a credit score.

The credit might not look good but you want to find something in that bureau data that gives you a reason to finance that customer; in other words, is it a customer that lost its job during the pandemic but was doing fairly well until that point?

Is it a customer that went through a divorce but up until then was fine? You want to be able to look at what’s available and see if you can overlook the fact that the numerical score that you get from the bureau may not be attractive, it may be so unattractive that nobody else will finance them but you see a story in that data, that would be one approach. And then another approach, you have bureau data, you have other alternative data because

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a lot of subprime consumers pay bills that they don’t necessarily get credit for. For example, if the customer pays his rent on a house that is owned by an individual and pays it on time for 10 years, that information will never show up in his bureau record so, I think it is important to figure out how to use some data that is not going to show up in his bureau report but that you can actually go out and verify.

In addition, if you are just starting out, you want to figure out what niche can you possibly explore that might give you an advantage and the reason you want to explore a niche is that it is really the fundamental of our business. There are too many smart and entrepreneurial operators in Texas so it’s going to be very hard just going out and compete as a BHPH operator. Our focus was on one component, the Hispanic market, and we felt that we could invest the resources to understand that market better than anybody else. We didn’t want to compete with all the successful entrepreneur BHPH in Texas. There are other niches that provide opportunities, and so to the extent you have identified those niches, then overtime, as a complement to bureau data and alternative data and third party resources, you are going to develop your own set of variables that you think are really important that might be specific to that niche and I think there is a lot of opportunity there. There’s a lot of competition in Texas so finding a niche, being differentiated, I think is a big key.

What should every dealer be doing to help protect the industry and their dealership?

There are a lot of dimensions people should consider in how they look at protecting their business. We are in an election year and that election year has some likelihood of catalyzing a lot of change that would impact our business. I think BHPH has been the recipient of a very hands-off regulatory environment and everybody loves that, everybody wants a pro-business environment and nobody wants to have to constantly be restrained by regulatory issues but I think there is a really good chance that for the next couple of years, post-elections, we see a different regulatory environment. So, when we talk about protecting our business, we believe that developing a culture around compliance would be a worthwhile investment. If there is a change in the administration, it’s very likely that you would see regulation addressing industries like BHPH. It would definitely address payday, it would definitely address title loans, it would probably address BHPH and so, in our opinion, rather than sit around and be frustrated with that change, we believe that operators need to get ahead and do some planning now and actually embrace the idea that a compliance culture is probably in your best interest if you want to protect your business.

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...if you are just star ting out, you want to figure out what niche can you possibly explore that might give you an advantage and the reason you want to explore a niche is that it is really the fundamental of our business. There are too many smar t and entrepreneurial operators in Texas so it’s going to be ver y hard just going out and compete as a BHPH operator.

Do you use technology for compliance?

We use a lot of the compliance tools that Hudson Cook provides; they have a compliance system designed to the BHPH industry and those are some good investments. Entrepreneurs tent to overlook compliance because entrepreneurs are all about investment in strategies that drive revenue and investing in compliance doesn’t feel like it’s going to drive revenue so it’s not going to be prioritized but if you are going to protect your business today, that’s an important area to focus on.

Editor’s Note: You can access the full interview, and all other education sessions, in the virtual conference platform. Content will be available through November 16.

See page 28 for more information.

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board of directors meeting minutes August 12, 2020 | Conference Call

compiled by Texas Dealer staff

Members Present

Robert Beck, Mark Jones, Juan Sabillon, Ryan Winkelmann, Eddie Hale, Brad Kalivoda, Chad Lancaster, Greg Reine, Vicki Davis, Greg Phea, Robert Blankenship, and Armando Villarreal.

Moved by Vicki Davis, seconded by Greg Reine – PASSED A motion was made to adjourn the meeting.

Moved by Robert Blankenship, seconded by Ryan Winkelmann – PASSED

At its meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, TIADA took the following actions:

Robert Beck adjourned the meeting at 9:56a.m.

President Robert Beck called the meeting to order at 8:06a.m.

Respectfully submitted, Ryan Winkelmann, Secretary

Minutes of the Last Meeting

Secretary Ryan Winkelmann presented the minutes from last meeting.

A motion was made to accept the minutes.

