MADA has just been notified of a new scam affecting our dealers. A dealership received a bogus invoice from Market Media, Inc. 10 Glenn Lake Parkway, Suite 130, Atlanta, GA 30328. The invoice is for "Online Premium Listing." The phone numbers, which are bogus, are 1.855.369.1400. If you receive an invoice such as this, DO NOT pay it!

As of today, we are now halfway through the 2012 General Session, but MADA still has significant issues to address in the remaining portion.  While most Legislators focused the first half of the 90 day session on controversial social issues, MADA worked to defeat a number of bills that would increase dealer fees and liability.

MADA successfully killed a provision in a bill that would require each dealership location to pay an bi-annual $500 license fee as opposed to the principal place of business only.  Dealership fees are already much higher than our surrounding states.  MADA is also working to defeat legislation that would require tire retailers to provide significant disclosures to customers regarding tire age.  These disclosures expose dealer members to liability solely because they are the last point of contact between Maryland residents and aged tires. 

The second half of the Legislative Session will be focused on budgetary issues.  The Governor has proposed a significant gas tax, and legislators do not like this tax possibility with the current state of gas prices.  MADA is meeting with key legislators to ensure the trade-difference does not get included in any funding bill in lieu of a gas tax increase.  Recently, MADA hosted Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown at the Association office to stress how important the trade difference is to dealer operations and customer service.

Finally, MADA will aggressively oppose a number of tax bills that seek to impose a 6% tax on vehicle service work and apply an additional luxury tax on vehicles priced over $35,000.  Neither of these bills have much momentum, but MADA will take a firm stand at the beginning to show how detrimental both of these possible taxes would be to Maryland vehicle sales.

While we are hard at work in Annapolis on your behalf, MADA may need dealer help with contacting individual legislators.  Please be prepared to make calls as the voice of the dealer in the district is always the most important.

MADA wishes to congratulate endorsed associate member, KTBSPayroll. The company's President, David Kelly, and Chief Operating Officer, Deborah Saneman are recipients of the 2012 SmartCXO award which recognizes the best in local business. Nominees are selected by Baltimore SmartCEO magazine. Congratulations to David, Deborah, and all of the employees of KTBS Payroll and Kelly & Associates Insurance Group.  For futher information about the payroll and insurance benefits offered by Kelly & Associates, please contact Al Scrimger at the Association's office, 800.526.7423.   

MADA wishes to remind our dealers about certain stipulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to a recent court decision, a dealership is in violation of the law if it fails to compensate auto body repairmen for wait time while on premises.

A Chevrolet dealership in New Mexico was held to have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating two of its auto body repairmen for waiting time. The Court held that the Company did not permit the two body shop employees to leave the premises and did not make any effort to determine whether their pay practices comported with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Accordingly, the Court applied a three (3) year limitations period for a willful violation.

The facts in this case show that the employees worked under a system whereby they were paid a fixed amount for each job assigned to them. For example, if a job was determined to take 15 hours, the employees would be paid 15 hours regardless of whether it took the person more or less time to complete the task. The employees were not compensated for any non-productive hours and the dealership did not enter into an agreement with the repairmen that the wage rate paid to them would be sufficient to compensate them for unpaid waiting time.

We suggest that each dealership review its pay practices as they pertain to body shop employees to ensure that they pass muster under federal and state law.

This article was provided to MADA courtesy of Arthur M. Brewer with Shawe & Rosenthal, LLP. For further information about FLSA, please contact Steve Shawe at (410) 752-1040.

MADA announces the next live webinar coming to you from DealersEdge...    

Online Lead Generation - Tips for Improving Lead-Efficiency and Your Digital Marketing Aim

Date/Time: Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.

Presenter:  Paul Potratz    

Cost: $149.00 Per Person

Some dealers still spend a lot of money seeking a steady stream of leads provided by third-party lead generators. And more money spent does not necessarily result in more sales. There is a better way to improve lead-efficiency at your own Website and to improve how your digital marketing targets "in-the-market" prospects.

Paul Potratz will discuss with you free tools and tactics that can improve the productivity and efficiency of the leads you can and should be generating from your dealership's Website. In this Webinar you will be exposed to a process for developing "re-targeting" and "pay-per-click" campaigns for your dealership Website and mobile Website too.

You will learn:

• How to build conversion pages for specific offers and increase your sales and service leads 20, 40 or even 100% without hiring a vendor.
• How to measure the effectiveness of your conversion pages
• How to increase actionable leads by using special tools that Google provides free of charge.
• How to keep your online visitors engaged even after they leave your Website

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY! 

The IRS recently issued regulations providing guidance for determining whether improvements that taxpayers make to their facilities are repairs, (which could be currently expensed) or capitalized improvements (which must be depreciated) for tax purposes.  

For dealerships, the regulations are most relevant in determining the proper treatment of costs incurred for image upgrades required by the auto manufacturers, including showroom, customer waiting area, and exterior facade updates, but large repair expenditures such as major roof repairs may also be affected.

MADA encourages dealers to contact their tax professional to determine how the new regulations may impact your particular situation.

MPI, providing products and services which manage the vehicle inspection process to increase revenue and customer retention. Jeff Greenfield, Director of Marketing, 3058 E. Sunset Rd., Suite 107, Las Vegas, NV 89120. Phone: 800.997.1674, email: jgreenfield@mpi-edge.com. Maureen Martin, Director of National Accounts, 3113 Clearpoint Dr., Flower Mound, TX 75022. Phone: 817.320.6454, email: mmartin@mpi-edge.com.