davidmcbeth
Banned
As you all know CGS Sec. 14-99h is in respect to charges that a dealer may make for vehicle etching on new or used vehicles sold.
The law requires the dealer, if they want to charge for etching, to submit a form detailing what and how they would charge for vehicle etching to our wonderful DMV.
I bought a vehicle recently and noted a line item charge of $200 for etching. I told them that I did not want etching. They charged me anyways. Normally, I would have walked out of such a deal but I knew of 14-99h.
Afterwards I requested the form, required by 14-99h to be completed by the dealer, and obtained it from the DMV. Lo and behold .. they overcharged me.
In their DMV filing they stated that the charge would be for $99 if done with vehicles on a cases by case basis and no extra charge if done en-masse, that the cost would be built into the advertised selling price.
And the dealer was doing every car now so the "charge" would have been required to have been placed into the advertised price of the car.
After some back and forth the dealer an I came to a settlement in my case. I actually thought that they would have put up more of a fight but perhaps they were worried about a class action lawsuit (that I just happened to mention in the negotiations, well LOL). I'll use this $$ to fund other civil matters.
So, if you are buying a used or new car from a dealer ... check and see if the vehicle has been etched.
If so, then check and see if you are being charged anything on your sales invoice.
You can always object to a vehicle etch charge via just saying you don't want it. They are required to remove the charge if its a line item and they do not do all cars prior to sale.
You can check and see if they overcharged you, seeking out the form completed via a record request at DMV.
When I go to a car dealer, I am recording 100% of the time. In CT you need no permission to record face to face conversations.
Ask questions when you buy related to etching, such as:
1) do you etch every car prior to sale ?
2) if etched and no line item "Do you charge for etching via putting it in the price and what is the charge for this?"
If you don't want to pay for the etching, explicitly say that you don't want etching and that you see no value in it.
Save yourself some cash ... courtesy of our wacky state legislature that shoves its tentacles all over.
The law requires the dealer, if they want to charge for etching, to submit a form detailing what and how they would charge for vehicle etching to our wonderful DMV.
I bought a vehicle recently and noted a line item charge of $200 for etching. I told them that I did not want etching. They charged me anyways. Normally, I would have walked out of such a deal but I knew of 14-99h.
Afterwards I requested the form, required by 14-99h to be completed by the dealer, and obtained it from the DMV. Lo and behold .. they overcharged me.
In their DMV filing they stated that the charge would be for $99 if done with vehicles on a cases by case basis and no extra charge if done en-masse, that the cost would be built into the advertised selling price.
And the dealer was doing every car now so the "charge" would have been required to have been placed into the advertised price of the car.
After some back and forth the dealer an I came to a settlement in my case. I actually thought that they would have put up more of a fight but perhaps they were worried about a class action lawsuit (that I just happened to mention in the negotiations, well LOL). I'll use this $$ to fund other civil matters.
So, if you are buying a used or new car from a dealer ... check and see if the vehicle has been etched.
If so, then check and see if you are being charged anything on your sales invoice.
You can always object to a vehicle etch charge via just saying you don't want it. They are required to remove the charge if its a line item and they do not do all cars prior to sale.
You can check and see if they overcharged you, seeking out the form completed via a record request at DMV.
When I go to a car dealer, I am recording 100% of the time. In CT you need no permission to record face to face conversations.
Ask questions when you buy related to etching, such as:
1) do you etch every car prior to sale ?
2) if etched and no line item "Do you charge for etching via putting it in the price and what is the charge for this?"
If you don't want to pay for the etching, explicitly say that you don't want etching and that you see no value in it.
Save yourself some cash ... courtesy of our wacky state legislature that shoves its tentacles all over.