A complete copy of any reports referenced in this document and more detailed notes from the meeting are on file at the TIADA office and available upon request.

Moved by Brad Kalivoda, seconded by Armando Villarreal – PASSED

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Eddie Hale presented the Treasurer’s report.

A motion was made to accept the report.

Moved by Mark Jones, seconded by Juan Sabillon – PASSED

President’s Report

President Robert Beck presented the President’s report.

He talked about the business of the association as it relates to the House of Delegates and awards that would normally occur during the conference.

Executive Director’s Report

Jeff Martin talked about events during virtual conference, demonstrated the conference site and covered conference agenda and expectations for BOD members.

New Business

Treasurer Eddie Hale went over the FY20 budget and presented the FY21 budget update.

Jeff Martin commented on the FY21 budget update.

A motion was made to accept the proposed FY21 budget.

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feature

Justice is Coming — Will You Be Ready?

by Steve Levine

Ignite Consulting Partners

T

he Covid-19 pandemic has presented many obstacles for the used car dealers that make up the readership of this publication, and I fear that there is another challenge still to come. Much like Wyatt Earp bringing vengeance at the conclusion of the movie Tombstone, there will be lots of consumer lawsuits and they will bring havoc and chaos to those that didn’t have the foresight to prepare.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied — For Now

“Justice delayed is justice denied” is a legal adage that means that if legal relief or access to the courts is not available in a timely fashion, it’s the same as if there is no remedy at all. The pandemic crisis has had a significant impact on the ability to access the courts. Most courts in our state have been shut down or have drastically limited live proceedings and administrative personnel have not 34

been able to come to work, which resulted in new cases not being filed and old cases sitting stagnant.

This presented two unique challenges for the auto finance industry. First, these delays caused commonly sought remedies like judicial repossessions and pursuit of deficiency balances to be put on hold. This is critical, because sometimes judicial foreclosure of a vehicle is the only way a lienholder can regain possession. It’s virtually unprecedented that these remedies were unavailable for a few months. Even though courts and administrative offices are beginning to reopen, the backlog of work for court personnel, process servers, sheriff ’s departments, bond companies, as well as an anticipated flood of new filings will be sure to create delays and drag on proceedings.

The second challenge, which will be a drastic increase in consumer claims and other litigation, is still developing.

While many creditors have taken the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner urgings for restraint to heart, and T e x a s

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the government unemployment stimulus has helped consumers meet their financial obligations in the short term, there are still lots of people dealing with job loss or reduced earnings, and that will eventually create tensions that will lead to more lawsuits

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Won’t Pass Up a Crisis

Once the courts are fully operational again, I anticipate a wave of claims. I’ve never known consumer lawyers to pass up an opportunity to make money, and I’m afraid this crisis will result in another payday for them. Actions like repossessions from an area under “stay at home orders” seem to be of interest to them, as do aggressive collection efforts that took place in the midst of massive layoffs and emergency declarations and still continue. I believe there will be some egregious examples of collection behavior that will be publicized as the result of lawsuits and these will create a wave of bad publicity and that will result in claims for the need for more regulation and punishment.

Many companies have been forced to change the way they handle vehicle sales and otherwise do business, such as home deliveries and new methods of contracting, and in their haste to get back to business some didn’t dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s” when it came to due diligence of their new process. You can bet there are some hungry plaintiffs’ lawyers out there looking to profit and will find these cases. If you haven’t done so already, put your new process through a compliance and legal review.

I anticipate a dramatic number of employment related lawsuits for actions taken during the crisis. The new Families First Coronavirus Relief Act is a complex statute and many small businesses had to learn it “on the fly.” The handling of sick leave requests, decisions about furloughs and layoffs, the Family Medical Leave Act and OSHA laws, as well as the handling of the return to work, will all be fair game, as will claims based on a theory of an unsafe work environment. Dealers should have subject matter experts on speed dial. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to update your Employee Handbook and policies.

Manage Customer Complaints Before they Become Lawsuits Now is the time to have a strong complaint handling process. Train your employees about the dangers lurking around the corner and encourage flexible thinking and creative solutions. I know of one dealer that recently invited the scrutiny of the OCCC by fighting with a customer over a paltry sum when good customer service could have resolved the issue. The complaints of today are the lawsuits and regulatory actions of tomorrow.

