September 15, 2014
ON THE WEB: Carfax Claims Title Washing Rampant
www.usedcarnews.com
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NAAA Readies for Annual Gathering
According to new research from Carfax, nearly 800,000 used cars on America’s roads might have washed titles. Consumers in New Jersey, North Carolina, Mississippi, California and Georgia are most at risk, but thousands of title washed cars are in every state.
Firm Says Santander Misled Its Investors
A law firm has filed a class action suit on behalf of shareholders after the company announced the federal government is investigating its securitizations.
GM, GM Financial Sign Support Agreement
General Motors Co. and General Motors Financial Company Inc. have entered into a support agreement, reaffirming the critical role GM Financial plays in GM’s success. The agreement provides for leverage limits and liquidity support to GM Financial if needed, as well as other general terms of support.
Rush - Dated Material
Photo by Jeff Kowalsky BE OUR GUEST: Incoming National Auto Auction Association president Ellie Johnson and outgoing president Jack Neshe prepare to host guests at a dinner in Detroit. The pair have been traveling together for the past year. By Jeffrey Bellant
Jack Neshe didn’t realize he’d need to know French to serve as president of the National Auto Auction Association. Neshe, who completes his term this month, said the language barrier came up during a visit to a Canadian
auction in Quebec. “Normally, we send out arbitration diagrams (signage) in English to all of our member auctions,” he said. “We never realized that in Quebec, you can’t hang it in English. It had to be in French. We never knew that.” So when NAAA Executive
Director Frank Hackett got back to the office, he had another sign made up in French and sent it back to the auction, Neshe said. It’s one of those things that showed the NAAA that there’s always something to think about when serving members, he said. Neshe said his time in
leadership has gone by quickly. “Everyone said it would go by fast,” he said, “but it actually went faster than I expected.” The NAAA structure has the president travel with the president-elect throughout the year to make for smooth transitions.
Wholesale Prices Continue to Ease Down from Historic Highs Wholesale used vehicle prices declined 0.7 percent in August, according to Manheim. This was the fourth consecutive monthly decline and brought the August Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index reading to 121.8, down 0.4 percent from a year ago. the Index adjusts prices for mix, mileage and seasonality. Manheim chief economist Tom Webb said the movement reflects a reversion to trend levels after an extended period of exceptionally strong pricing, as well as increased supply and lower retail demand. Volumes sold at auction remained low in August, and average mileage slipped back below 40,000. With new
vehicle sales into rental up 10 percent in August, some increased flow back into the wholesale market is inevitable, whether it is via the traditional auction process or some other channel. Mileage and seasonally adjusted prices for major market classes showed only pickups and vans (especially cargo vans) up year-over-year. Luxury cars remained the segment with the largest decline in wholesale pricing over the past year, but the pace of decline was in line with the overall market. The strongest pricing remained in the $13,000 to $15,000 range, with the weakest in the $9,000 to $10,000 range.
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