Speaking of Tomorrow — Prepare for the Juror of Tomorrow It’s important for creditors to keep in mind that the jurors of tomorrow will have lived through this

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I anticipate a dramatic number of employment related lawsuits for actions taken during the crisis. The new Families First Coronavirus Relief Act is a complex statute and many small businesses had to learn it “on the fly.”

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crisis. Generally, jurors already tend to lean in a consumer’s favor because they can relate to the position of the consumer and they are consumers themselves. As a result of this crisis, though, I think that bond will be even strengthened, and jurors will be asking themselves whether the company’s behavior was proper given the enormity of the situation, namely a never experienced before pandemic. You want to be on the right side of that analysis, and your ability to claim that ground will depend on your willingness to put forth the effort to be “a good corporate citizen.”

Conclusions

The Covid-19 crisis has and will continue to have an impact on our justice system. The changes we face will be with us for quite a while, deep into 2021 is my best guess, and those expecting “business as usual” are in for a rude awakening. Take this opportunity to strengthen your position with strong training and process management.

Steve Levine is an attorney with 30 years of experience protecting car dealers and finance companies. Follow him on Twitter @LawyerLevine.

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feature

Implementation = Results!

by Jay Rose

Global Training Solutions

I

was reflecting this weekend about how great the 2020 TIADA Virtual Conference was. I reviewed my notes from many great speakers, moderators and subject matter experts on how to improve their financial partners, inventory, marketing, collections, sales, dealership reputation and more. As I looked at all the “Best Ideas” for improvements, I was reminded of the most important part of getting better results: Implementation.

Since 1988, I have watched dealers, managers and department personnel go to outside workshops & 20 Groups to learn someone else’s training program and failed to implement those best practices and best ideas which becomes very frustrating for everyone. In fact, this is known in our industry as the “90 Day Wonder” program which creates a resistance from owners (investment) and employees (comfort zone) to any new

September 2020

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processes or skill development in the future. My experience working “In-dealerships” has been that the training companies, 20 Groups, & conferences providing those “best practices & best ideas” did their job with great content. The breakdown that kept the dealer from getting better results came from these key areas:

Action Plan:

What results do you want to change?

Why do you want that to change?

How are you going to take the “generic” training

and “customize” it to your dealership staff, culture, facility, and customer base?

When are you going to start? Date expected

to be implemented.

Commitment to changes for at least 120+ days.

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Implementation:

Key Areas that need changing

Support skills / knowledge / software needed to be

learned Employees needed to be trained and coached

Support from Owner / Sr. Management

Compensation / Bonus needs to support new

process or skills Policies re-written to show commitment and

consequences if improved process or skills not followed.

Training & Coaching:

Schedule your training meetings in advance to

make sure everyone goes through training. Do not let staff get out of training for any reason or our program will not work.

Provide the training support needed for

department managers to make their training effective (Managing a department vs. professional training / coaching skills are different).

Use subject matter experts when possible to get

buy-in and credibility.

Training must be fun, interesting, informative &

result driven.

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Always praise employees in public and critique in

private.

Have a defined daily or weekly group & individual

training outline.

All group training meetings and practice sessions need

to be video recorded and become part of daily culture in your departments (we are in a YouTube generation and the only people who do not want to be recorded are those that are not good at those skills), no excuses, everyone must demonstrate the new skills, including managers!

Group training meetings should be from 15 min to

1-hour max.

1 on 1 Individual coaching should be from 5 min to 15 min max.

Use effective communication skills to have successful

coaching sessions. Ask more questions, listen, and take notes. This should be defined and practiced with consistency just like your interview process for new hire.

Your voice inflection and your body language will have

an impact of whether your employees believe you and whether they will improve their skills and process.

Track all department activity metrics and results

and focus on the improvements to keep your team motivated.

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Bonus: Remember that the defi nition of insanity is: “To Keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.”

resource guide The TIADA Website:

My recommendation is to take the time needed to address all the questions/issues listed. Larger operations will want to include senior management and identify who is responsible for what.

The most impactful way for your team to buy-in to a new skill or process is when the “manager or trainer / coach” can demonstrate perfectly the technique with a customer, not just in a hotel room or conference room. This will improve your implementation and success rate!

www.txiada.org Members can log in with their username/password and access our Dealer Member Directory, Legislative Action Center, Compliance Consultation Service and much more. Register for all upcoming TIADA events online through the Calendar of Events, access our online membership application, find contact information for all our Local Chapters, and access many additional resources through our Knowledge Base.

Jay is the leader in “Customized InDealership Coaching & Training,” he can be reached at (904)-955-7666 or Jrosegts@gmail.com

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Texas Department of Motor Vehicles 888.368.4689 www.txdmv.gov

Texas Comptroller 800.252.1382 www.window.state.tx.us NIADA 800.682.3837 www.niada.com

REPOSSESSIONS American Recovery Association 972.755.4755 www.repo.org or contact TIADA state office

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3:37 PM

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feature

webDEALER Available to More Dealers

by TIADA Staff

S

tarting September 1, county tax assessors-collectors are required to make webDEALER available to any licensed independent automobile dealer in Texas. For years many used car dealers have not had full access to webDEALER. However, after the passage of SB 604 in the 86th legislative session, that has changed.

TxDMV Regional Service Center staff have previously been trained on webDEALER and are the main support for counties. RSC staff have been training tax assessor-collectors to help with this transition.

However, counties still have significant latitude in who they deputize as dealer deputies and the requirements vary from county to county. If you are interested in becoming a dealer deputy you should reach out to your county to better understand the requirements and/or qualifications.

Dallas County Tax Assessor/Collector John R. Ames encourages dealers to be cautious as they move forward. “Dallas County was an early adopter of webDEALER and one of the first counties to allow an independent dealer in the program. My team and I have embraced and supported webDEALER, but I want to emphasize that webDEALER is not for everyone. I cannot stress enough; dealers must contact their local county tax office to make sure they completely understand how to use webDEALER and the local procedures that are in place. The tax offices are here to help dealers, but if a dealer goes onto the platform and starts transferring deals prior

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to visiting with the tax office, it can create significant delays and problems.” Most counties require that the dealer set up an ACH prior to transferring any deals on webDEALER. webDEALER was rolled out in 2013 and originally only franchise dealers had access to the system. As TxDMV and participating tax offices continued to fine tune the process, more dealers were allowed access, including used car dealerships. However, going into 2020 there were still a few counties that did not participate.

“This is a great opportunity for our dealers,” said TIADA Executive Director Jeff Martin, “Like anything this will take a little time to get used to for the dealers and maybe tax offices due to the quantity of deals that may come through webDEALER. But one thing this pandemic has shown us is we can do things differently and sometimes it may even be more efficient. I think that is what you will find here — this is going to be more efficient.”

Dealers are not required to use webDEALER, and dealers are still required to adhere to form VTR-136, County of Title Issuance. However, this could make the transfer process much easier in a county the dealer doesn’t normally do business in.

Dealers can find self-help videos on the TxDMV website that explain what webDEALER is and how to use the system. Go to the dealer portal (txdmv.gov/dealers), scroll to the bottom, and select the webDEALER tab.

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Please Welcome Our Newest TIADA Members DEALER MEMBERS 4 L & A Auto Repair, LLC Jose Gallegos . . . . . 7506 Long Point Rd., Houston, TX 77055 A2B Auto Sales Inc. Harold Tarver . . . . . . . . . . 8319 Sterlingshine St, Houston, TX 77078 Abasolo Autos LLC Ma Amaya Hernandez . . . . . . . . . 2144 Cortez Ave, McAllen, TX 78503 AnyTyme Auto Sales DeMarco McSwain . . . . . . . . . . . . 6105 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723 Approval Auto Sales Michael Dewitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816 Ryan Ct, Arlington, TX 76001 Ascend Autos Bilal Wahid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16400 South Interstate 35, Buda, TX 78610 Auto A to Z Luis Valle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1334 S General McMullen, San Antonio, TX 78237 Automart Jason Delgado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2020 Junction Hwy, Kerrville, TX 78028 Automundo Ennis Ramiro Perales . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Connecticut Ave, Midlothian, TX 76065 Autosource Cliff Coleman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121 E Sahara Ave, Bldg 1, Las Vegas, NV 89104 Axis Motors Enrique Iturralde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13139 Queens Forest, San Antonio, TX 78228 Baldwin Motor Co

Ron Baldwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40227 Industrial Park Circle #104, Georgetown, TX 78626

Baws Baws USA Inc. John Oziko . . . . . . . . 10333 Harwin Dr. Ste 224, Houston, TX 77036 Benitez Auto Group Jonathan Benitez . . . . . . . . . . . 2203 Progressive Dr, Dallas, TX 75212 Big Dog Autoplex Lori Yocom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PO BOX 154, Clyde, TX 79510 Brianna’s Autoplex LLC Neil Mohammed . . . . . 2331 Underwood Rd, La Porte, TX 77571 Callahan Motor Company LLC James Callahan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9601 Denton Hwy, Fort Worth, TX 76244

Cameron Motor Co. Toby Bradberry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1202 34th St, Lubbock, TX 79411 Corvette Country Tony Rankin . . . . . . . . . . 1504 Brandi Ln., Ste. C, Round Rock, TX 78681 Crazy Karma Inc Amir Lakhani . . . . . . . . 1600 Tyson Street Ste 101, Blue Mound, TX 76131 Custom Motor Group Co. Michael Mason . . . 405 FM 685 Unit A, Pflugerville, TX 78660 Dallas Motorworks

Emad Hafiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428 Mac Arthur Dr Ste 105, Suite 105, Carrollton, TX 75007

Davila Auto Group LLC Angel Davila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3527 Kinmore St, Dallas, TX 75223 Deeds Motor Company LLC Billy Deeds . . . 915 E US Highway 190, San Saba, TX 76877 Denison Motors Curtis Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820 S Austin Ave, Denison, TX 75020 DFW Auto Financing LLC Fadi Abdallah 10845 Ferguson Rd, Suite A, Dallas, TX 75228 Economy Kars Anthony Patterson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.O. Box 5168, Wichita Falls, TX 76307 EPR Auto Group Andrea De Avila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3919 Tyler Ave, El Paso, TX 79930 Fare Motors Emmanuel Carrillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3055 Rigsby, San Antonio, TX 78223 Gates Used Cars, Inc. Clint Oliphant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6030 Broadway, Pearland, TX 77581 Gator’s Auto Sales James Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Main St, Garland, TX 75040 GC Enterprises Gary Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PO Box 2268, Houston, TX 77252 Gold Star Autos Mireyda Ramierez . . . . . . . 1311 Fort Worth Ave, Suite A, Dallas, TX 75208 Hartline Family Auto Kristie Hartline . . . . . . . . 1016 N Center St., New Boston, TX 75570 Huaco Motors Roger Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2220 Franklin, Waco, TX 76701 I90 Motors LLP Gerome Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19140 FM 529 Rd, Cypress, TX 77433 IMAJ LLC Edwina Ibem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9626 South Kirkwood road ste b, Houston, TX 77099 International Auto Sale Khuyen Tran . . . . . . . . 5815 Royalton Street, Houston, TX 77081 JC Auto Sales of Dallas Jasmine Calhoun . . . . . . . . . . 10312 C F Hawn, Dallas, TX 75217 JD Tire and Auto Sales inc. Dolroes Antuna . . . . . 2809 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 Jewels Auto Sales Inc Sharmeka Armstrong . . . 3951 Bahamas Dr, Mesquite, TX 75150 JL&R Auto Sales LC. Ricardo Neira . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1615 S Zapata Hwy, Laredo, TX 78046 JMAC Auto Sales LLC Tameshia McConnell . . . . . . 7020 Cullen Blvd., Houston, TX 77021 J-Ride Cars Julian Lynch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1917 Huntingdon Ave, Dallas, TX 75203 KB’s Auto Station Todd Bright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1204 St. Louis, Gonzales, TX 78629 Kens Used Cars Ken Hale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415 Fort Worth Hwy, Weatherford, TX 76087 Legacy Auto Sales

M Castillo Auto Sales

Manuel Castillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2734 Cunningham St, Irving, TX 75062

Madrid Motors LLC Johnny Devora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912 Bodgers Dr, Austin, TX 78753 Mainland Auto Center David Moosavi . . . . . . . . . . . . 4824 FM 1765, Texas City, TX 77591 Maxdale Auto Sales LLC Matt Bowling . . . . . . . . . 5700 S Ft Hood St, Killeen, TX 76542 Memo’s Auto Financial Blanca Lopez . . . . . . . 10900 Telephone Rd, Houston, TX 77075 Midpoint Auto Group Karina Contreras . . . . . . 3402 Wiley Post Rd, Carrollton, TX 75006 Monkey Mug LLC Hugh Smikle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7158 Bellfort Street, Houston, TX 77087 Motor Bike Works, LLC Ken Miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2159 Courtland Dr, Frisco, TX 75034 Nikan Auto LLC Shayan Nikaeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2626 Manana Dr, Ste B, Dallas, TX 75220 Northwood Auto Sales Claudia Villalpando . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19922 Cypresswood Lake Dr, Spring, TX 77373

NTX Auto Exchange Armando Trujano . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1880 Forest ln, Garland, TX 75042 OCS Motors Chukwuemeka Orji . . . . . . . . . . 226 W Camp Widsom Rd, Duncanville, TX 75116 Paul Hamilton Motors LLC Paul Hamilton . . . . . . . . . 301 South Elm, Denton, TX 76201 Phoenix Auto Group Jackie Rodriguez . . . . . . . . . . 4497 W US Hwy 190, Belton, TX 76513 R & R Auto Dynamics LLC Renson Cavazos Lugo104 E. Mayberry St., Laredo, TX 78041 Ramos Motor LLC Hector Ramos . . . . . . . . . . . . 12281 Socorro Rd, San Elizario, TX 79849 RG Auto Sales 2 Rafael Gonzalez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Medina St., Eagle Pass, TX 78852 RGV Motors Company LLC Celia Sanchez . . . 1201 E Expressway 83, Donna, TX 78537 Roadrunner Motors, Inc. Jay Scheiman . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 N 10th St, McAllen, TX 78501 Rojo Traders Rock Shipley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1004 Early Blvd, Early, TX 76802 S & J Auto Group Jorge Uribe-Wong . . . . . . 806 W. Hildebrand Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212 Slim 2 None Customs Damian DeCuir . . . 7676 N.Freeway, Suite 709, Houston, TX 77037 South Texas Auto Center Albert Tapia . . . . . . . . . . . . PO Box 813, San Benito, TX 78586 South Texas Vehicle Remarketing, LLC Sergio Guerra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116 W. Harrison Ave, Harlingen, TX 78550

Southcoast Auto Connection

Arthur Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12430 Oxford Park Dr, Apt. 7211, Houston, TX 77082

Southwest Motors Fred Benitez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Fairland Drive, Wylie, TX 75098 SSautoSTX, LLC Steven Boles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4970 Old Brock Rd, Weatherford, TX 76087 Summit Auto Company Elizabeth Rodriguez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4718 College Park, San Antonio, TX 78249

Texas Motors Jose Martinez . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101 South Commerce St, Harlingen, TX 78550 Texas RV Trader Randy Merrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9310 E. US Highway 377, Cresson, TX 76035 The Auto Shop Jerry Kezhaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2560 East Plano Parkway, Plano, TX 75074 The Car Shed LLC Jesse Sutti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9906 County Rd 528, Burleson, TX 76028 Tisdale Motor Company John Tisdale . . . . . . . . . . . 216 E US Hwy 83, McAllen, TX 78501 TN Truck Sales, LLC Tim Dillon . . . . . . . . 501 N Access Road, P.O Box 515, Tye, TX 79563 True Auto Sales & Wrecker Service Reginald Truesdale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4516 Malden Ln, Dallas, TX 75216

True Key Auto John Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2421 W Division St, Arlington, TX 76012 VICHQ LLC Hesed Ojieh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6680 Highway 6s, Houston, TX 77083 West Motors Mark West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PO BOX 287, Gonzales, TX 78629 West T Motors Robert Pettit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716 W State Hwy 276, Quinlan, TX 75474 ASSOCIATE MEMBERS 5 Star Printing Kenneth Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2461 Christian Road, Ennis, TX 75120 BlytzPay, LLC Trevor Atwood . . . . . . 13937 South Sprague Lane, Ste 100, Draper, UT 84020 Car Market Solutions, LLC Ben Misra . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Finch Ct, Naperville, IL 60565 CARWAVE Scott Horton . . . . . . . . . . . . 855 North Broadway, Suite 100, Escondido, CA 92025

Ivan Castellanos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8331 FM 1960 Bypass Rd W, Suite E, Humble, TX 77338

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Become a TIADA Member

2020

Business Name: ____________________________________________ Select one:

Dealer Member

texas independent automobile dealers association

TIADA texas independent automobile dealers association

Associate Member

Contact Person: ____________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ City: __________________________________ State: _____ Zip: ______

2020 TIADA Membership Dues: $499* Renewing Member

County: ______________ Cell Phone: __________________________ Office Phone: __________________________ Fax: ________________________ Email: _______________________________________________

$250* New Member (*Membership is thru 12/31/20. Dues include NIADA and local chapter membership where applicable.)

Dealer P Number: ___________________________________________ Who referred you to TIADA? __________________________________ Mailing Address (if different from above): __________________________________________________________ City: _________________________ State: _______ Zip: ___________

PLEASE INDICATE PAYMENT METHOD: Check or Money Order payable to TIADA Check # __________ Credit Card Card Number: __________________________________________________ Sec.Code: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Expiration Date: ____________ Monthly Payments - $41.58 per month Via Credit Card (Please enter card information above) Via Bank Draft (Authorization Agreement required - contact state office)

Mail or Fax Application To: TIADA Membership Services, 9951 Anderson Mill Rd., Suite 101, Austin, TX 78750 FAX 512.244.6218

www.txiada.org

512.244.6060

Dues are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes but may be deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to IRS restrictions. It is estimated that 20 percent of your dues dollars is used for lobbying activities and is therefore not deductible.

September 2020

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behind the wheel

Martin

It IS Your Business

T

he TIADA Conference and Expo has traditionally been where the members meet to conduct the “business of the association.” In fact, for over 75 years the association has met in some form or fashion to elect officers, change bylaws, set the legislative agenda, review the budget, and basically take care of association business. This is also when the association usually names its quality dealer of the year and hands out other awards to recognize those worthy of recognition. So, what happened to all that this year?

As you already know, TIADA held its first ever virtual conference and in the planning the officers and past presidents of the association all agreed that holding the business of the association and handing out awards jut wouldn’t be the same virtually. This led us to postpone or delay those activities until the association could meet in person. In fairness, when that decision was made, everyone’s money was placed on this pandemic being lifted no later than September or October and things would be back to — can we even say “normal” anymore?

As the days flew by, it started to become obvious “normal” was further away than we expected. As an association we continue to monitor the situation and

by Jeff

TIADA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

make new decisions along the way. Recently, it was decided to postpone naming our quality dealer of the year until next year. This falls in line with the decision NIADA made as well as every other state association.

We will also postpone our Hall of Fame recipient for one year (oh the anticipation). However, we have a scholarship winner whom you can meet on page 26 and we will be announcing our Independent Award winners later this year.

The bylaws and legislative committees meet virtually, and while the bylaws committee proposed no changes to the bylaws, the legislative committee did recommend a few. We will look for a time and method in early October to present those proposed changes to our members, get final input, and set our legislative agenda.

The election of officers has been indefinitely postponed. Our current officers will stay in office until we can meet again in person. That could be in the next four or five months, fingers crossed, or it could be on Sunday, July 25, 2021 at our next annual conference.

Hey, I want to give everyone something to look forward to. Put that date in your calendar, it’s less than a year away and I will see you then.

...the officers and past presidents of the association all agreed that holding the business of the association and handing out awards just wouldn’t be the same virtually.

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Assured Vehicle Protection, 6300 Glenwood St., Suite 200, Mission, KS 66202. WWW.AVPADMIN.COM © Assured Vehicle Protection 2020

TEXAS INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION 9951 Anderson Mill Rd., Suite 101 Austin, TX 78750

PRSRT STD

U.S. POSTAGE

PA I D

JEFFERSON CITY, MO

PERMIT NO. 210